My client liked my antique Dutch black finish, but wanted to customize it for his vintage Smokey the Bear poster. Instead of the traditional red undercoat, could we more closely match Smokey’s golden brown fur? And could we pull back more of the black so more brown was peeking through? If not me, who? I think that’s what custom framing is for. I used Burnt Sienna casein under the black and put just a little more elbow grease behind the steel wool. The poster was a piece of buckling chipboard, but I was able to mount it without adhesives using a few tabs of 90lb. watercolor paper hidden by the mat. I love when clients push me to create unique finishes.
