Sunday, April 3, 2011

How To Age A Brand New Cement Statue

My favorite statues are those that look like they've been there forever. They sport mossy nooks and stains from rainwater, and they are worn around the edges.  Any statue left in a shady moist environment long enough will take on this look with time.  But the time component is the kicker.  We aren't talking one year, or even two, but many many many years, and I just don't have that sort of patience.  And, apparently, I don't have the patience to wait around and find the perfectly seasoned statue at an estate sale.

Now some people like bright white statues, so this 'how to' is definitely not for you, as I'm sure you'll be of the opinion that it looked better before.  However for those of you who like the look of aged, and have an urn, fountain or statue which is still looking like it stepped off the showroom floor, I have a cheat for you.

Here's what you'll need:
-Little tubes of acrylic paint.  Black, a mossy (not bluish) green, and potentially a brown.
-A kitchen sponge
-Water
-a 3-4 cup container (nonstaining)

Mix a few cups of water with just a dollop (like half a teaspoon) of the green paint.  Mix well.  If you are a nervous nelly feel free to make the mixture even more watered down, because this is permanent so you can always add, but you cannot take away.

Take the sponge and totally soak it into the stain and then start squeezing it above the statue letting gravity and the natural shape of the figure dictate where the water will run.  This is what is going to give you the most natural effect, just as it would had the drippings from a tree been the agent.  I did this 3-4 times over with the light green concoction.

Repeat this process with a dollop of 1/3 green and 2/3s black.  I did these a little more sparsely, but with the same method, over the top of the statues head in order to simulate how this really happens.   Do not be alarmed if the initial effect while wet seems sort of dark and streaky.  It dries much lighter.

Finally, if you like the slightly rust colors that occasionally show up in nooks and crannies repeat the process with a medium brown/burnt sienna mixed tone.   I did this very sparsely, literally one spongeful.

And voila: brand spanking new off the show room floor statue looking quite a few years older than she did 30 minutes ago, without that fake "applied by the manufacturer" look.   I am going to leave her at this point and let nature take over from here.

Before
After

ps. if you hadn't noticed by now: I did it! Finally, I got a statue!  It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but it was very cheap and I just had to go ahead and bite the bullet.  Mission accomplished, as I like her and to me she doesn't look out of place or gaudy, and will only look better when the clematis and jasmine vines behind her fill in.  Phew. Good thing because she weighs 200 pounds easy.

30 comments:

  1. look at that! what a great "after." pretty statue -- i am glad you decided on that one. also enjoyed your book recommendations in another post, by the way. there were several i hadnt heard of.

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  2. Jess, Love the statue you chose and your aging work is really nice - looks ancient and lovely :)

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  3. Jess, this is a wonderful job you did on your new statue. It really looks old. Does the acrylic paint weather well? Will water wash it off? I never tried this outside before without a matte poly finish.

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  4. Congratulations on getting your statue! She looks great "on site" and that aging technique is pure genius (and makes it look very nice against the white fence)--way to go!

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  5. I love the statue you chose, Jess and the paint treatment really makes a difference. Nice job!

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  6. Thanks everyone,
    Acrylic paints are pretty darn permanent once they dry (they are similar to latex), and will not wash off with water. Think of it as similar to your exterior house paint. While wet it will clean up easily, once dry forget it. And into a porous surface it makes it even more so.

    I wanted to mention that I dried it between each color to check my work, and the pictures you see are from step 2 with the green/black mix. The light green mix was applied heavily, and up close you can see a very very light greenish tint all over, which really does make the effect.

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  7. Love your statue! She is beautiful. I love the aged treatment you gave her. I am a 'nervous nelly' and not sure I could ever be so bold! But it does look better than the stark white. I have a statue I 'should' do this to, but not sure I have the courage. Maybe I could do a water-based wash first, then if I decided, I could do the same with the permanent.

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  8. HollyGarden - you can always do a test run on something else... any cement that isn't sealed. A cement tile for instance? Cheap and easy to find. That said, it is really hard to mess this up, just don't force it to drip in places that normally wouldn't get stained via rain from overhead. Somehow the eye knows the difference.

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  9. Love the new statue! I'm very impressed with the aging technique too, the statue turned out beautifully!

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  10. It is a beautiful statue and you did a great job aging it. Thanks for telling us how.

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  11. Clever! She looks much better to me a little 'aged'. another way of cheating is to paint yogurt over the statue which rapisly encourages mosses and lichens to give a natural effect. Christina

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  12. I adore the after shot! Thanks for sharing...and oh to weigh 200 pounds and have a figure like that, now there's a dream!

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  13. A bird with her clothes on and a bucket on her sshoulder?

    Oh Jess, you do disappoint me!

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  14. I read somewhere once that you could encourage moss/algae etc to grow on things by washing over them with a solution of (butter) milk and soil. If you mash some existing mosses/algae in there, it'll probably happen even faster!

    Here's a how-to post that might be helpful:
    http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-grow-moss-in-a-flagstone-walkway

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  15. Beautiful, and she's even clothed! At first I wasn't sure about faking it but you did a beautiful job. she looks wonderful. you've converted me.

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  16. A very cool way to 'age' the lady.

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  17. OK, I sooo want a statue, actually I have wanted one for ages, just can't find one I like. Great ageing job, looks very natural.

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  18. Stop by my blog. You are the recipient of the “Stylish Bloggers Award”. This high honor comes with much responsibility and a nifty emblem. jim

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  19. I definitely think you should mix up some moss and buttermilk in the blender and dump it over your statue to add the mossy look to what you have already done. Then you will be able to make a fortune selling it as an antique, and you can afford a real antique statue :).

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  20. Hi Jess! What did you think of that storm in the wee hours of the morning? Hope you survived safely. My doggie was so scared!

    Anyway, I almost flew to the moon when I saw my very first comment! (and here I thought I was still hidden lol) I was so excited, thank you so very much! I loved what you wrote too!

    I'll be back !

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  21. Wow that statue certainly fits its environs! You're so resourceful and creative, i am sure this sharing is very useful for those who need it.

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  22. Wow!!! This is one of the best aging projects I've ever seen! It looks AMAZING! Great job!

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  23. Wow - good for you that you got you a statue. I'm wanting one too. I like the after shot of her.

    Thanks for coming by for a visit. I'll be back for more of your lovely blog.

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  24. Hi Jess. Great advice. I've been using diluted paint on concrete and as "stain" for fencing for years. One just goes slow, and layers, and steps back. And it lasts. Huge difference... wonderfully aged look. Trish

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  25. Welcome
    Thanks to you I did the old statues. Also I did.
    I like the old ones. Thanks

    foto http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/3381/sdsss.jpg

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  26. Hrabia - Your welcome!!! I like them older looking too. That is one impressive looking LARGE statue you've got there.

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  27. love this! i'm writing a garden blog for the Home Depot and will be doing a piece on how to age a garden statue. thanks for the how-to!

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  28. Genius! As I read this, I had one of my 'duh, why didn't I think of this' moments. I am glad I found your blog... I was Googeling how to age cement statues and, tah-dah there you were. Happy to be a new follower.

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  29. Perfect technique. So logical! Now, where did you come by your sweet statue?

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