Arsenic and Old Paint
Page 28
“I don’t see a lot of other options. You and Frank—”
“What are you, being noble all of a sudden?”
“I’ve been noble before.”
“Have not.”
“Have, too. I happen to have a very wide noble streak.”
“Do not.”
“Do, too.”
“This is stupid. It’s insane. There’s got to be another way. I don’t want to hear another word, you hear me? I just have to find those paintings—”
“And somehow prove that the brethren took them to set up the crime.”
“Right, and that, too. And then everything will be fine.”
He fixed me with his gaze. “You tracked down the Gauguin, figured out how Elijah died, and fingered the people responsible for assaulting your uncle and murdering Kyle Jones. You found Hermes. You even helped expose the Fleming-Union’s past so they’ll cough up some money for Cameron House. All of which was done at great personal risk to your health. I think you’ve done enough.”
“So all I have to do now is find those other paintings.”
“Forget the goddamned paintings!”
I was taken aback. Michael never yelled.
“I’m sorry, but for Christ’s sake, Annie, drop it. You’ll never find them. If the brethren are smart, and they are, they destroyed them already, anyway. None of those boys is going to offer a confession; they understood the message from Elijah’s death tableau loud and clear, and none of them has a death wish.” He shrugged again. “Anyway, I’m not really cut out for this kind of life.”
“What kind of life?”
“Working in an office everyday, meeting with my parole officer, reporting to the FBI. I’m more a self-employed, footloose and fancy-free, party-of-one kind of guy.”
The dawning realization: he wanted to leave. He wanted to leave me.
He came over to me, pulled me to him, and kissed me. Instantly I forgot what we were talking about. Michael was like crack: he made me lose track of everything, and only made me want more.
When he finally lifted his head, we were both breathing hard.
“Maybe you should come with me,” he said.
“Yeah, right.”
“I’m serious, Annie. Haven’t you ever just wanted to embrace the lifestyle, enjoy yourself, free of restraint...?”
I swallowed hard. The temptation was always there. I shook my head. “I really hate jail. And I barely survive police interrogations. Somehow I don’t think I’m up for a prison sentence.”
“It won’t come to that. You have my personal guarantee.”
“You can’t make that kind of promise. You’ll be on the lam from the FBI, unless I miss my guess. If I go AWOL, why would I do it with someone who’s already a wanted man?”
He fixed me with his intense green gaze for a long moment.
“Is all of this because of me and Frank?” I asked. “Because I’m not even sure—”
“I really don’t want to think about you and Frank, if it’s all the same to you.”
“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid, Michael,” I said. “This is just talk, right? You’ll be here at the office tomorrow, right? Promise me.”
He kissed me again.
“Promise. See you tomorrow.”
And he was gone.
Annie’s Guide to Antiquing with Craquelure
Porcelain-like cracks that instantly “age” painted surfaces and decoupage
Supplies and Equipment:
Oil-based “antiquing” varnish, or regular artists’ oil varnish
Water-based gum arabic
Antiquing oil glaze (1/3 mineral spirits, 1/3 linseed oil or oil painting medium, 1/3 paint), tinted with artists’ oil colors
Soft varnish brushes
Glaze brush
Rags
Craquelure is the French word for the network of fine cracks often found on the surface of old oil paintings. The cracks result from the layers of paint and varnish drying and shrinking in uneven patterns for decades, eventually pulling away from each other. Over time, the cracks fill with dirt and dust, creating the distinctive “antiqued” look of Old Master paintings.
To mimic this crackle, we apply an oil-based varnish that dries slowly, and top it with a water-based finish that dries quickly. As the two drying times react, the top layer pulls away from itself to form delicate cracks. The result is a beautiful effect that instantly ages and unifies painted surfaces—try it over paintings, painted furniture, cabinets, decoupage, even entire walls!
Make sure the painted surface is completely dry. This surface may be of any paint type. Apply varnish as evenly as possible, using an appropriate brush, and making sure to check from all sides to be sure that you see the glint of wet varnish all over. It’s easy to accidentally miss a spot.
When the varnish is dry enough to pass the back of your knuckle over it without sticking, lightly apply the gum arabic over the varnish.
Leave in a warm area for cracking to develop as drying occurs; to speed the process and increase the number of cracks, try applying heat with a hair dryer. Allow the surface to harden for at least an hour after cracking occurs.
Apply an antiquing glaze, using thinned artists’ oil paints. Typical colors include raw or burnt umber for a dark “dirty” look; raw sienna for a golden sheen; or a whitish-gray to stand out over dark backgrounds. Apply the color with a brush or rag and then rub it into the cracks with a rag, using a circular motion. Wipe excess glaze from the surface with a rag, or leave a light glaze for a unifying tint. Color will remain in the cracks, highlighting them. Always use an oil-based glaze for this stage, as a water-based glaze will re-activate the gum arabic and destroy the cracks. (Forgers sometimes mix fine dust from a vacuum cleaner bag with linseed oil, and rub this in rather than a paint glaze. That way if the material is tested, it will mimic the kind of environmental dirt that fills the cracks of real oil paintings over the course of time.)
When thoroughly dry, top the surface with an oil-based varnish to protect it.
*Tip: Remember, this is art, not science! This process is temperamental and dependent upon room temperature, humidity, and varnish thickness. As a rule of thumb, the thicker the oil-based varnish, the bigger and more spaced-out the cracks; the thinner, the more delicate the craquelure. Other than controlling this aspect of the process, there is very little you can do to affect the overall outcome of the cracks, other than to apply heat. But if you look at true antique oil paintings, you’ll see that the craquelure patterns vary over different colors of paint and portions of the picture. Just sit back and let it do its thing!
About the Authors
Hailey Lind is the pseudonym of two sisters, one a historian and the other an artist.
Carolyn J. Lawes (left) is an associate professor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where she specializes in nineteenth-century U.S. history, with a particular interest in women’s history.
Julie Goodson-Lawes (right) is a writer, muralist, and portrait painter who has run her own faux-finishing and design business in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than a decade. She also writes two other mystery series under the name Juliet Blackwell.
The sisters take advantage of free cell phone minutes on weekends and the magic of e-mail to write the Art Lover’s Mysteries as a team. Feint of Art was nominated for an Agatha Award in 2007.
Hailey Lind welcomes visitors and e-mail at www.haileylind.com and www.artloversmysteries.blogspot.com.
Also by Hailey Lind
Feint of Art
Shooting Gallery
Brush with Death
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