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Archive for May, 2009

Acrylic Paints are by far the easiest painting products to work with. Acrylic is easy to clean up, it dries quickly and doesn’t run or sag, unless you apply crazy amounts or unless moisture and cold weather gets to it. It’s really easy to apply, spread out and work with.

So really, how hard can it be?

To be honest, for most who have never been taught the basics it can be really difficult. I often cringe when I see non-qualified people painting. Maybe it’s a pride issue, I don’t know and I don’t mean to be harsh, after all they are trying their best, but some of the techniques they use leave a lot to be desired.

Painting the correct way isn’t hard, it just takes a bit of practice, but first we have to see what bad habits you have picked up and what your application techniques actually are. Then I can show you the correct way.

Once you get a few of these basics down and had a little practice, then painting with acrylic will quickly become easy and you will be applying paint with a  professional, quality finish every time. Read the rest of this entry »

Achieving the Look You Want: Veneers and Finishes

During your search for the perfect wall bed, you’ll run into many industry related terms that may throw you for a loop. One of the terms you’ll run into over and over again is ‘veneer’. What is a veneer and how does it play into your purchasing decision? A veneer is essentially a thin layer of material placed over a core panel to provide consumers with benefits that they could not achieve with solid wood alone. Some of these benefits include warp prevention, aesthetics and lower price points. Within the world of wall beds, there are two primary types of veneers on the market: Solid Wood Veneers and Laminate Veneers. Each option has unique pros and cons you should consider.

Solid Wood Veneers

Solid wood veneers involve layering a thin slice of solid wood over a core panel. The core panel may be constructed of plywood, particleboard or medium density fiberboard (MDF). The wood veneer can be finished in several different ways and can be made out of any type of wood which allows you to achieve the exact look you want for your wall bed.

Pros of Solid Wood Veneers

One advantage of using a solid wood veneer is that you achieve the look of real wood without having to worry about the possible disfigurations that can occur with furniture completely crafted from solid wood. Since natural wood has the possibility to warp over time, introducing a veneer significantly decreases the likelihood of warping while maintaining the natural look of solid wood. Another advantage is price. Any piece of furniture constructed from solid wood will be placed at a premium price. Taking advantage of a veneer gives you the same quality look and feel of solid wood without this high cost. Thirdly, solid wood is very, very heavy. Not only does your price per wall bed go up dramatically, so will your delivery cost and any future costs associated with moving your wall bed. A wall bed that utilizes premium wood veneers is much lighter.

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We have all seen it: pandas sitting in trees, chewing on long stalks of bamboo, carefree and happy. But Bamboo is fast becoming the eco-friendly alternative to many every day products. Between bamboo clothing, bed linens, and hardwood flooring, as well as bamboo furniture, utilizes this versatile grass.

Yes, you read that correctly. Grass! Bamboo is a grass, and a renewal resource. Bamboo is normally used for landscaping, to make a backyard more attractive and appealing to the homeowners. But bamboo has other uses as well. Soil erosion is a common problem with new construction sites around the world. Most industries have better management practices in place to avoid soil erosion on new construction sites, and bamboo is a great addition to new construction sites to avoid soil erosion.

Planting bamboo not only keeps soil erosion to a minimum; it can slow rain run off by creating a barrier for the rain to hit as it runs down an incline, either natural or man made. With over 1,200 varieties of bamboo in the world, there is clearly a bamboo alternative for every one of our daily needs.

Bamboo has been used for centuries in Asia, from a source of food to home construction, and it is only now that the western world is catching on to the source that Asia has hidden for centuries. Bamboo is as durable as any known wood used for building materials, but has a much shorter growth span. That is, it only takes weeks for bamboo to grow to lengths which can be utilized, whereas trees take decades. The quickness at which bamboo grows means that there is plenty of bamboo that can be made available for material use.

It also is a great addition to any yard or home. Since bamboo is a grass, which has leaves, it can help filter the air of toxins and breathe back out fresh clean oxygen for us to breath. Having bamboo in your house is not only considered good luck in Asian cultures, but it can keep the air you are breathing clean and fresh. It is also an attractive addition to your office or living room. Green is a stress reducing color, so having a deep green bamboo plant growing in the corner of your house can help you reduce your daily stress.

If you are sold on bamboo, there are plenty of products for which you can decorate your house or backyard patio with. There is bamboo furniture, bamboo wind chimes, and bamboo lanterns which you can add to your bamboo laden garden. Whether or not you want a bamboo awning, it can be found should you want one. Bamboo can be made into just about anything; you just need to use your imagination.

Just remember to keep your bamboo watered. Unlike most household plants, bamboo needs lots of water. That is unless you are trying to dry out your bamboo to make a home made fishing pole! Then dry it out, get your bobbin and go fishing.

Chinese oil paintings and realist oil painting

Chinese oil paintings since the beginning of the fall, and “realism” and “realist painting” has a natural link, or from a certain sense, the beginning of the period of Chinese oil paintings is the “realist painting.” Chinese oil painting in the way of development, “realism” and “realist painting” has always been associated with it.

Chinese oil paintings and the history of the development of China’s social and cultural development, changes in the history closely linked, it is accompanied by a knowledge of Western and other natural and cultural knowledge to enter China. The starting point for the development of Chinese oil paintings, is well documented from the Ming Dynasty in Ningbo, Zhejiang Jiajingnianjian the Portuguese in the establishment of the Hong Kong Trade Shuangyu base, the painting will bring this art form in China. Later in the Wanlinianjian (European Renaissance painting at this time is an important period in the history of the development), due to religious reasons, the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci to a painting of God, Our Lady of the paintings to China. According to records, the 1610 Tour Wen-hui’s “portrait of Matteo Ricci” has realistic approach, clearly the relationship between brightness, which can be deduced, You Wenhui of China earlier study and practice of European oil paintings. To the Qing Dynasty, many Western missionaries for the court is satisfied that, with the Qing Emperor Kangxi in Beijing between the missionaries and Gongtinghuashi Lang Shining as the representative, he worked in China, the life of 51, after Emperor Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong three dynasties . He used the Western oil painting concepts to the performance of the Chinese characters “Xiangfeirongzhuang map”, opened a real painting with Chinese content of the precedent. Some scholars believe that this also is China’s realist painting “The first map.” The development of early Chinese oil paintings are generally three ways, first missionary to preach the culture, and second, followed by the court to accommodate the culture of painting, and the third is in the cultural and economic exchanges in the “civil painting.” Chinese oil paintings start from the beginning with “realism” style. Some scholars from the Guangdong exported start painting on that Guangdong is the birthplace of Chinese oil paintings, where you can find Chinese realist painting at the initial start of the cultural and artistic works. Some scholars from the Shanghai Museum soil Hill Bay Exploration focus on painting, oil painting that China’s modern master Xu Yong-ching, Ding stunning, ZHOU Xiang, Zhang Hui charge, Zhang Yuguang, such as Ren Bonian, “have received here in Western art education . Territories Bay Hill painting in the Museum, is the court in the northern West painting interrupted,”the Guangzhou coastal export oil painting after painting”in the re-rise of China and Turkey. Although the time across a century, but the history of Shanghai has once again chosen to Western painting East wind of a historic turn for the better, but also laid the future Shanghai will become the basis of a major Chinese oil paintings. “Soil Bay Hill Museum paintings produced sculptures, practice painting, oil painting and home-made paints, specialized manual sketching, realistic atmosphere rich, To become “China’s cradle of Western painting.” Chinese oil painting in the process of development, Transocean Xunmeng, gains Western Modernist painting of the first practice, also gains the Lingqi realist painting, mechanical Moreover, the two can not be separated. “Westernization Movement” to promote Chinese painting in the spread of emerging art education has driven the rise of realism style. The rise of Western painting groups also promote the development of China’s realist painting. Founded in Shanghai in 1915′s “Oriental Art” in the form of groups to promote the spread of Western painting, to promote a scientific attitude to artistic creation, to stand as the main means of painting, drawing Dan Gaoxiang take into account indoor and outdoor paint, and actively promote outdoor Painting, further carry forward the style of realism. After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, Chinese oil paintings into a tortuous and difficult period of development. This “difficult” and the people’s suffering, linked to national survival. Is the most significant artists, in particular, a number of important artists in this period of adversity, in the baptism of war, inspired by passion, real life experience to the suffering and national disaster, in-depth, experience in the rear shoulder Anti-Japanese National Salvation of the great historical mission, this generation of artists in the blood flow to the country and the nation’s destiny, art and life of passion, and the development of Chinese oil paintings were integrated into the subjects of great practical and enhanced the art of profound practical significance.
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In todayas wall bed market there are a number of wood materials that wall beds are constructed out of. Four of the main materials used in constructing a wall bed are Particle Board, MDF Board, Ply Wood, and Solid Wood. Each material has unique qualities that lend themselves to the operation and structure of your wall bed. Each material type is outlined below to give you a better understanding of why it is used, what it is best used for, and what to look for when choosing your perfect wall bed.

Particle Board

Particle Board is an engineered material used primarily for exterior furniture surfaces. It is composed of highly compressed wood pieces, or particles, which gives the material its name. In wall beds, particle boardâs chief use is for exterior surfaces, because its guarantees a smooth surface and is less likely to warp or crack over time. Particle board strength is measured by its PSI, which gauges the compression of the particles together, and therefore the overall quality and strength of the board as a whole. A cheaper product will be composed of cheaper particles, and therefore have a lower PSI. Industrial strength particle board is much stronger, and has a much higher PSI rating. One thing to note is that particle board may contain amounts of formaldehyde, and it is important to be aware of this when furniture will be used in nurseries, or other highly sensitive spaces. Newer age particle board does not utilize formaldehyde in its construction so be sure to ask when purchasing a wall bed that has particle board components.

MDF

MDF is a material similar to particle board and has the same usage as an exterior surface wood since it results in a smoother surface and is less likely to warp and crack. MDF, however, is a much more refined product than particle board. It is also composed of wood particles, but they are much, much smaller than those that particle board is comprised of. Because of this, MDF has a slightly smoother texture than particle board. Consequently, this decrease in particle size makes MDF a much heavier product than particle board. This increases its structural use, but also makes your wall bed much heavier, which can be a hindrance when installing or moving your wall bed.

Plywood

Plywood is a material that is generally stronger as a structural material than particle board or MDF. Plywood is constructed of several thin layers of wood, and can also be called layered board. The wood used to create the layers in plywood is generally B grade wood, which individually would not be strong enough for use, but when layered together creates a much stronger material. Use of plywood minimizes the chances of warping, which makes it desirable for exterior surfaces of a wall bed, as well as interior. Be cautious when selecting a wall bed that utilizes plywood as a main structural component, however, as knots in the wood layers can create instability. If one layer of the ply wood has a knot, it creates a point of weakness that can be transferred throughout the wood.

Solid Wood

Solid Wood is the material that is most used in wall beds for structural composition. This is the strongest material available, and is consequently the material used most often for the most important part of the wall bed: the structure. Solid wood is generally not used as an exterior material for several reasons. Solid wood can naturally warp, leading to visual imperfections which decrease the overall appearance and structural performance of your wall bed. It is also difficult to guarantee and align specific grain patterns when using solid wood, creating greater difficulty when used for exterior purposes. Solid wood is also very expensive, and unnecessary use is wasteful in our limited eco-system. wall beds that utilize solid wood as their main structural material will be extremely strong, but for aesthetic purposes solid wood is not recommended as an exterior surface.

Deciding what you want your wall bed to be made of brings you one step closer to knowing which wall bed is perfect for you. Once you know the materials, the next step is to choose how your wall bed looks.