Bridemaid Remembered

Finally, the painting (recreation of the tapestry made for Cardinal Woolsey at Hampton Court) in the brides maid room is started!

This month Britt and I finished the clouds peering through the rafters of the chapel. We'll probably go back next year and add detail and more contrast. But with us reaching the tip of the ceiling at 42 feet, while balancing atop a swaying lift atop a ladder, I'm glad to have this much completed.

The floors in the brides room are acid stained and sealed Britt is working with Bob on the finish of the steps sweeping up in the entry.

Each day a new project. Each day a little more completed.

If Clouds Could Talk

Okay, I left the camera up at the castle. So no photos of the floor in the brides chamber or the doors in the entry.

We tried a different technique on the brides floor to see if we could get the amber to color a lighter version of itself. Then veined as usual. This time we didn't spray water first we put the amber stain directly on the concrete. Then veined with walnut, more amber and jade. While doing the veining I used extra sprits of water to blend and let the veins run. Doing the acid directly on dry concrete leaves what you do there, drops and all, be careful not to make veining to bold, remember in natural veining you have bold lines to narrow fading lines. Water helps with that.

While the acid cured Britt and I went to put clouds on the ceiling of the chapel. After 4 hours of wrenching our necks we went back to the brides chamber and cleaned the floor. It looks good! Then back to working on clouds. Britt has things timed and we're given an hour a cloud in each bay , it's closer to 2 that it actually takes (which is putting her schedule off). Schedules push us. Sometimes beyond our limits.

Sky Blue

Will the heating and air ever be done? Bob continued to work on those units.

Britt cleared and started to paint the ceiling a soft baby blue in which we'll paint soft floating clouds (I hope).

While I gold leafed the doors (there is still a little more to do,) Then I finished clearing everything out of the brides room and sealed the wall behind the mirror. Today, I will acid stain the floor, and help Britt with the clouds. It will be up and down all day.

Tomorrow I'll have more photos of our progress.

Another Day at the Castle

When sealing a concrete floor remember the smell's will give you a major headache. Quickly get in and out. Then leave the room and let it cure (with out curing your head).

Britt and I then stained the closet doors in the entry. Today I will finish those doors with gold leaf which will add a luster to the finish and tie it to the ornate front door. (This Photo is before stain & gold leaf)

For the next week the castle will be in upheaval.

Britt is starting on the clouded sky in the chapel and I will clean out the brides room to acid stain the floor in there. I want to do a practice run on a concrete block outside, because I want something very particular and I'm not certain yet how to get exactly the colors that I want. It might be less time, less stain, or just blending stain. I will have to try to see which works best.

Each Our Own Way

Saturday, Bob worked on the outside portion of the air conditioning / heating unit...still. Drilling through 6" concrete walls takes so much time.

Brit ran the lift carefully around the chapel sanding the windows and touch up painting.

Monday we will start to marbleize the columns, I'm nervous at the beginning of any new project. I've only attempted marbleizing on a very small scale before (In a painting I did of a library). It may take a few attempts to get it right, but I'm game to try.

There are times I can't remember what I did. Oh yes, sealed the floor of the studio kitchen, (which has to be done twice). Then I spray painted half of the wrought iron across the catwalk. The wind blew, and I soon looked like black tar. Getting the paint off took more time than the actually painting.

Acid Stain the Kitchen Floor

The more I do acid stain the more I love it, plus the freer I feel to try different techniques. When we finished the small studio kitchen, after cleaning the stain, there were a couple of small dots which had remained white like concrete. These appeared to be shellac which had accidentally not been cleaned before we stained. (Remember what I said before, clean meticulously)

To remedy the problem, I took the small hand sander figuring I would have to remove the spots and stain again. But as I was sanding with the fine paper I realized with a little sweep of the hand you could get an interesting look and additional veining. Although this has not been sealed yet, I like the effect and will not re stain. Sometimes our accidents are an opportunity to learn.

Overcoming Fear

The rafters in the chapel rise 42 feet in the air. It was hard enough roofing this castle, my heart was continually pounding. Insulation came next, as you can see here. Allot has been completed since then, drywall and paint.

There is one section of the castle that is almost impossible to reach from the lift. It is about a 2 foot wide section between the entry and the soaring roof beams. It has remained unpainted for over a year because of the difficulty in reaching it.

Yesterday, I started with every intention of doing this frightening task on my own. After the second lift up I succumbed to my fears and enlisted Brittany's help. She was fearless (Or perhaps, has made the decision to control her fear)

To get to the highest point we had to move the lift to the opposite side of the beam, thus placing us another foot from our intended painting spot over 36 feet in the air. With lift swaying like a drunken sailor, Britt climbed atop the highest cross member and with one hand gripping the beam and the other rolling smoothly the paint over that frightening gulf which had daunted me. She painted as close to the beam as she could and then rolled it out to insure easy reach from the 3rd balcony. I was the perfect assistant at this point, loading the roller so she didn't have to climb up and down. After completing both sides of the ceiling, with one quick step she leaped from beam to railing and was on the balcony. My heart was in my throat, as she finished painting from the safety of the balcony.

Hiring a painter would be easier, but how do we challenge our fears with out "DOING"? It is wonderful to have family leap in when there is something you just can't do.