paintbrush promenade

I have been meaning to paint...I really have....but I get overwhelmed by the amount of painting that needs to be done. Part of the problem is the previous paint job was done so poorly so that color that was intended to be on the wall ends on the ceiling as well as on the woodwork. I finally decided to start with the walls and ignore the ceiling even though they need attention too.


I started with the bright white living room wall on a Monday morning. I had tested some Dry Clay on the wall over the weekend but decided that was to dark so made a quick trip to the hardware store and came back with Old Salem Tan. The muted color was a dramatic improvement over the stark white but it still felt a bit off balance with the darker colors of the fireplace and the Artisan Pottery color on the slump block wall.


On Tuesday I took the "Dry Clay" and did a cross-hatch of brush strokes over the Old Salem Tan. The textured walls caught some but not all of the paint leaving an interesting pattern.


By Wednesday morning I decided that the lines that the paintbrush made were too strong. I took a rag and used circular motions to add more Dry Clay in order to disguise the lines. By the time the lines were gone the wall had too much color so I again used the rag technique and the Old Salem Tan to lighten the total effect.


Thursday and Friday I continued the Old Salem Tan around into the kitchen. I'm on a roll and things feel so clean and new with fresh paint.


Monday morning...time to get rid of the unflattering pale yellow in the upstairs bathroom. This time I'm going to use the Dry Clay and I think it will look great in this room with plenty of light.


Tuesday I paint the door jams (that had been painted the same yellow as the walls) with Old Salem Tan and then experiment ragging the lighter color on top of the dark. I decide this doesn't look so good so Wednesday I repaint over the experiment.


By Thursday morning everything is cleaned up and put back in order...just in time for company. As I painted, I decided that the bathroom would be used to display some of the many wonderful sunrise/sunset/mountain/moonlight photos we have take.


Muscles are sore and complaining but I'm happy with the results and ready to take on the laundry room and the worship room next chance I get.