At The Coal Face

I am not sure if this is a phrase used the world over, so here it is explained:

Idiom Definitions for 'At the coalface' - If you work at the coalface, you deal with the real problems and issues, rather than sitting in a office discussing things in a detached way.

Is this my excuse for not producing wonderful images of a mural that I should be well on with...hmmmm probably. For those that don't know what I am talking about you can read more here http://decoratescotland.blogspot.com/2011/03/if-i-post-it-here-i-will-have-to-do-it.html. I really have been working at the coalface though ...honest. Almost every single job that we have worked on in the last two weeks has over-run, and that of course pushes other jobs to the side and the poor mural has been the job to suffer.

So you want pictures. OK, OK, here's one of the jobs I have been tackling....it's another matching job

The before - hardboard and pine panelling added round the top of the room. Wooden pelmets too. All need to be matched to the turn of the arts and crafts timber in the room.

Befores

This is a delightfully austere Arts and Crafts home. That sounds like a contradiction in terms. It has austerity about it, the original features are intact, but the owners, with the help of interior designer Iona Drummond Murray have softened it just enough to make it really homely yet not lost a bit of its character. 

So here's half way - this is where the base coat has the figuring (the pattern of the grain)

half way - underglazing

 And this is the finished product

OK...so you know wome of what was painted but...can you tell all of what was painted?? Why did this job over-run? Mainly because the colours were incredibly hard to match to, the wood changed so much from one area to the next.

I will post a bit more about what I have been doing...let me gather my pictures.