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I have been blessed to work with some of the most talented artists in the furniture paint world. I learn and grow because of who I am surrounded by every day. This week I attempted to paint like Q Uitta Allen of All Shabbed Out in Dennison Texas. Here is just one of her pieces, it literally made my jaw drop.

Oh the layers of green!

Then I saw these at Home Depot and the color combination just jumped out at me and said, “Debi you should try to paint something with these colors.”

I called Q Uitta and asked her if she would share some of her painting techniques… she told me in her southern accent… ” You don’t need me girl, you do you”

Heavy sigh… my determination set in, I said to myself, “ok… I can figure this out, I’ll just try everything in the book until I get her look!”, and began my #quittahack video project.

Watch and see if I did it or not…

I should say that Q Uitta told me that she did not want to be cracked/hacked and I totally respect that. It took me years before I felt safe sharing any of my secrets. Most artists struggle to earn a living, yet we continue to work because it’s the love of creativity that drives us. I’ve found a way to share and pay the bills but I know it’s a very personal choice. To know Q Uitta is to adore her, this video is more about sharing Q’s talent than trying to hack her. As I write this, it happens to be her birthday! But by the time I post, it most likely will be passed. However, please help me wish her a good day by liking her FB page and telling her I sent you.

Here’s what the bar server looked like before I began my hack and a few tips that I didn’t share in the video…

I used Kissing Booth, Bohemian Blue and Gypsy Green for this finish.

 mix a few Spoons of Bohemian Blue into Kissing Booth until it’s the shade of Purple that you like. You can create a very warm purple all the way to an almost black eggplant depending on how much Boho Blue you add in.

I also deepened Gypsy Green with a little bit of Bohemian Blue.

The shade varies according to how much blue is added, start slow, it’s easier to add more than start over.

I then put the paint in my freezer for a few hours… disclaimer, every paint will react differently to freezing, some formulas could separate and never bind back together. *I only know how DIY Paint reacts to freezing, I have not tried other types of paint. 

I went to the craft store and purchased every kind of tool I could think of that would help me flatten out the paint. As I said in the video, Q Uiita and Dionne from The Turquoise Iris also paint on canvas, they approach their furniture like a blank canvas, so I reasoned that I should try to layer colors with a pallet knife and minimize the brush strokes.

Here’s a list of what I used…For a complete supply list with links to purchase check out my Amazon links HERE.

Pallet Knives

Rubber Squeegee and Brayer

Stencil Sponges

Water Bottle

Cotton Rags

Sandpaper

Sanding Sponge

Freezing the paint makes it thicker and more spreadable, it works like a plaster or a putty so you can build texture. As shown in the video. I applied the paint alternating between a variety of tools, sponges and methods to get this look.

I have to say my project looks nothing like Q’s work, and she told me when she watched the video, “you did not crack me but i’m going to Hobby Lobby to buy all the tools now!”

I am very happy with my finish,and i’m just going to have to keep trying to hack my dear friend or beg her to teach a workshop at DIY Bootcamp next fall.

What do you think? Have you tried the ‘blendy, spray-bottle, layered-up-look’ yet?

Most of what I did here I learned from The turquoise Iris, and she has some wonderful tutorials, to see those click HERE.

If you have not yet subscribed to the blog or my youtube, I would love it if you did. My resolution for 2018 is to post a new video every week, stay tuned there will be lots of fun coming!

Sincerely,

Debi