Pretty Statue Makeover

Hi Blogger Friends,

A week or so ago, I posted about some of the finds I got while out antiquing and one of them was this little fella.  He was so cute with his little ivy wreath crown and bird's nest, but he was painted an old gold.  I love old gold on some things, but on him, not so much.  Don't get me wrong, if for some reason, I could only have purchased him with the agreement that he had to stay as is, I still would have picked him up, but luckily, that was not a stipulation of purchase!  Like so many of you out there, sometimes, we just think, "but I could make it so much BETTER..."  And off we go, paintbrush in hand.  Here's what he looked like when I got him.

I had wanted to leave a little of his gold peeking through.  Hmmmm...I painted him all a watered down white and then wiped some of the paint off.  YUCK!  That wasn't even photo worthy.  He ended up in the sink with me and a brillo pad.  Back to the original...after numerous coats of a little white paint mixed with a little walnut glaze, then watered down walnut glaze to go down in the cracks, he ended up looking a bit like an old bronze statue.  I kind of liked him, but when I got up this morning, that old painting jones got the better of me and I got back at it before I even ate breakfast (or got dressed for that matter-I know, it's a sickness).  I wanted him lighter.  After a little more white paint mixed with a little glaze, ragged on, I sort of liked him, but he was a little chalky looking and the walnut glaze in the cracks seemed a bit too...well, wal-nutty.  SO, add some black paint to the watered down concoction and drippled that all over and then wiped if off the surface, just leaving it in the cracks.  Better.  I think we're getting there.  This is the result.

In this picture, he looks a tad zombie-ish, so I think he may get a little more dabbing of color in his face.  Tweaking, tweaking, always tweaking...sigh.

Overall, I think I'm happy with him, but there's always room for improvement, right?

Don't forget to enter my ROMANTIC PRAIRIE STYLE SHOW ME YOUR STYLE PHOTO CHALLENGE.   Click over to that post to get the low-down and send me your take on the romantic prairie style.  You never know...you may be in fabulous Fifi's next book!  No, I don't have any inside information, no I do not know if she has another book planned, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.  One thing I can say for sure, the winner will receive a copy of Fifi O'Neill's stunning new book, Romantic Prairie Style.  Archive photos are fine, you don't have to snap new ones, as long as they are YOUR personal photos of your home, garden, or studio.

Linking up with Kathleen's White Wednesday.  Pop on over for some great white inspiration.

Until next time,