Page 75 - The Decorative Painter Fall 2017

which automatically occurs. A lower lash line down curve will give a less happy, more serious attitude.
You will see defined areas for all facial features. Float them in with Buttermilk. To define features, float color across just above the upper lash line on the eyes with a no. 2-4 flat shader. I also used this smaller brush to float in the tip of his nose and his lower lip. Move to a larger brush (no. 8-10) and float in the forehead, under his forehead hair, then down along the side and beneath the cheek creating the smile line, ending following the shape of the left side nostril. Turn the sur- face, then begin above the other side nostril and float color down under the cheek and up along the second side. You can basecoat the candy pillows at the same time as the face with a flat shader loaded full across about the width of a candy.
To give the facial features time to dry, ghost/float in the hood, using Rookwood Red (or your favorite red) with a fairly large no. 10 flat shader/angle brush to softly establish the shape for the hood. Float the color in toward middle areas so it doesn’t end with an abrupt line. Note that I held open a narrow band on the hood on which to place gold leaf to match the frame of the painted piece. You can use a color of your choice, or eliminate this band entirely, depending on your own personal project choices.
For the hair/beard, I used a no. 10-12 flat shader or angle brush to float and/or streak in quite sheer Charcoal Grey, blending away softly. This gives the hair shadows. Think of various tendrils falling with darkest shadows behind a forward area, fading out into the back- ground color. Your background supplies the medium values needed to enable the clean white hair/beard final color to show.
STEP 2
Refer to the Step-by-Step on page 71.
Wash the face and mouth going right over the eyes with water- thinned Buttermilk using as many layers as needed for the back- ground to recede completely. Re-draw the Charcoal Grey lash line if it becomes too obscured. This neutralizing value is important, as even this very soft green background will glow through the floated skin colors, making his face appear dirty. At this point, I blend right over the eyebrows, as they are easily added in later on. Apply washes and/or additional floated shaping with Rookwood Red on his hood until there is at least a light coverage of sheer red on the whole hood.
Add more Charcoal Grey shading as needed in hair/beard. Your line drawing is a suggested area for the beard/hair, but be sure you extend final color beyond the bottom lines to soften them to elimi- nate any hard endings of hair area.
Add a circle of Blue Mist to create an iris in each eye. A bit of the circle of the iris should disappear behind the upper and lower eyelid in the middle area.
Now that all of these areas are established you are ready to add detailing color to the project.
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