Antique hunting is an exciting and often profitable adventure. You may be looking for that one piece of furniture that completes a room, a decorative highlight or accessory, or perhaps a hidden treasure that can be turned around for profit. Antiques are often wonderful assets, whose value holds strong for centuries. There are many reasons for antique hunting, as individual as the collectors themselves.

A real passion for history leads some to follow an item into the past, in search of how it was used, by whom and exactly when. Seeing how the times have changed since long ago is amazing, when you study an object that originated generations past. The connection between today and that time can be felt through the collecting process. Somehow, a simple item can transport you back to another era.

There are a lot of people that love to search yard and estate sales, as well as thrift stores and mom-and-pop shops, challenged by the quest to find a bargain or unknown gem. A little knowledge can go a long way in recognizing a true rarity and knowing it’s value.

Some antique hunters are more business oriented, looking only for those items that will be easily re-sold for a nice profit. The thrill of the hunt may not stand out as much as the thrill of the turnover, but don’t think for a minute that these hunters are any less fascinated by the stories many antiques can tell.

In the antique market today the most popular items to collect include china, pottery, glassware and furniture, although people hunt for almost every imaginable item. Basically, anything that is more than one hundred years old is considered an antique, so something that has lasted at least that long is collectible, and perhaps valuable as well. Keep in mind, however, that some things are very, very old, but if there is not a demand for it, you may not be able to bring in a profit from selling it. This of course, doesn’t matter at all if you are seeking something for your own personal use, and find enjoyment in it whether it is a popular market or not. Some of the other items many people are on the lookout for are keys, coins, books and toys.

To be a successful collector, you need to know what your market is. If you are interested in collecting coins, for instance, you should do enough research to learn which kinds of coins are worth investing in, which ones are rare, and those that will not prove to be valuable at all. Become your own expert in the field you select, so that you can spot an authentic item as opposed to one that is not old, or is a copy. An imitation may be a great form of flattery for the real thing, but it won’t bring you much profit, so be sure you can tell the difference.

Antique hunting can become an obsession, and fill many hours with exciting searches. Whether you are serious about antiquing for profit, or just for your own enjoyment, give yourself the knowledge to help you be able to find just what you are looking for, and know it when you see it!

By Cherry Huang

Have you ever wanted to paint beautiful, expressive paintings with oils? Here are some basics to guide you into the wonderful world of oil paints. Once you’ve got the basic techniques down, the world is your canvas!

1.Choose a place to work where there is good ventilation. A window or door can be opened, or good ventilation can be turned on, and/or you have a fairly open space where air can circulate and move around. If you paint outside, remember that you will need to set up securely so the wind won’t blow things over. Note that insects, especially bees,love Citrus Thinner.

2.Adjust your easel so that you can easily touch the painting surface without bending down or standing on tip-toes while holding the brush. Hold your brush at or behind the bulge behind its ferrule (the silver part). You will stand for hours, so make sure you won’t strain your back. Standing is better than sitting, but if you must sit, paint at arm’s length from the easel.

3.Put down a drop cloth, plastic bag, or tarp. Secure the edges with masking tape to keep it from bunching up or blowing away. Your work area is going to stand entirely on the drop cloth, so make sure you have covered enough area to have plenty of elbow room. If you plan on working at a table with a table easel, cover the floor below you and the table top.

4.Put on your painting clothes.

5.Set up your paints. Have enough room for your palette, brushes and palette knife, solvent and solvent/oil containers, rags and paint tubes to be comfortably displayed, readily available for you to use.

6.Paint. This part really depends on what you want to produce. However, there are certain things to keep in mind no matter what you’re painting.

For example, oil paints have a short blending life on the canvas. It is not hard to turn an area into a dull brown mud spot if there are a lot of repetitive layers and alterations made. If you try to alter something and it doesn’t work immediately, grab a rag and wipe it off. All the paint from that area will come off.

Oils take a while to dry, so you have time to remove paint for almost 24 hours after the application. Just like any other paint, if you make the first coat too thick, it won’t dry all the way.

7.Clean the brushes well between color changes. When you are ready to remove paint from your brush and use a different color, wipe as much paint off with a rag as you can before putting the brush into the thinner. This will make your thinner last longer and will remove more paint from the brush. Swish your brush in the thinner container, then dry it off with a rag.

8.Give your work of art its space. When the first layer is complete, it will be about 48 hours before it will be dry enough to do the second application without smearing your first day’s work. Don’t leave your work in an area that is especially hot, or humid, and keep it in an area where it won’t get smeared, scraped, touched, brushed up against, smooshed, etc.

9.If there is a good amount of paint left on your palette that can be used next time, use your palette knife to scrape the “good” paint together, then dampen a clean rag with thinner just slightly and wipe the rest of your palette clean. Use a piece of saran wrap to cover the leftover paint, wrapping it fairly snug.

10.Wipe dirty brushes off as much as possible with clean rags and then swish in the thinner, until there doesn’t appear to be paint coming off of the brush.

11.Put the lid on the thinner container and leave it until next time, regardless of how cloudy it is. When the thinner settles, the pigment in the paint goes to the bottom, and clean thinner settles on top. The next time you want to paint, you can pour the clean thinner into a clean container, wipe the pigment from the bottom, then pour the thinner back into your thinner container,this process saves a lot of money!

Share my experience Here,Sincerely to get your comments. Confidence, Believing, We will be happy and beautiful

http://www.1paintings.com by Cherry Huang

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cherry_Huang
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Paint-on-Canvas&id=6550073

There are several ways to create distressed painted furniture. The first step is to discover the model of the painted furniture and to locate the distressed areas in the furniture. Painting with two colors graciously serves in providing new look to the furniture.

Top coating of the furniture makes the rubbed areas to look better. Sanding of the distressed furniture assists in providing good and new look to the furniture. Sanding processes should be tacked with cloth to remove the extra dirt from the furniture and offers glossy look. The wood exposed in the distressed areas of the furniture could be cleared by painting with the topcoat paint.

The paint for the furniture could be selected according to the color in the specified room and provides great contrast. The painting of topcoat covers the distressed and affected areas in the furniture. Topcoat paint should be selected with brighter colors, and it promotes look for the furniture. After painting the distressed furniture the base coat should let to dry and after that the areas should be sanded off to provide smoothness.

Rubbing of candle wax in the places of holes to be visibly seen promotes a clean covering for the furniture. Filling of candle wax with great colors promote attraction of the furniture the entire sides and back of the furniture should be cleanly waxed and painted with topcoat and base coat to provide a complete finish to the distressed furniture. This process makes the furniture look great and provides a lovely antique appearance.

How to Give a “Distressed” Look to a Picture Frame

It seems everyone is incorporating the “distressed” look into their home decor. The distressed photo frame is simple to make, takes little time, and adds to any room in the house.

All you’ll need to complete this project is:
1. One plain, inexpensive picture frame. You can use a frame you already have around your home or purchase one from your local discout retailer.

2. One can of white or off white spray paint or another light color.

3. Some type of sharp object such as an old kitchen knife.

4. A few small rags.

Start by laying some newspaper down on the surface you will be painting on and work in a well ventilated area. Remove the glass from your frame and set it aside. Spray one coat of paint onto the frame a let this coat dry completely. Don’t worry about coating the frame completely or evenly, this just adds to the “distressed” look.

Once the first coat is dry, apply another coat of paint and wipe gently with a clean rag. Let the frame dry. Next you will use your sharp object to scratch away at the paint on the corners and/or edges of the frame. Some scratches should mar only the surface, while others can go as deep as to penetrate into the wood of the frame.
Finally, just add your favorite photo the your new “distressed” frame, and enjoy!

Trash Art

Trash art is finding new and inventive ways for recycling those things you normally throw away. Where some people see trash, others see art. And, in some art, some people will only see a pile of meaningless trash. So, what’s the difference? Maybe it’s just in the eye of the beholder or artist. Maybe it’s simply a matter of opening our minds to new and unique ways of doing and seeing things.

Trash art has been around for many years, and it seems to make a comeback from time to time. But it seems that only the more eccentric or popular artists are viewed as true artists when working with items normally discarded in the trash pile.

Why can’t the average person be considered an artist, when they pull the same items out and mold them into some form of personal art of their own creating? Maybe it’s because we all have our own pre-set ideas of what art is, and isn’t, or who artists are, or should be. After all, how would you feel if one of your neighbors or coworkers saw you prowling around in some dumpster or trash pile? Would they think less of you? Would you care?

Whether you choose to recycle for fun, play, art or environmental preservation, there is plenty to be done with the rising piles of garbage our society throws out every single day. Just do a little research and digging, and let your inner child out to play. You might be very surprised at the real value in some of the items you run across. And, you might be fortunate enough to fashion some clever new household item or decoration out of yesterday’s trash.

Use your imagination – that’s your only limitation.