I found out that you can paint with wax. Especially furniture

This weekend I attended a course on using different finishing products than I was used to. A workshop held in a friendly and elegant atmosphere, where the participants bonded - an experience to share. Especially as, among other things, I learned how to reinterpret furniture using techniques more akin to a visual artist.

I'd known about the paints Annie Sloan due to my passion for artificially aged wood, old-looking furniture and the techniques of making it. I also discovered these paints in Romania, but also a desire to share my passion for style and color to inspire people to get creative. I was happy to learn that they organize workshops and decided to attend one of them to learn more about the paints Chalk Paint™ and application techniques.

But first, a few words about Annie Sloan and her journey from fine artist to manufacturer of paints, waxes and other decorative painting materials for the home. After finishing university, Annie worked as a decorator and wall painter, which gave her experience and a lot of knowledge about paints. In 1987 she published "The Complete Book of Decorative Paint Techniques" - The complete book of decorative paint techniques - which quickly became a reference in the field.

Although he tested all sorts of products to work with, he didn't find anything as versatile and easy to apply as he would have liked. That's how she came to think of her own range of paints, which was born in 1990 as Chalk Paint™. To develop the products, Annie used all the knowledge she had gained over the years about paints, colors, pigments and art history.

Now Annie Sloan is one of the most influential designers in the UK and beyond. Since the advent of paint she has traveled the world to introduce and teach paint techniques. There are now over 1700 independent shops in over 50 countries, and Annie continues to lecture and create products and techniques in her studio in Oxford, UK.

Back to Saturday's workshop. It took place at Deco Art and was held by Nana Rădulescu, a lady full of energy and inspiration who learned the techniques directly from Annie Sloan. The theme of the workshop was "Reinterpreting furniture - Stefan Luchian" and the surprise was the participation of Raluca Șerban, a plastic artist who, with patience, managed to bring out the artist in each of us.

The course had two parts, linked by theme and materials.

In part one we tested the paints and waxes, as well as the specialty brushes, which are also Annie Sloan creations. We saw how you can get different textures with the same paint, how you can use the paint as a patina, how you can achieve different effects on wood using wax and how easy it all is to do. We each had our own piece of wood on which we tested and played around applying the paints, both with boar hair brushes made especially in Italy for Annie Sloan, and plastic ones.

The colors chosen were from the color range of anemones, practically linking the first part of the course - the technical part - to the second, the artistic part. After the presentation of the techniques, we were surprised to discover that we could use them to paint on wood or furniture. And that wax can be used to create shadows or to emphasize an outline. With real pedagogical talent Raluca Șerban managed to make us reinterpret Luchian's anemones and believe me, it really worked (to my great surprise).

I had the pleasure of meeting a very talented lady at the workshop who has attended their other classes. Annie Sloan has developed a lot of techniques and it is impossible to teach them in one course. So, she attended several of them and became a real specialist. I saw photos of one of her latest works, an old chair that she has repainted (including the fabric, as these paints can be used on fabric or leather). I asked her to allow me to use the photos to show you the transformation.

She is so passionate about paints and painting techniques that she has set up a blog to showcase her work. For the class she brought a wooden box to which she applied the materials directly. On one side she painted a vase with anemones. The result was spectacular.

I was very excited by what can be done with these paints and waxes, how simple they can be used to redecorate, to reinterpret the furniture in the house, but also by the atmosphere during the course, the discreet background music that accompanied us while we were working, the relationship that was established between us. I am determined to come back to learn other techniques and I will certainly tell you about them.