Techniques

How To: add colour to Pearlescent Glaze using Chalk Paint™

Hello, I’m Annie Sloan and welcome to my studio.
So what I’m going to do today is show you how to add colour to your Pearlescent Glaze.

This is one that I did earlier, I really really love it. Basically, I painted it in Oxford Navy, then I did a matte varnish over it and then I painted these sort of flower plants, whatever you call them, white. And these are the colours I used on top of them mixed with the glaze. So I’m going to use these boards to demonstrate how I did it.

I’ve painted some using white. There’s my white paint, and just making marks like that, either short ones, or with a little Detail Brush you can do little short ones, little fat ones, any mark you like. And then when that’s dry, I’ve taken some Pearl Glaze… So there’s my Pearl Glaze, this is it, looks white but it’s in fact translucent, so I’ve got some there and then I’m going to add just a little tiny bit of a colour. So let’s start with Burgundy. So Burgundy is quite a strong colour, a little tiny bit of that and it will make the most beautiful pink. So you need very very little, you don’t want to have lots and lots of it. There… and then you can go over that, and I’d go right over it. So you go right to the edge, sometimes I’ve just done a little bit of a little line through it so it does look a little bit more… like a tulip or something… just something to give it a little bit of shape. And then I’m going to do that with each one. Sometimes I’ve also, on that piece there, I think I just used the glaze on its own – making the brush marks into the stripes that you want so it gives you the shape of the piece. You can do a second colour onto there, a second layer, so there’s now three onto that one and that gives it a little bit more strength, but you can mix any colours you like so I’m going to add a little bit to that glaze… a bit of blue… I quite like the fact that that white there is done so that it’s solid in some places
and thinner in others, that will give you again a nice sort of surprise to it all – something is not completely flat.

So that’s it – that’s how I did it. Along the sides here I just did layers and layers of colour, I could just keep on doing it and maybe not doing it everywhere, so a little bit you’ll get a little bit to the red. I’ve done other bits where there’s more blue on it so it gives this beautiful beautiful shimmery sort of mermaid look.

So that’s it. There’s nothing that I need to do over this, I don’t need to protect it, the glaze is going to be strong enough to withstand anything. The parts that are the Oxford Navy, they’re already lacquered so it’s all done, finished, and it’s a lovely lovely sort of shimmery look.

Annie Sloan demonstrates how to use Chalk Paint™ to add colour to Pearlescent Glaze.

Unlock an entire universe of pastellised iridescent colour by following this simple how-to. For best results, Annie recommends using strongly pigmented Chalk Paint™ colours and painting over a white Chalk Paint™ base coat.

Step by step guide to adding Chalk Paint™ colour to Pearlescent Glaze

  1. Annie began by painting her table using Chalk Paint™ in Oxford Navy.
  2. She then applied two coats of Matt Chalk Paint™ Lacquer to protect, diluting the first coat of Matt Lacquer with 10% water to make the application smooth and easy, which is especially important over dark colours.
  3. The abstract flowers were painted using Old White, as was the edge of the table. Laying down a base of a white or light coloured Chalk Paint™ will allow your Pearlescent mixed colours to show up better than they might over a dark colour.
  4. Now, for the fun part! Annie is mixing her Glaze and Chalk Paint™ directly onto her MixMat. MixMats are made of silicone and are ideal for mixing Chalk Paint™ colours on because none of the paint is wasted. You could use a glass or plastic mixing bowl, a normal artists palette, or even a plate! Just be sure to wash up before the paint and Glaze mix dries.*TOP TIP* Remember when mixing: you only need a hint of Chalk Paint™ to tint the Pearlescent Glaze. You can always add more but it’s much harder to take any away if you’ve been over-generous!
  5. Annie mixes Chalk Paint™ in Burgundy with Pearlescent glaze to achieve a soft pink tint and then paints over her Old White base.
  6. Annie then mixes Napoleonic Blue with Pearlescent Glaze. As you can see, all the colours she’s chosen are strong, bold shades. Once mixed with Pearlescent Glaze the colours will weaken and almost pastellise so it’s best to start with a strongly pigmented hue.
  7. No need to finish with Chalk Paint™ Wax or Lacquer; as you will recall Annie Lacquered her table during step 2. The Pearlescent Glaze works like a Lacquer itself and doesn’t require any further sealant.

There you have it! How to add Chalk Paint™ to Pearlescent Glaze. It’s straightforward, satisfying, and like Chalk Paint™ itself these mixes can be applied over wood, metal, glass – any surface your heart desires! For more Tips and Techniques videos, click here.

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