Impressionistic Bedroom Walls

Home decor continues to fascinate me. I am so wired to create order and beauty in my surroundings.  And I can't leave well enough alone. 


This bedroom had walls that were cream colored and the whole ambience was asthetically peaceful, breezy, light on light. Like a tropical room complete with mosquito netting over the bed. The time came for a change and a sense settled in me as to what direction to go. So got some latex paint and some rags and mostly my hands, and got at it to create an impressionistic ambience. Almost like stepping into an Old World Monet. 

The rule is, most of the time, to do dark over light. But I (mostly) prefer to do light over dark... it goes cloudy and cool, so you warm it up. With just three or four colors you can make it look like so many as the depth is amazing. It is more 'impressionistic' whereas the dark over light is more 'renaissance'.

This wall was created by starting with a dark olive that looked like something unmentionable :). I wanted light and airy and impressionistic but I needed an interesting dark color to come through all the successive light layers. Starting with the olive and lightening it with white and cream created a bluish tinge. Layered next a brick color and yellow ochre on that olive, then used lighter versions of both with the addition of cream paint and white to successive layers. Adding a touch of lightened magenta paint here and there completed the work.

The image on the wall is done with oil glazes.