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| Steven (Etienne) & Louise Bertin married 62 years |
He was creative in so many ways.
He could renovate houses, build cabinets, furniture, he has even built guitars. He was known as a house/decorative painter.
He could create a VERDIGRIS and could replicate existing room features, such as wood paneling with paint,....I could go on all day!
Needless to say, my Grandfather was very special and it certainly doesn't hurt that my Grandmother Louise is also very creative. She could knit for hours on end, sew clothes by hand, crochet and is still the best cook around.
This post is dedicated to my Grandfather
Etienne Bertin
Born: May 22, 1911
Died: July 26, 2006
He was 95 years old
I don't really know why but this particular project made me think of Grandpa.
Maybe it's because he was always building something out of wood,..
I will take you on a journey so that together we can see all the steps that were taken to create this plaque.
1) Obviously the very first step is to find the plaque.
I found an old wooden calendar at the local Value Village, I removed the wooden slats that were on the front to make it flat and then I sanded.
2) I applied 2 coats of primer.
3) The next step is to draw out the basic design.
4) I then create my sawmill, wood shed, boathouse and boat out of DAS air drying clay. I allowed all the pieces to dry for about 3 days.
DAS clay is made by PRANG, take a moment to see all the other products available.
5) I create a small log dock for my boathouse using tiny wooden dowels (I took a matchstick blind apart for these).
6) I then glued all the clay pieces and the wooden dowels in place.
NOTE: I use Q-tips to remove excess glue, it's simple but it works.
7) I used wood filler on the background to create depth for landscape.
The filler was applied with a palette knife, a Q-tip and various other implements to manipulate it all into place.
I allowed this to dry for another 3 days.
8) Now I can start painting.
NOTE: unless otherwise stated, paints are always crafters acrylics.
I used a lot of black for this step so that when colours are added to the sawmill and boathouse the black paint will appear as shadow.
9) I now paint in the wood shed and sawmill.
10) Now I paint the boat.
11) I now paint the boathouse.
12) Now I paint in the foliage in the foreground.
I added my Grandfather's name to the sawmill sign .
13) Now I paint the edge in black.
14) I signed it at front left.
15) Sealed with 2 coats of varathane.
THE FINISHED PRODUCT
Well I sincerely hope you enjoyed this post.
I added a link below for some examples of FAUX Finishes, who knows you may find it interesting.
Examples of Faux Finishes, check this out, you may be inspired to try some for yourself.
I hope you have a great day!
See you next time.
