This striking side table began life as a solid wood vintage Early American style nightstand. I painted it a deep navy blue and created faux marble surfaces in shades of grey on both the top and lower shelves. This is a trompe l’oeil piece of art work, where everything looks real enough to pick up! On the upper surface I depicted items collected on a visit to Japan; There is a sophisticate navy colored fan, and a pair of chopsticks encased in a fabric sheath, secured by a braided knot. I added three glass marbles through which you can see light shinning. I folded a crane and a swallow from paper purchased in Tokyo to use as models to paint the two Origami birds on the lower shelf. This unique table is currently for sale for $450 plus shipping. The top is 14″ X 16″ and it stands 27″ tall.Please contact me through this site if you are interested in this table or perhaps a custom painted item. |
Tag Archives: Faux marble
Cake Plate on a Side Table
This charming side table began life as an Early American style nightstand. I painted it a cool grey and created a faux marble surface on both the top and lower shelf. On the upper surface I depicted a delicate trompe L’oeil china cake plate with a butter knife, as if crackers and cheese had just been consumed. I left the back corner of the top marble surface free for a lamp as the client asked. On the lower shelf I painted my favorite children’s book, a little battered with love just as my own copy is. (To my delight, my toddler granddaughter tried very hard to pick it up!!) Serendipitously I found a graceful vintage handle to replace the original clunky wooden one. I think it matches my plate perfectly, don’t you agree?
Pearls on Pale Green Faux Marble Table
This graceful small side table was brought to me by a client to embellish with Trompe L’oeil pearls and shells. She handed me a piece of striped fabric to guide my color scheme and I was off and running. I used a favorite bug pin from my own collection as a model for the ‘clasp’ on the casually piled string of pearls. The gold and garnet fly also represents my signature insect. The table top (27″ X 11″) is painted as faux marble in soft greens with just a few delicate lines threading through it. To keep the illusion of real marble, I even painted the underside of the tabletop, so it would look like an actual piece of stone when you turn the table upside down. Loose pearls of various natural hues sit in a shell on the lower shelf which is painted a solid Sea-foam blue.
Pansies on a Faux Marble Box
This project began as a simple wooden box with no hardware. The flowers are painted life size. I wanted the Pansies to have all the varied attitudes of the real world. There are buds, seed pods and fading blossoms as well as wide open ‘faces’! Of course there is a visiting honey bee near one long edge. This is Trompe L’oeil; The marble is not real. The clasp is not real, nor are the hinges. The cover still lifts off to open! The photo of the ‘block’ of marble is the underside of the box.