It was a beautiful piece as-is. Gorgeous lines and carvings. Solid construction. Just lovely.
And as lovely as it was, I knew it could be exquisite. I knew exactly the image that I would use. 'Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses' by John William Waterhouse (1891). But as much as I love to do image transfer, I was a little nervous about how the piece would be received. It's a piece that you either love or don't. I don't think there's a middle ground on this one.
The process actually was incredibly easy. Sometimes it goes that way...other times it doesn't. The piece literally came together by itself.
The image transfer was done with Artisan Enhancements transfer gel. And later hand painted to give the image more depth and texture. The body of the dresser is painted with Pure & Original Classico in Black. I wanted a dark, moody look to the piece. Then comes the fun part: working with layers upon layers of General Finishes glazes. To get more 'play' time, I also use General Finishes glaze extender. I use the clear glaze to mix in the paint colors that I want for depth. I worked with Pure & Original Classico in Ashes (to get different tones of grey), Barbados Blue, and Summer Melon. For the glazes I used Van Dyke, Burnt Umber, and Red Sienna. This is the first time I've used General Finishes Black glaze. Such a beautiful finish! This is mixed with the clear glaze and the extender. Then the body was waxed and buffed.
The piece was beautiful before. No question.
But, with a little work, it became so much more.
