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| Kai Rahnel |
| Decorative artist Kai Rahnel believes it's not necessary to spend large amounts of money on decorating your house. For 14 years Kai has used paint as a cheap and effective form of decorating. |
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From country style to mystical fairies, Charlie Chaplin, circuses and trompe l'oeil — a 3-D style of artwork — the decorations at the Rahnel's house have changed as the family has grown. Kai also loves to buy vintage items such as old toys, travelling chests, fabrics and wall decorations, all of which give her inspiration for future room designs.
Kai says buying quality paint is more important than extravagant equipment. Jo Sonya's acrylics and Porters paints are Kai's preferred brands because they offer 'different' looks and finishes. Kai shows how simple it can be to give a blank wall a dramatic lift.
STEP BY STEP:
1 Paint a panel on the wall with a paint that has some "slip". Acrylic satin paint will do. Matte or flat plastic paint doesn't have the properties needed.
2 Allow the paint to dry completely and mask with tape down the sides.
3 Fill the syringes with Permanent Alizarine, Rich Gold and Pale Gold, diluted with an equal volume of water.
4 Squirt each colour onto the wall in horizontal lines so that it runs down the wall allowing 5 minutes between coats.
5 Dab over excess paint while still wet and smudge at random using paper or rag. Small bits of paper can be removed later.
6 Brush lightly over the top of the panel, as well as down the sides and along the bottom and randomly through the painting using Burnt Umber thinned with water and a large brush. This is used as a dulling tone and gives overall contrast and depth as well as a clean border line. Use rough sweeping strokes in all directions.
7 When background is dry, tape the Saral paper to the wall with the matte side facing to the wall.
8 Tape the line drawing or photocopy over the Saral paper, then draw over the image, transferring it to the wall.
9 Remove drawing and Saral paper slowly, being careful not to peel any paint off. You may need to go over the transfer to make painting easier.
10 Paint the highlights of the bird with warm white using a No. 2 round brush. Try not to aim for too much detail, which can be great close up but is lost from a distance. The white acts as an undercoat and some background can show through which creates shadows later on. Thin strokes fade to grey, and more layers of white can be applied to thicken the colouring. The second coat of white in places gives lots of definition on the head, and highlights in the wings and tail.
11 Still using No. 2 round brush paint the darker area of the bird with Nimbus Grey. This adds tone and fills in the gaps on feathers of wings. Use on shading for underside of wings and tail, breast and underside of face.
12 Now paint the eye and the beak with Carbon Black. Painting the eye brings the bird to life and a white highlight adds an extra spark.
13 Finally paint the shadow under the bird with Burnt Umber, to define the edge of the bird
14 To finish, shade and highlight using Derwent Gunmetal colour pencil, particularly around the eye and the head in general.
FINISHING TOUCHES:
Lightly sand over the piece to remove any paper or brush fibres that have stuck to the wall.
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Materials
Porters Dutchess paint — Acru
Jo Sonja's Artist Gouche — Permanent Alizarine, Rich Gold, Pale Gold, Warm White, Nimbus Grey, Burnt Umber, Carbon Black.
Masking tape
Photocopy or line drawing of bird
Saral paper for transferring image
Syringes
Water
Paint Brushes — 2" or 3" (just what is available) and a No. 2 round brush
Toilet paper, paper toweling or a rag
Fine sand paper
Colour pencil: Derwent Studio — Gunmetal
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More Info
For more information on Kai's classes and work:
Kai Rahnel
Ph: 02 9876 4586
Mob: 0418 162 876
Kai has a step by step book on painting farm animals called "Don't be a Goose" and has also produced a pattern packet for a "Shy Bear", call Kai for more information.
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Disclaimer
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