Antique Bronze Outdoor Fountain with Dry Brushing

I just finished painting an outdoor St. Francis fountain for my mother.

Neither Mom nor I like to shop anymore. Or I should say . . . . we don’t shop in stores much.

We do, however, enjoy ‘browsing’ QVC and Home Shopping Network.

Of course, if you like driving around a parking lot, battling for a space fairly close to the mall entrance, walking thru the doors and then up and down the mall aisles until you finally reach your destination . . . and then doing it all again in reverse after you’ve made your purchase . . .

If you like shopping at malls, more power to you.

Me, I kinda like sitting on my sofa, most likely with a snack or two at hand, and most definitely in some comfy sweat pants, watching the host and sales rep demonstrate all the wonderful things the item does, and then cracking open the laptop when they say the item is available on Easy Pay, 4 or 5 payments . . . with absolutely no interest.

That’s my kind of shopping.

Sure, it might take 10 days or so to receive my purchase but when Mike, the UPS man, drives up, wheels out my box(es) and brings them right to my door . . . well, it’s Christmas all over again at the Widow Haven.

Don’t get me wrong now . . . nothing replaces the emotional therapy a trip to Tarjay brings.

For most shopping though, we love our direct-to-door purchases.

There’s only one problem – okay, two, if you count how easy it is to shop with Easy Pay a problem – no, I’m talking about colors and not being able to see what the color will actually look like in person.

This is what they call “bronze”.

Now, I understand that bronze can be all sorts of shades and colors but true bronze is “A yellowish-brown alloy of copper with up to one-third tin.”

Someone apparently missed the yellowish-brown memo.

Not to worry because painting things like this is good therapy too.

It’s easy. It doesn’t take a ton of time. And it only requires a few supplies.

Materials Needed

• Antique Bronze Matte Metallic by Modern Masters
• Scruffy, old paintbrush
• Spray lacquer, if placing piece outside.

If you’ve never dry brushed before, it’s awesome for a piece like this where you want to highlight some of the details, create a beautiful patina finish, and don’t want or need a lot of color.

You could also do a glazing instead of a dry brush, where you mixed the matte metallic with a glaze that extends the open time and then wipe off as much paint/glaze as you like. It’s closer to staining wood, except it doesn’t actually “stain” the piece.

I chose dry brushing because you have more control (in my opinion) over how much paint and metallic sheen you have and where you have it.

Being something of a control freak, and thus the aforementioned therapy, I like being able to determine the look paint gives my project.

Now, dry brushing is so simple it really doesn’t need much of an explanation. Unless you’re like me and you require more instructions for “simple” techniques . . . as in, you ‘can’t see the forest for the trees’ type of thing.

At any rate, I made a little video. Partly because I think it’s easier to grasp what I’m talking about by watching it in action. And partly because I made a promise to make more videos after we moved . . .

. . . last June 2013. I’m a little rusty, to put it mildly.

But you get the basic idea, right?

To “dry brush”, load a very small amount of paint into the brush, then “off-load” the majority of paint.

I use my palette (foam plate), pouncing the brush which works the paint deep into the bristles. In true dry brushing, you’d off-load the paint onto a paper towel. That works particularly well when stenciling.

Since I knew I would work the paint around on the surface of the fountain, I didn’t need the typical dry brush. That, and metallics tend to move around better than regular acrylics.

The goal is to have a lot of depth and dimension so you want part of the basecoat to show thru, adding to that depth.

For smooth areas, like the facial skin and neck, you need the tiniest amount of paint, and then swirl the brush, almost scrubbing the paint into the piece to get a mottled look.

You want to avoid any obvious brush strokes.

This is a good example of the different surfaces – the smoothness of the fabric and the rough surface of the base.

It’s easier to get an obvious dimensional effect on rough surfaces. On smooth areas, just be sure to use as dry a brush as possible and scrub the paint in, using a swirling motion.

If you get too much paint in an area, take a damp cloth and wipe a bit of the paint off. Let that area dry and then try again with less paint.

This bird shows the beauty of the matte metallic by Modern Masters. All the richness of a metallic, but not an over abundance of sheen, which can ruin a faux finish. Or at least, make it look less authentic.

I tried some craft acrylic metallics (in bronze) prior to receiving the Modern Masters matte metallic. What a difference! Not just the coloration, but look how shiny it is. Totally different look in the two brands of paint.

After dry brushing one coat of antique bronze, I considered adding a different color, hoping for some stronger highlights and extra dimension.

I poured a few craft acrylic metallics onto my palette, not having any Modern Masters in warm tones.

Um . . . no. Even with dry brushing, I was afraid the richness of the matte metallic would be lost underneath these strong sheens.

So I just added more Antique Bronze, building up layers in targeted areas.

Can you see the difference? It’s subtle and the camera doesn’t pick up the sheen as well as in person.

Using the same color and building layers was definitely the way to get a beautiful bronze patina.

Of course, it’s hard to see the depth in the sunlight, but that’s where he’ll be – outdoors in the sun.

St. Francis is holding the bird bath/fountain and the solar component is housed in the bowl so the fountain only bubbles if it’s in direct sun.

Since the fountain will be outside, I sealed it with a spray lacquer rather than a poly clear coat. Lacquer has always held up better for me.

Although, since it’s made of some type of resin, we won’t leave it out when the temps dip below freezing..

Which is fine, since Mom is in love with this guy.

Oh wait . . . can you be in love with a saint?

I meant that she’s in love with the paint finish on this guy. Yeah, that’s it.

But just to be on the safe side, better sneak in a little extra ‘therapy’ and see what Target has new for Spring.

Colleen

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