Faded Grandeur with Jonathon Marc Mendes

Today we’re doing something a little different. We are showcasing the art of Jonathan Marc Mendes. This talented painter from England has set the furniture painting world on fire with his style and technique.

Even a brief look at his Instagram account shows the breadth of his talent. Many artists paint in just one style or stay with a  similar colorway. Not so for Jonathan. All styles, all colors, and all techniques blend for a marvelous diversity.

Ok, I don’t have enough adjectives to convey how talented he is. But just when you think you’ve seen it all this globe-trotting painting rock star has opened up his teaching talent with online classes.

Now with a little bit of practice and some of the best tutorial I have ever watched you too can learn to paint like well… Painted Love.

His first tutorial is free and is a superb marbling lesson. The rest of his complete how-to series is well worth the cost. it will show you how to repurpose an old piece of furniture into a timeless classic.

I took the tutorial on Faded Grandeur. I guess since we make detailed historical moldings that make sense. (Note here this is not a sponsored post. I just bought the class like everyone else.) I really loved the colorway he used.

After watching it a couple of times, I decided to try the tutorial with a small side table. It had one Efex R16 already attached, and I was working on the painting side of our projects.

Wow, it was, and it was fun. Playing and pausing my computer while I painted I worked through each of the steps.

The result was so natural and so much better than I thought was achievable in the first round.

And that little R16 rosette has never looked so good.

What do you think? Today I am revamping an existing Trumeau mirror using the same ideas only this time a different colorway. Stay tuned for our next example of faded grandeur.

xoxo Lydia