Page 26 - The Decorative Painter Spring 2016

ACRYLIC
BLEEDING HEARTS
Warm White. Arrow is Burnt Umber and highlighted with Warm White. Tip of arrow is a Naphthol Red heart high- lighted in the center with Warm White.
CLOUDS
Using a medium-sized wash brush, dress brush in De- coArt Extender & Blending Medium and sideload in Warm White. Add swishes of clouds to the top of the plate to in- clude around and under Cupid so that it appears as Cupid is looking over the edge of the clouds. Dry and repeat two or three times to build the clouds.
COUPLE AND SWING
Faces include touches of Naphthol Red+Titanium White for cheeks and lips. Eyes of Prussian Blue Hue or Burnt Umber are added along with eyebrows and eyeliner in Burnt Umber. The young man’s shirt and hat are paint- ed with Yellow Oxide, shadowed with Yellow Deep, and highlighted using Warm White+Hansa Yellow (1:tch). His pants are basecoated with Sapphire Blue, shadowed with sideloads of Prussian Blue Hue and highlighted with side- load of Aquamarine and/or Warm White. Shoes and belt are the Brown/Black Mix. Hair is wisps of Yellow Deep and highlighted using Yellow Oxide and Hansa Yellow wisps. Green band on hat and shirt are Medium Green using Yel- low Oxide to highlight. Buttons are Yellow Oxide shaded with Yellow Deep. The young lady’s dress and back of hat are basecoated using Background Red Mix. Using Medium Pink, add curlicues and hearts onto the dress. When dry, float a thin coat of Warm White wash over the dress. Add touches of dress decor around neck, sleeves, and dress bot- tom with Warm White. Rose in her hand, hat flower, and ribbon are Medium Pink shadowed with touches of Back- ground Red Mix and highlighted with Warm White. Stem and swing rope are Medium Green with touches of Hansa Yellow highlights. Hair is wisps of Yellow Oxide and Warm White with a few wisps of Yellow Deep for shadows. Swing seat is Yellow Deep shadowed with Brown/Black Mix. Swing hearts are strokes using Background Red Mix and touches of Medium Pink to add a bit of highlight/interest. Shoes are Brown/Black Mix. Socks and hat band are Warm White with highlights of Titanium White.
RIM SURFACE PATTERN
Plates usually have slight differences in measurements when turned. It can be tricky to get the pattern lined up perfectly and may have to be manipulated to fit. In a per- fect world, it would be fabulous to cut the size of the rim
There are three clusters of bleeding hearts with the Light Pink nearest the bottom, the Light Violet in the mid- dle tier and Light Purple bleeding hearts nearest the top. All are painted with the same steps just using different col- ors of mixes. Use a small filbert or no. 4 round that can be flattened to sideload highlight and shadow color.
Brush is dressed in extender for a wet-on-wet applica- tion of shadows and highlight.
STEP 1: With a small liner, paint the small white dia- mond shape stems into all the bleeding hearts using Warm White. For each bleeding heart grouping, use the lightest color mix for that grouping (either lightest pink, lightest violet, or lightest purple). Do not clean your brush but make sure it is still wet and, if required, brush-mix a bit of DecoArt Extender & Blending Medium into it.
STEP 2: Sideload with Warm White and add highlight to the top rounded portion of the hearts.
STEP 3: Using the same technique, add shadows toward the V-shape of the hearts using the medium mixes for each color grouping. Slightly blend so there is a progressing of color from light to medium to dark shadows.
STEP 4: Add the S-shape to the bottom of each side of the bleeding hearts by double-sideloading the brush with the darkest mix for each color group on one edge of the brush and the Warm White on the other edge of the brush. STEP 5: Heart finishing touches: Using a small liner, add little wisps of darker color (For purple hearts, use Dark Purple; violet hearts, use Dark Violet; and pink hearts, use the Dark Pink or Permanent Alizarin Crimson). Use Warm White to strengthen highlight on portions that need highlight contrast. Add a small bit of Yellow Oxide in the stem and bottom stamen, then add a smaller dot of Hansa Yellow.
CUPID
Using Flesh Tone Mix, basecoat the face and arms of Cupid, and the faces, arms and hands of the couple. Add shadows in hands, arms, and faces using Flesh Tone Mix plus a bit of Naphthol Red. Paint in lips with this color also. Eyes and eyebrows are Brown/Black Mix. With small liner, add curly hair with small wisps of Warm White, Yellow Oxide, and Yellow Deep toward the back of the head.
Wings are painted with a small filbert of Yellow Oxide sideloaded with Warm White.
There are two rows; paint in the bottom row first; then add the top wing feathers. Add little Yellow Deep wisps to the top of the upper feathers. Bow is painted using Burnt Umber, shadowed with Carbon Black, highlighted with
24 The Decorative Painter • ISSUE NO. 1, 2016
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