Page 87 - The Decorative Painter Fall 2017

Santa
His Feathered Friends
NANETTE HILTON
When I designed this Santa, it was for the Silver State Tole and Decorative Painters’ (Las Vegas, Nev.) Christmas party table centerpiece. The party committee chose the bird theme and a jewel palette. We then used a secret Pinterest board to communicate our ideas. Someone pinned a Santa with birds and that became the inspiration for my design. I picked the palette of paint, cut the wood and gave them to each of the seven volunteers, along with my black and white design along with no instructions and said, “I look forward to seeing what you do!” They took it from there, each creating a unique masterpiece. Today, you get the same saluta- tion from me, with a bit of guidance, and the opportunity to make something truly your own. I can’t wait to see what you do. In fact, I invite you to email me a photo of your finished Santa.
NOTE: Navy Blue is the color for the coat trim basecoat, base and birdhouse, along with the shading for the entire coat, to be substituted according to your fabric selection.
PREPARATION
SURFACE: Apply DecoArt Multi-Purpose Sealer and sand wood on all sides and edges. Remove dust.
APPLYING FABRIC TO WOOD: Apply another thick coat of DecoArt Multi-Purpose Sealer and press fabric, right side up, onto back of wood cutout and burnish with a plastic dough scraper or spatula, pressing out excess sealer and bubbles toward the edge. Allow to dry completely. Turn Santa fabric-side down on cutting mat. Using an X-acto knife, cut away excess fabric making sure the fabric is flush with edge of wood. Coat the fabric with another layer of sealer, pressing down at edges. Allow to dry completely. Sand edges. Repeat for the front of the Santa so that both sides of the cutout are covered with fabric.
Paint the edge of the wood the color you’re going to use to shade Santa’s coat. I chose Navy Blue because the carpet in the room I planned to display my Santa in is dark blue and there is dark blue in my fabric pattern. But Cranberry Wine would have been a good choice based on my fabric pattern, too. You choose your own shading color based on your fabric. It should be a dark value that coordinates with your fabric. If you have trouble choosing, use Burnt Umber – it’s always a good neutral shading color.
Apply your basic pattern, leaving off face and bird details, which will be applied later.
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The Decorative Painter • FALL 2017 85
ACRYLIC