Phoenix faux finishing

Many have asked about our process over the years so this page was created to demonstrate some of our techniques.

a1-Good working habits and consistency are essential to performing quality work so every job is begun on a solid, opaque base coat to insure a professionally finished look.

a2-In the second step a lighter, cooler color is brushed on then its edges are worked back and forth with a damp rag for style and affect. This is more of a sketching process, used to map out what will go in the different areas. Some of the best finishes require a very subtle start and slow build up of the surface. One of the most important, and neglected practices of many other faux finishers in the Phoenix area is understanding how the subtle differences in warm and cool colors and layering of these can create far greater depth than re-texturing a surface or the opaque sponging of colors many other faux finishers rely on.

a7-Here a very thin and transparent sienna tinted glaze has been brushed on then worked with rags creating a similar but more flattened quartz texture. Almost like an old paper bag. This is used to create depth with some warmth to oppose the cooler areas.

a8-In this stage a half paste is created then brushed on. This is then lifted off with a very specific bunching and sweeping motion of the rag. A half paste is something that has been used since the days of the classical oil painters. It is essentially how it sounds, a thick glaze, usually employed with a reductive method, brushed on to be lifted off in areas to partially expose the under painting.

a10-The finished foundation, before the veins and cracking effects are added.

a11-Feathers have been used for ages to paint expressive lines that go from thin to thick and back in one single stroke. They can hold large amounts of paint (in liquid form) and distribute it evenly if desired or if wanted with the turn and twist of the feather dispersing the colors in a calligraphic style line. A stick, or what is sometimes called a “malstick” is used to steady the hand as it is slowly and deliberately hovered over the working surface.

b1-First a custom tinted color is painted in a consistent even coat. Here a simple piece of masonite is used but this process, like any of finishes, can be over any paintable surface.

b2-Then a second color is painted to add depth. This is brushed over a clear gel, glaze so the opaque orange can be blended into a wet on wet smooth blend. This clear glaze is something that is made uniquely for each job and used often for a professional blended look. Every color used is specially tinted for each job.

b5-This material, which is unique to this look and style of wood is painted on, in this case spreading almost like a tar.

b6-Here the glaze is brushed evenly waiting to be textured. Every type of wood requires a different type of glazing paste, sometimes thick or thin. Part of the services offered by East Coast Custom Faux Finishing is fashioning specific looks to each client. This means being flexible and knowledgeable about this and many other faux finishing processes.

b7-In this case a rubber tool is dragged while rocking up and down to create the semicircular pattern of this type of wood.

b8-After years of practicing I have learned many tricks and developed methods using all sorts of materials.

b9-Cleaned up and on its perch ready to be photographed. Some of the detail along the top and bottom right sides can not be seen due to the glare of the Phoenix sun.

Take a look at some of these other examples of wood graining from recent jobs here.

Below is the marble on the top front of the card.

c1-This one was begun, for a change, on a fresh piece of sanded masonite. As opposed to many of the other hundreds of boards that are continually sanded and repainted with samples for each new job. In this case a flat paint was used as a base to achieve a different effect than the low sheen used in the marble above.

c2-All of the colors are specifically tinted and planned out ahead of time leaving very little to chance. Randomness is not an option when performing multi-layerd faux finishing of this nature. I have stacks of frozen food containers....I eat a great deal of frozen diners.

c3-A specially tinted glaze is brushed on then worked in a reductive technique to create a quartz-like textured effect. This is intentionally much darker than the finished look because of all of the lighter translucent layers planned for the upper layers.

c4-Additional layers of glaze are applied then worked back and forth to create different textures. Here you can see a different type of rag was used than the first marbles effect. The flat base colors will create deeper, richer colors than semi-gloss paints because the flat absorbs what is put over it while the gloss leaves most of the glazes to be reduced with rags. Working over the flat base requires a rougher, more aggressive manipulation of the glazes. I have a full range of fabric bolts from 100% synthetic to all natural cottons and wools in my Phoenix workshop. It is always important to be prepared and well versed in as many working materials as possible.

c5-One of the signs of a faux finisher who understands color is being able to create depth utilizing shifts in temperature or saturation content (purity of color). The first of the lighter layers, a half paste is applied, in addition to a higher value (lighter) it is also much cooler to give more of a three dimensional effect. As the upper layers of glaze are applied the surface becomes more toolable (easily worked) so thinner, more delicate, synthetic rags are use giving more control over creating subtleties in the texture. About 95% of the darker colors are covered up with the lighter colors. But since the lighter, cooler layers are translucent the darker, warmer colors peak through creating a three dimensional effect that can not be achieved with opaque paints or “sponge” like faux finishing techniques.

c6-Here the lights are complete. Unfortunately these photos were all taken from a distance that the details are not very clear.

c8-After photographing and reducing the image to the 12x90 millimeter area of the business card, the marble was not striking enough so more whites are added later with a cooler blueish hue to create better depth. After photographing the dimensions had to be adjusted from a 1 to 5 ratio to a 1 to 6 ratio (squeezed) to fit into the thin band of the business card.

Contact us at 602-296-4551 or info@eastcoastcustomfauxfinishing.com

or take your time and browse our website. The Portfolio page contains several of our past jobs. Plus there are additional links to other jobs through the photo links on our other pages. The narrow images to the right are links to other job pages. Plus the Samples page contains a small amount of the 200 sample boards in the ECCFF catalogue.