Hello my friends,
Indeed it is not all gold that glitters. Thank god for that, by the way. Too much gold or gilt easily makes an interior look kitsch or tacky. So let's be careful for the Midas touch. :-)
The Dutch Renaissance style andirons you can see here that I have made out of bits and bobs were painted in a colour called gun metal grey. This was never the intended finish.
In the picture above you can see that I first tried silver paint. The result on the left is more silvery than the gun metal paint on the right... but not something to be thrilled about. Ofcourse there are different types and brands of silver paint. And one will be better and look more silvery than the other. But this colour rather looks like pewter, or even zinc. But not nearly like silver!
So what glitters here is, as you can already see my friends, not gold but silver as the title of the post already suggests. So not wanting to use silver paint, I tried another type of "silvering". Silver metal leaf to be precise. Just like the gold metal
First I painted the rests for the firewood black. This part is made of blackened iron. The ornamental front pilllars were first coated in sise. When that had dried sticky it was time to add the leaf metal.
And while I was busy I also prepared the brass mirror frames of the standing and the hanging mirrors intended for the dressin groom and the little whig powdering room. In the picture above you can see the wet sise obscuring the small details of the garlands hanging off this frame. Too thick you may think. But it dries up very thin. Revealing all details that are now obscured.
This picture shows you the halfway point where the silver leaf comes on but still has to be brushed into every little nook and cranny of the design. When all is fully dry and fixed I used a stif brush to remove the excess bits of silver. Et voila!
And after a well spent rainy afternoon, we have 4 silvered items. I love the way they look. To me it proves that it does not have to be gold to look rich and elegant.
Well, that's it for now. Next week I will show you the latest additions to hang on the wall of Huis ter Swinnendael.
Huibrecht
Hi Huibrecht! Wow! These are Beautiful! It was a rainy day well spent.... and clearly you know how to apply the silver leaf! I still have never tried to apply gold or silver leaf... Someday I hope to try it! And I am hoping my comment will post...! :):) (My son from far away has been trying to coach me on what to do....!)
ReplyDeleteHi Betsy,
DeleteI am glad that you like them. and your comment posted beautifully. :-)
Applying metal leaf is not that difficult. you just have to work neatly. But that you can do!
Huibrecht
I can only agree with Betsy - the best way to spend a rainy day. And I'm always with you when it comes to too much gold... although I see the advantage that your silver miniatures won't oxidate and won't need to be polished. You've made an incredible job with those silver leaves, the effect is awesome now... and so much better than "gun metal grey". ;O)
ReplyDeleteHugs
Birgit
And I agree with you ladies. :-) and you are absolutely right, so much better than "gun metal grey" when you want good looking silver. For the first step in making faux zinc it works very well!
DeleteHuibrecht
Me encanta el trabajo que has hecho.
ReplyDeleteMuchas Gracias Isabel.
DeleteI love how the pieces turned out, Huibrecht, and it sounds like a lot of fun just doing the process! I gilded with gold leaf several years ago and by no means got results as wonderful as yours. It would be fun to try again when the right setting comes along!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jodi. Well gilding is not very easy but also not too dificult. with fidly decorations the gold leaf tends to tear and separate, showing the red goldsise underneath. I finish the frame with tears and cracks and let it dry. The next day I aply a thin layer of goldsise on and around the cracks and tears but not where the goldleaf is fine. regild those recesses and brush away the excess gold leaf the next day when all is properly dry and fixed.
DeleteHuibrecht