Little Gilding Job on a Huge Frame

I have been fortunate to get another great gilding job for Antique Refinishers, inc. in San Diego.

The client who sponsored me years ago to learn gilding had a huge painting, one of those with the gold background with a huge dark walnut frame.

He asked us to add some gold to it to tie it more to the painting. We proposed different versions using photoshop.

The third one was selected with water gilding on the inside carving “entrelac” with burnishing on the highlights and oil on the outside rail and bead ornement.

We were able to take of the inside elements without problem, because water gilding means you really wet the place when gilding and no finish really likes it. We had to do numerous repairs especially on those delicate rails and beads decoration. Those are so hard to turn when you are not a turner.

Applying gold leaf on the clay

Then the pieces are burnished on the highlights

Then the rail and bead were oil gilded with gold leaf also. wear and tare and dirt were added, and I kinda like the result from that

to that

-- Patrice lejeune

At Last, Still Life Marquetry

This picture as a story I find interesting.

Around 2000 I was coming back from work, a workshop in Paris suburbs when my high was attracted by an an old battered drawing portfolio in the trash. I looked at it and found century old studies from a Beaux-Arts student of the 1900 period. Novel art style tiles, studies, and water colors. Among them a watercolor of this dried leaf.

I was inexperience at marquetry, I knew how to cut fairly well, but had only done classical flowers and repairs. I thought this drawing was just perfect for an etude as I just had to follow the color code to create a piece.

When I was done with the marquetry, the color the shape of the pieces everything was similar to the watercolor but it did not work at all on marquetry.

This experience taught me something essential, each media got his character and a way to be read.

I cannot show you the original watercolor as I left it in France and I can not show you also the first marquetry as it is long gone in the trash. But I brought the first marquetry drawing along with me in the US and redrew it, this time thinking marquetry. The result is now more convincing because I drew it as a marquetry, changing slightly the lines, the colors etc.

In addition I asked Kristen Arrivee, our Art teacher at the American School of French Marquetry, to do a calligraphy to frame the piece in words.

I wanted to share that little story with you, as I have been asked some tips on marquetry drawing, and for me that was the first big lesson on the subject. It is not a problem to fail on a project and if that happened or if you are not totally happy, you can learn a great deal by rethinking it and redo it. Just like cutting, you will refine your work get more precise confortable and happy by doing so.

This baby got me a second place at the design in wood show in 2010

Art Institute of Chicago Marquetry Demonstration

Couple months ago a film crew from the Art Institute of Chicago came by the workshop to film the process to create marquetry.

We demonstrated 2 different techniques from renown cabinet makers, Boulle and Roentgen.

In order to show our appreciation to the AIC patron who made this videos possible, helping putting the trades in light, we decided to create a token using the same techniques and style we demonstrated.

Here is the result.
Ebony brass Boulle marquetry for the frame, ebony and purple-heart molding, Walnut and died hornbeam for the Roentgen marquetry.