AntiquedVerdigris
I have been wanting to create a decorative look to my Four Seasons
cast-concrete statues situated in their new home. I moved them from the northeast corner of the garden, the new White Garden, to the brick parterre garden on the west-side.
I love their cute shape and I didn’t want to
I love their cute shape and I didn’t want to
paint them white as I had done several of my other statues.
That's when I thought of Verdigris
source Flickr
I found a few examples of beautiful Verdigris statues as my inspiration. I love the aged appearance contrasted by the bright blue-green of the color.
source Flickr |
source Flickr |
I searched for concrete stains – especially homemade recipes. The first I found used copper sulfate and salt – it did create a bright green liquid, but did not effect the shade of color I wished for my statues.
before
after
Then I thought – spray paint. I have a variety of greens, blues, and metallic colors which could create the antiqued verdigris I was hoping for.
before
after
before
after
I sprayed
the entire statue with Brushed Metallic Caramel Latte – it is a lighter color
than copper, but gives the effect I was going for. I then alternated Giverny
Green- or – Pistachio Green with Deauville Blue (an old Martha Stewart color) then I added here and there a muddy, forest green to imitate moss.
I kept
layering the colors and sponging over to take away some color and to combine the
blue-green color I was after.
Following
viewing the examples of the pictures I found on Flickr – to age the statues – I
dribbled watered down black and burnt sienna watercolor paint to replicate the effects of time and weather.
After
the statues completely dry I plan to seal them with a concrete sealer to
protect the finish.
if it works – fantastic! If it doesn’t – I’ll play with paint again!