Light and shadow points for furniture with Jenni's instructions

Carved patterns look great on furniture.

Bringing them out by shading and highlighting takes the whole piece of furniture to new dimensions. Try this fun and easy technique if you want a change from monochromatic painting!

First, paint the base with the light color you want (for example, Gray Pebble is good, because you can use white for highlights and darker gray wax for shadows).

Take a small flat cotton wool and lightly dip it in white paint. Wipe the brush back and forth on, for example, a piece of cardboard, so that all the excess paint leaves the brush and the coat looks dry.

Start painting the highlights lightly just by swiping the brush over them. Highlight the points where the light naturally hits first. Every now and then take more paint and continue highlighting.

Next, the entire surface is protected with clear wax. For this, it is best to use a wax brush, with which the wax is rolled onto the painted surface, and then the excess is wiped off with a cloth. Clear wax makes it easier to work with gray wax, because with it you get a softer shading, without sharp boundaries.

Or if you want to erase too many grays. To add the gray wax, I like to use a small brush, depending on the decorations, either very sharp or flat and narrow. Take some gray wax and add it to the edges of the carvings first.

For small recesses and edges. Also try how to get gray faded with clear wax. There is no rush to work with wax, you can take a break from time to time and continue later by adding shading.

Wax brushes can be washed with mild soapy water. However, keep each wax in its own container so that the colors do not mix in the jars while you work.

One more tip! You should also try the new Frenshimmer pearl shade Pearly Queen for this highlighting. It gives a wonderful glow when brushed over white paint.

Have a fun painting project and we are waiting for your pictures in the Frenchic group!