In some circles, cement yard statues are considered tacky. I’ve seen some really cute ones but never knew how to paint cement yard statues to look classy and not tacky. We’ve had these two yard statues in our family over 20 years, since the kids were young. So they seem like part of the family. They even have names: Bunny Rabbit and Bucky the Beaver.
I’ve spray painted them brown a few times – but since our last move, they looked too tacky to put in the yard. I didn’t have the heart to throw them away, so they’ve been hiding behind the garage. I ran across them recently and decided I had to try to revive them – or finally just toss them.
A quick google search led me to the solution I needed. I found out how to paint cement yard statues a certain way to make them look like aged brass with patina – it’s called verdigris.
That’s the “classy” look I wanted! Here’s my inspiration photo. Click the photo to link to the instructions.
So, basically I cleaned my statues up and spray painted them with a couple coats of matte black spray paint. After they were dry, I dry-brushed on some green acrylic paint from my stash.
This was the quickest, easiest makeover – for the most beautiful results. The dry-brushing contrast color really highlighted the texture of the sculptures. I didn’t spray a sealer over, so I’m not sure how long this paint job will last. But it bought Bunny and Bucky a little more time – and respectable positions in the garden and on the patio.
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