Page 12 - The Decorative Painter Fall 2016

ACRYLIC
Painter’s Checklist
SURFACE
Apache Dipper Gourd or Penguin Gourd 5" wide x 81⁄2" tall (12.7 x 21.59 cm)
PALETTE
DECOART AMERICANA ACRYLICS
Burnt Orange Buttermilk
Citron Green
Foliage Green
Hauser Medium Green Honey Brown Jack-O’-Lantern Orange Lamp (Ebony) Black
BRUSHES
Light Buttermilk Persimmon
Plantation Pine
Raw Sienna
Spicy Mustard
Snow (Titanium) White Tangerine
Warm White
LOEW-CORNELL
Series 7400 1⁄4" & 1⁄2" angular Series 7500 no. 2 filbert
Series 7050 no. 18/0 script liner Series 410 1⁄4" stippler
SCHARFF
Series 155 5⁄8" angular
SUPPLIES
Basic painting supplies (page 96) Dawn dish soap
DecoArt Americana Wood Filler DecoArt Americana Ultra Matte Varnish QuikWood Repair Epoxy Putty
3mm black foam sheet
Fine-grit sandpaper
Mini leaves stencil #W9327
Three 11⁄2" pumpkin cutouts
Jute string
3⁄4" painter’s tape
Hot glue gun or E6000 glue
Paint retarder (to keep Quikwood from becoming too sticky)
SOURCES
n Gourd may be home-grown or purchased from Front Porch Crafts LLC, 403 Shewey Ave., Horse Cave, KY 42749; sherylscott66@ outlook.com; or search eBay gourdgrower5.
n Stencil and foam sheets are available at Hobby Lobby.
n Woodlets are available from Bear With Us Inc. at www.bearwithusinc.com.
n Quik Wood Repair Epoxy Putty is available from Cupboard Distributing at www.cdwood.com.
10 The Decorative Painter • ISSUE NO. 3, 2016
Gourds have always been interesting to me. There are some standard shapes, but there are no two exactly alike. When I discovered Quik Wood Repair Epoxy
Putty, I began making features to enhance the gourds. My very first design was a Santa, then I branched out into other characters, witches, owls, bunnies, chickens, and then to bird- houses and bowls. A friend gave me this gourd and since I like Halloween and owls, I decided to combine them together; hence you have Hooty Boo.
PREPARATION
Be sure your gourd is dried out well. If you hear seeds rattling, that indicates it has thoroughly dried. This some- times takes a year or more. To clean your gourd, if it has not already been cleaned, fill a laundry tub about a quarter way up with water and add one cup of chlorine bleach and three or four squirts of Dawn dish soap. Dawn has grease-cutting agents, which help to remove the film that often develops as the gourds dry. Put on a mask and rubber gloves to prevent mold spores from getting into your lungs. With coarse steel wool, scrub the outer layer to remove all mold. Allow it to dry overnight and it is ready to paint. If there are small holes, use the DecoArt Americana Wood Filler to fill them and sand the surface smooth when dry.
Remove the stem from the top and cut off about 1⁄4" slice of Quik Wood Repair Epoxy Putty. To activate the hardener, the two colors must be kneaded together to form one solid color (no marbling). I use some retarder on my fingers to prevent the Quik Wood Repair Epoxy Putty from sticking to my fingers. Smooth the edge of the Quik Wood Repair Epoxy Putty where it
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