How Do They Do That? Painted Strié Finishes

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decorative painting, dragging, faux finish, interior design, painted finishes, strie

A few months ago, I wrote about a variety of basic decorative painted finishes (you can find the post here). One of the most popular of these finishes is the strié (pronounced stree-AYE), French for “striated” or “scratched.”

The strié developed as an offshoot of painting techniques used to create faux wood grained finishes. As a traditional technique, a strié is most often used in traditional settings, although it works to beautiful effect in modern rooms as well, lending a warmth to the walls. Below is a kitchen/dining room/lounge I glazed recently with a wall strié in raw umber over a light grey base coat. By the way, that gorgeous floor is tile.

A strié is created by dragging a brush vertically through wet glaze to create linear or graphic patterns. It’s painted most often on walls, woodwork and doors. The tool used, pressure and angle can create a variety of patterns, but the goal is usually soft stripes.

Like many glazed finishes, it takes two people. The first person, starting at the left side of the wall and using a 9-inch wide roller, applies the glaze to the wall from the crown molding to the base board in a band about 12 inches wide. The second person then drags the brush vertically through the glaze several times to develop the pattern. At the same time, the first person continues to apply the next band, slightly overlapping the first. In this way, we make our way horizontally across the wall to the right side, applying and removing the glaze in vertical bands. Yes, it’s a good workout!

This is an example of a soft strié.

The key to a successful strié is twofold: choosing colors that play off one another, and using the appropriate tool for the desired effect.

Because glaze is transparent, the base coat is an integral part of the final look. Sometimes a cool color is used for the base and a warm shade for the glaze (as in the room pictured above), creating a subtle interplay of colors. Or the base coat might be one or two shades lighter than the glaze, resulting in a soft, subtle finish. By varying the colors and technique, the resulting finish can be dramatic or almost invisible. Below is a strong strié.

The nature of the dragged line depends on the brush and pressure used and how it’s held relative to the surface. A soft-bristled brush held perpendicular to the surface and dragged with gentle pressure will yield a much softer look than a coarse-bristled brush held parallel to the surface and dragged with strong pressure. By considering these factors, an experienced artist can create a multitude of looks.

Here are some of the tools, which will be explained as we continue. At the top, a 6-inch wide soft-bristled brush is next to a 3-inch wide coarse-bristled brush, with a steel wool pad between them. Below lie q-tips and small pieces of torn index cards.

An especially pretty look is a basket weave. Here, a vertical strié is glazed and allowed to dry overnight before a horizontal strié in the same color is applied on top.

To create a rustic look, steel wool is dragged after the brush has made its pass. This technique is often used on woodwork.

As I mentioned, strié techniques are used in faux wood graining. In this example, you can see that a strié layer has been incorporated into the multi-layered wood finish.

In this painted sample of Zebrawood, the glaze was applied, removed as a strié, then further removed using q-tips.

Strié can also be used when painting stone. The example below is a fantasy stone based on the patterns found in malachite. It starts out as a strié, which you can see in its fine lines. Then the surface is dragged with a small torn piece of an index card, held perpendicular to the surface and slightly jiggled, to pull out larger areas of glaze, create greater contrast and mimic malachite.

I developed this fantasy malachite for a clothing store, where we painted it in panels as a strong decorative element.

The striés above are soft striés, created freehand, mainly with brushes. Another type of strié is a graphic strié, created by dragging hard-edged tools, such as rubber and steel combs, with the use of a guide stick. Graphic striés can be designed in all sorts of pretty patterns and present a whole new set of challenges. I’ll save that post for another day!

On the Hunt: Transforming with Paint

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before and after, faux finishes, home decor, interior design, painted finishes, paper craft, vintage books, yard sales

Like anyone, I love a good bargain. But there’s something even better than a bargain, and that’s a bargain transformed.

During the summer, my boyfriend Tom and I spend most weekends out at his beautiful little house on Long Island, about two hours east of NYC. When we arrive on Friday evening, we pick up the local paper and it’s my job to find the most promising yard sales, then map out our Saturday route. In the morning, we’re off on the hunt. Sometimes we return dejected and empty handed (“What kind of sales were those? Who sells half empty paint cans?”) but now and then we suss out some sweet little finds.

On one of our first forays this summer, I picked up this little bird. He had a good, solid weight in my hand. Look at that feather and leg detail! He’s about five inches tall. I don’t mind his chipped beak.

Right away, I had a plan. By that afternoon, with the help of acrylic paint, he became bronze.

On the same outing, Tom found a beautiful stoneware lamp. The shade was unappealing and the color of the base didn’t match a thing in the house. Who cares? He snagged it.

I painted it off-white, glazed it in raw umber using damp cheesecloth, then spattered it in three colors. A new shade and bingo! Into the living room it went.

This is one of my best finds from last summer. Not a paint transformation, but just as satisfying.

This book is amazing: published in 1886, full of gorgeous full-color animal illustrations, not to mention wildly outdated ideas about animals. (“The Hippopotamus is a homely beast, with an exceedingly thick hide. The teeth of the Hippopotamus are whiter and more valuable than those of the elephant, and its tough skin is used for a variety of purposes.”) Yikes! Glad those days are over.

The color plates inside are rich and vibrant. This spread of bears has no hunters in it, but I’ve never seen a book of animal illustrations that included so many humans with guns running around in the background. Anyway, perfect for paper crafting on the picnic table. Hello, pencil cups.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed for more great finds. Last week I picked up a whole box of dress patterns from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s for one dollar. They’ll make their way into the paper craft world any day now!

Painting a Martin guitar

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brazilian rosewood, faux brazilian rosewood, faux wood grain, guitar, Martin guitar, painted finishes, painted wood

Martin Guitar asked me to paint a guitar in Brazilian Rosewood, a wood that they once commonly used to build their guitars but which has become a rare resource. Martin Guitar wanted to take my painted guitar into trade shows as a conversation piece, since it’s now illegal to even import Brazilian Rosewood guitars into certain countries. Here’s the completed painted guitar:

I went to their factory in Nazareth, PA, to tour the amazing process of putting a guitar together — talk about handcrafted. It takes hundreds of steps to make each guitar.

I showed them some sample boards, took photos of existing guitars, and a couple of weeks later, they shipped me a guitar. My mission was to paint the back, sides and head as Brazilian Rosewood. Sample board and real rosewood guitar below.

I didn’t shoot progress photos of the project, so the after shots will have to do (courtesy of Martin Guitar). The process was as follows:

1. Tape off and mask all areas that will not be painted
2. Two coats of oil primer, sprayed on.
3. Three coats of oil base coat, sprayed on. I snuck into the stairwell of my building for all of the spray painting.
4. Overall degreasing with whiting (pulverized chalk) and a light sanding with 1000 grit wet sandpaper
5. Woodgrain glaze: water-based flogging layer, let dry, fine sanding
6. Woodgrain glaze: water-based figure layer, let dry, fine sanding again
7. Woodgrain glaze: water-based toning overglaze, let dry, and a final fine sand
8. Touch ups with a fine brush and acrylics.

Below, shot of the painted side.

The guitar was then sent back to Pennsylvania, where they sprayed on multiple coats of the final lacquer finish.

Random questions answered
Can the painted guitar be played? Technically yes, but after about 8 coats of paint, I’m not sure what it’s going to sound like.
Is the finish durable? Yes, very.
How did you stop the paint from getting all over that mother of pearl logo on the head?
Liquid frisket and a magnifying light. Minor nightmare.
How long did it take all together? About 20 hours.

My friend Diane, a Special Ambassador for Martin Guitar and who set the whole wood grained guitar ball in motion, is here talking about the awesomeness of Martin Guitars.

Here’s a tour of the Martin Factory with the New York Times

If you’re a Martin guitar fan and want to see everything yourself, here’s the tour info

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the wood that Martin uses is here