Awaiting the birth of her second child, expectant mother Laura Kohn employed artist Harriet Love to add a fun, whimsical look to her children's bedrooms. Harriet used a combination of sponge-painting techniques and illustrative painting to create wonderful rooms for the kids. A set of children's blocks provided the inspiration for the patterns painted on the walls. A glazing technique was used to give the background a washed-out blue-sky effect. The glaze was made from a mixture of 2 parts paint, 1 part glaze and 1 part water. Harriet painted a few stripes of color on the wall and moved the paint around with a worn sea sponge (figure A). The more the paint is moved around, the more depth is achieved (figure B). Harriet continued to pick up glaze with the sponge until the surface looked like light-blue sky (figure C). If you try this project yourself, work in one small area at a time, and keep a wet edge so the areas will blend together nicely. When the paint is dry, apply a coat of water-based varnish. The patterns on the wall were painted with the same type of glaze mixture to create a translucent look. The brushstrokes are allowed to show so the work looks hand-painted. Harriet first painted a tree in the corner of the room near the crib. Painted patterns of bears in hot-air balloons and clowns and elephants on closet doors evolved from there.
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