Page 50 - The Decorative Painter Spring 2014

Learning brushstrokes will help every facet of your decorative painting techniques. It teaches you brush control, flow, and rhythm. I invite you to join me in this series
of articles, where we will study strokework step-by-step to- gether. I will introduce one or two brushstrokes in each issue, starting with the easier round brushstrokes, and working up to the more difficult ones as we progress. Practicing will be even more rewarding with the small project I’ll include.
Paint consistency, brush loading, and stroke refine- ment will be explained fully in this first column but will not be repeated. It is advisable to keep this issue handy in the future. Also, I encourage you to keep Issue #4, 2012, at hand to refer to my article, Strokework, (pages 113–118), for even more information.
To achieve the shape of the stroke and the soft streaks within, it is of utmost importance that the acrylic is fresh. I encourage you to use a wet palette, which dramatically in- creases the open time of the paint. Make an extender with distilled water and DecoArt Easy Float (3:1). Mix just one drop of extender in a 1" (2.5cm) puddle of acrylic paint. Note how the paint blends together beautifully and the stroke glides more smoothly. When needed, add additional drops of extender to make thicker paints the same viscosity as the other colors used in the study.
LOADING THE ROUND BRUSH
Dampen the brush and then remove all traces of water from the ferrule by tapping it on the edge of the brush ba- sin. Blot water from the bristles with dry soft paper towel. Pull color out from the edge of the puddle, making a load- ing zone that is twice the length of the brush. Press firmly and open the brush so there are no paint-starved bristles inside, which would prevent the brush from opening fully in the stroke. This process will flatten the brush. Return it to a round shape by gently stroking all sides through the loading zone with no pressure. Watch that your loading zone is not too juicy, as too much paint will cause ridges along the outer edges of your strokes.
Scrape all sides of the outer tip along the sharp edge of the palette to remove paint. This makes bare bristles that will grab the tipping color. With the handle pointed straight up, dip and swirl the tip into a contrasting hue. Gently tap all sides of the tip on the palette to remove excess paint and re- shape the brush.
DEcOrAtIvEPAINtErS.OrG
sKiLLBuiLDER
Painter’s Checklist
suRFACE
Use any practice surface you would like.
PALETTE
DECOART AMERICANA ACRYLICS Banana Cream
Butterscotch
Grape Juice
Green Tea Honey Brown Light Avocado Lilac
Pansy Lavender Pineapple White Wash
BRusHEs
MAUREEN McNAUGHTON BRUSHES No. 5/0 liner
No. 4 round
suPPLiEs
Basic painting supplies (page 127) DecoArt Easy Float
Distilled water
Wet palette
souRCE
Maureen McNaughton’s brushes are avail- able at maureenmcnaughton.com.
48 The Decorative Painter • ISSUE NO. 1, 2014