The original concept for the walls
was the iridescent
silver-blue-white of mother-of-pearl, as if the occupant were a pearl
resting inside an oyster An alternative concept was the sense of
being under shimmering water. The beautiful medalion-like form of
scallop shells was envisioned as a
keynote of the space or as border above. In general, special effects for wall
treatments start with a base color over which glazes or thinned
paints of one or more other colors are applied, and iridescence is
achieved through the use of metallic
paints. In this case, a soft light blue called Flemish Blue was
chosen and the walls painted.
A
variety of applicators for the glazes may be used ranging from
rags to sponges, and a number of special applicators are commonly
available in hardware stores these days, now that creative wall
treatments have become popular. In this case the speckled effect
attained with a sponge was decided through experimentation.
Note
the use of silver and bronze metallic paints. Metallic
powders are available in specialty paint stores, artist supply stores,
etc., and are mixed with a base designed for this purpose, or with
polyurethane in this case diluted about half and half with water
. The silver was then sponged lightly over the entire blue
undercoat, carefully turning the sponge in various directions to avoid
a repetitious pattern.
