Mutha' Nature

It's a neat trick to "dry brush" with watered down paint. But that 's just what I did with a 3" feathery-tipped house paint brush. Fantastic.

I can't describe how thrilled I am with how the tree is turning out. It is exceeding my expectations, um, treemendously. I know I'm getting things how I'd want them when it feels as though it's the way nature must make trees Herself. There's a funny groove/pace/place where the results are looking so natural in person that I feel a little, and I say this with total absolute awareness that I am certainly not at all, but it feels a little, dare I say, (god) like. It's satisfying in a way I can't describe. I am having so much fun.

I feel the feelings in my lady gut parts that say, "Hey, why don't you take some Motrin©, put on a heating pad, and lay down for two or three days." I'll work on whatever I can in Halfland, as soon as I can, believe you me. Take good care.

This pass of a watered down mixture of light taupe floor paint, yellow, and burnt sienna acrylics is meant to act as a mid-tone stage. Next will come a "knock-back" of diluted dark brown ink and highlighting with a more pale taupe on the highest texture points.

Bits of progress, this morning I removed all the regular masking tape masks that were protecting the tile details on hearth and stairs, and the chimneys (top images) revealing white borders and peeling up some of the step paint with it. As Halfland would have it, the flat step tiles looked better as natural clay than how I had painted them. Fortunately for time's sake, the hand-painted patterned tiles were left mostly intact. I may re-paint the step tiles again. Either way, I march onward, making whatever happens work for the project. I love the way the chimneys look stained with brown paint! (bottom left) So storybook! Bottom right shows how the hearth and cabinet details are integrating into the tree after being painted in.