Page 54 - The Decorative Painter Spring 2018

PAINTING THE BACKGROUND
IN ACRYLICS
Make sure to refer to the photos and shading guide for the placement of the shading and detail. Keep your basecoat smooth during application so the colored pencils lay well. Since we will be using colored pencils over the basecoat, it’s important to seal the wood first and then ap- ply the basecoat colors over the sealed wood. The colored pencils don’t lay well over a basecoat mixed with sealer. Seal both sides of the wood board and frame with Jo Son- ja's All Purpose Sealer; let dry and sand lightly.
SKY, OCEAN, SAND, WALL, WINDOW FRAME, FENCE AND BOTTOM SHELF
When my design has a lot of elements to basecoat, I like to work in layers. This simplifies the process and keeps the lines clean. Start by transferring the main outlines of the sky, ocean, sand, window sill and matching shelf at the bottom of the board with graphite paper. Generously load a 3⁄4" wash brush with Island Sand and Husk. Use a slip-slap motion to basecoat the sand area with these two colors. Reload your brush as needed. As you slightly blend and work the area, there should remain some distinction be- tween the two colors. While the paint is still wet, dip your fingers into clean water and flick small droplets of water over the sand area. Let the water droplets sit for a moment, then carefully pat the moisture up with a paper towel. The area should reveal a variety of spots over the sand. Let dry. Use a 3⁄4" wash brush to basecoat the sky with a slip-slap of both Pacific Blue and Island Sand. Work the area until there is a slight soft blending of the two colors. It’s O.K. to go outside the lines a bit; it looks more natural to have the colors blend right up to the border line. You can touch up the areas later. Let dry. Use a no. 8 oval drybrush to lightly drybrush the clouds in the sky with Island Sand. Let dry and use the same brush to lightly stipple highlights at the tops of the clouds with a touch of Warm White. Use a no. 8 Smarties filbert brush to basecoat the sea with slip- slap of Sky Blue and Island Sand. Blend the colors some- what as you work the area. It looks nice to have a few bright strokes of Island Sand on the water. Let dry. Basecoat the wall behind the sailboat and under the window with the Sky Blue Light Mix. Basecoat the fence on the sand, shelf at the bottom of the board, and window trim and sill around the window with Island Sand. Let dry. On the large win- dow trim and sill, lightly stroke the damp-drybrushed tex- ture using Husk and a 3⁄4" wash brush. Let dry. With a no. 8 filbert brush, return and repeat a few random strokes over the trim and sill with Island Sand. Use smaller brushes with the same method and colors on the fence in the win- dow and shelf at the bottom of the board.
SAILBOAT & PEDESTAL
Transfer the main design outlines of the sailboat and pedestal with graphite paper. Basecoat the pedestal with Raw Umber, the metal post and rings of the sailboat with the Dark Gray Mix, the sails with Husk, the boat with Moss Green, and the small red flag on the boat with Gold Oxide. After the basecoat is dry, transfer the remaining detail on the sailboat and pedestal with graphite paper. Before adding the highlights, remember the brightest highlights are later added after the colored pencil steps. Damp-drybrush a large back-and-forth highlight down the middle area of the pedestal with a no. 10 oval dry- brush and the Light Raw Umber Mix. The shading to separate each section of the pedestal will be done later with a colored pencil. Add a touch of Warm White to the Dark Gray Mix and stroke highlights on the metal post and rings of the sailboat using a no. 3 round brush. Use a no. 10 oval drybrush and Island Sand to damp-drybrush highlights on the sails. Create an overall large highlight (the green stripes are painted over the highlights). Keep layering the color until it is somewhat opaque in areas but still maintains a streaky look. Use Moss Green to basecoat the sail stripes on the left sail. Then use a no. 1 round brush to stroke the ropes holding the sails with Warm White. Mix a touch of Warm White with Moss Green and use both the no. 6 and 10 oval drybrushes to stroke large damp-drybrushed highlights on each of the sail stripes and the boat. Return and stroke the green stripe on the boat using a no. 3 round brush and Moss Green. Use a no. 6 oval drybrush to damp-drybrush a highlight on each section of the flag with the Light Gold Oxide Mix.
STARFISH & BOOKS
Transfer the main design outlines of the starfish and each of the books with graphite paper. Basecoat the starfish with Island Sand, the yellow book with Yellow Oxide, the brown book with Provincial Beige, and the red book with Gold Oxide. On the starfish, lightly damp- drybrush the dark texture using Husk and a no. 8 fil- bert brush. Let dry. Return and add a damp-drybrushed highlight in the center of the starfish with Island Sand. Damp-drybrush highlights across the main area of each book using a no. 6 or 8 oval drybrush and the match- ing highlight color. Use the Light Yellow Oxide Mix for the yellow book, Light Gold Oxide Mix for the red book, and Husk for the brown book. Let dry. Transfer the re- maining detail onto each book (including the titles) with graphite paper. Use a no. 3 round brush to stroke additional highlights on the raised areas of each book binding with a repeat of the lighter colors used in Step 4 of the Step-by-Steps on page 51.
52 The Decorative Painter • SPRING 2018
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