Ophelia Antique Dresser

by The Paint Factory LLC

5 Materials

Advanced

Antique mahogany dresser.

ophelia antique dresser, painted furniture, repurposing upcycling

Regrettably, I don't have a 'before' photo. It's a magnificent piece. Solid, beautiful detailing. Sadly, it had veneer damage on the front. Normally, if a piece of furniture is beautiful 'as-in' (meaning it just needs to light restoring to the wood) I won't paint it. That seems like a crime. I truly wish I could have restored the missing veneer.

Ophelia by John Everett Millais (1852).

I'm a sucker for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. I adore the style of painting. I always loved this image, and it seemed perfect for the piece. My one hesitation about using Ophelia, is that the painting depicts her dying. Would this by a turn-off for potential buyers? Perhaps. But it was a gamble I was prepared to take. If it doesn't sell, I get to keep it. Win-Win.

The image transfer is done using Artisan Enhancements transfer gel. My original print was something like 8x10. I had to have it enlarged by printing out 11x17 tiles, and then piecing them together. It took 15 separate tiles to complete the image. Once the transfer was secure, it took several hours to hand paint any missing areas, and adding detailing/depth to certain areas.

Detailing

My favorite part of finishing a piece is in the detailing. Because Ophelia is surrounded by water, I wanted the detailing to have a true water-damaged patina to them. I used gold leaf, copper leaf to get this effect.

Fortunately, I was able to keep the stained wood top, and two of the drawer fronts. It's a beautiful deep mahogany.

This is one piece that I am particularly happy with. I call it my 'Swan Song' because I am taking time off from doing image transfers for a while. I need to start challenging myself in other areas. Maybe I'll come back to it, maybe I won't. Right now, it feels like a good ending.

Diane at www.facebook.com/thepaintfactory