Sky Ceiling

I have been busy working on a painted sky ceiling in the heart of Oliver Cromwell country near Huntingdon.
The property dates back to Cromwell's time and it is rumoured that he may have even spent a night there.



As you can see from the photo I have been working from a scaffold tower to paint the ceiling on which I stand on as opposed to laying down. Everyone assumes that such murals are painted laying down.
In my youth I did paint my first ceiling in that manner but found it to be too restricting on the arm movement and there was also the problem that any paint drips would end up in your eyes or up your nose - I would not recommend it - even Michelangelo stood on his scaffolding when he painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling (I must add here that I am certainly not comparing my ceiling to Michelangelo's).

I start with a white base when painting a sky ceiling. I then gradually add subtle washes of light blue, pink and purple to help form the shapes of the clouds and the blue sky beyond.
This method prevents the clouds from taking on the form of lumps of cotton wool and also creates some fantastic pinky greys when you wash one colour over another.
I describe my sky painting method in more detail with a step-by-step project in my first book - 'Trompe L'Oeil Interiors'.

Crumbling Wall Mural

I've been working on one of my favorite paint effects - The Crumbling Wall.

I first tried out this effect about 15 years ago in my old office. At the time I was not particularly proficient in effects like stone blocking, marbling and rag-rolling so my decision to paint a derelict wall was almost like a reaction against those type of effects.

Marbling has an elegant and luxurious feel whereas a crumbling plaster effect looks like a wall in bad repair. I enjoyed this stark contrast - it's my rebellious paint effect and over time it has become my signature piece.



Over the years I have painted this effect many times in my customer's homes and also in a few Italian restaurants where the effect unselfishly lends itself to painted Mediterranean views and the odd trompe l'oeil glass of wine. It also works especially well in sun-baked conservatories.

I have also featured the effect in my first book, 'Trompe L'Oeil Interiors', as a step-by-step project. Since I wrote the book nearly seven years ago I have slightly evolved the way I paint it - to be honest every time I paint it I do something slightly different.

It is also quite a relaxing effect to paint as it requires minimal planning - I just start with a basic idea of where I want the exposed brickwork to be and then just sketch it out loosely with a paint brush and build it up from there. This ensures that the effect is kept as natural as possible - there is a danger that too much planning will reflect in the finished piece looking too contrived.

My main reason for painting this project will be revealed soon - it is something I have been meaning to try out for some time.

Watch this space - all will be revealed soon.