Page 70 - The Decorative Painter Fall 2014

ACRYLIC
sit approximately 1⁄2" apart in all directions. They will allow you to paint the front, back,
and edges of the plate with no drying time in between.
Now use the same sponging process pre- viously described to paint the back and edges of the plate.
Rinse the sponge imme- diately. Allow the plate to dry thoroughly.
Sand the entire plate very lightly, and remove sanding debris with the tack cloth.
If you do not want the wood grain to show through the basecoat, apply a second layer of Antique White in the same manner.
Using the small end of a stylus, transfer the main lines of the pattern as accurately as possible. For this project, I used blue Chacopaper so the lines could be wiped away with wa- ter later. A worn, dark graphite paper can also be used. This will allow the pattern lines to be very light but still visible. If accuracy is a problem for you, consider tracing the design on a piece of paper, and then taping this to the surface with tape. Next, slip the Chacopaper under the tracing. Now lay a clean piece of tracing paper over the design and transfer the design using a sharp pencil. Unlike a stylus sometimes does, a pencil won’t slip resulting in poorly transferred lines. Keep the design nearby as you work, so you can refer to it as you transfer the detail lines later.
PEN WORK
Apply very light pressure to the Pigma Micron Pen as you work. Notice that the only solid lines are those that outline the leaves, acorn bottoms, and pumpkin. Give the acorn caps and gourd lines a lumpy, textured look by very gently wiggling the pen as you create them. Neither the pumpkin’s section lines nor the leaf ’s veins consist of solid lines; these lines appear broken here and there. Tiny breaks in the line give the images more spontaneity. This is especially true of the twigs and acorn border of the plate. Add texture to the acorn caps by creating them with a se- ries of dots and short straight or curved lines.
Allow the pen lines to dry for a minimum of twelve hours before using water to remove pattern lines or apply- ing color. If the ink is not dry, water will cause it to smear.
Use the pen to create the lettering. Apply the color of your choice to the wide areas of the letters, if desired.
LET’S PAINT
The painting of the pumpkin, gourd, and leaf are broken down into three steps. Refer to the Pumpkin and Gourd Step-by-Step on page 67 as you paint each of these. STEP1: Becausethehumaneyeperceivesadegreeofper- spective just from the pen line detailing, the medium-value color (the first color listed) is applied as a wash. Thin the color with water using the no. 10 flat shader. Do not thin the color too much, just enough to allow the pen lines to show through. The wash should be a thin, even, smooth layer of color. Repeat this process until the desired look is achieved.
STEP 2: When the medium value is dry, float the shad- ing color (the second color listed) over the areas that bear the shading detail lines (the short, slanted lines that lie near the main lines of the design). Load the brush using the method of your choice. Make sure no hard lines appear on the outer edges of the shaded areas. They should gradually transition from the medium value to the shade, and vice versa.
STEP3: Afterthemediumvaluesandtheshadingcolors are applied, highlight the forward areas (for instance, the very center of the pumpkin and the roundest portion of the gourd) with Buttermilk on one of the round scumblers (choose the size that best fits the area being painted). Load the brush’s tip into the paint. Using a circular motion, re- move most of the paint by rubbing the brush on a paper towel. Beginning in the most forward part of each area, scumble in an ever-widening circle. This should appear strong but soft in the middle, and will fade as it nears the object’s edges. The brush handle should maintain a posi- tion fairly perpendicular to the painting surface. In other words, just the tip of the brush should be used. The re- sult should be a soft haze of color. Repeat this process as many times as necessary, making each circular applica- tion smaller than the previous one. To soften color in the brush, use the same area of the paper towel each time you remove color from the brush.
68 The Decorative Painter • ISSUE NO. 3, 2014
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