Page 31 - The Decorative Painter Spring 2016

FABRIC PAINT
STEP-BY-STEP
TREE TRUNK STEP 1
SKY AND WATER STEP 3
BRANCHES STEP 2
STEP 4
Squirt small puddles of each of the paints on your palette, as they are called for in the instructions. (I use the airtight palette because I can close the lid if I get in- terrupted while painting, keeping my paints fresh for hours.) Do not use a sponge or wet the palette; simply place the paint directly on the plastic surface of the palette. Rinse your brushes and gently blot them on a paper towel.
PAINTING TIPS
DecoArt SoSoft paints are applied heavily with a soft brush – not scrubbed in – as the paint must saturate the weave of the fabric. Therefore you must paint one area to completion before moving onto the next area. All elements are painted wet-on-wet so all will bond and remain permanent. Because this heavy application of paint can result in drips en route from palette to surface, I set my palette on the fabric itself, directly adjacent to the area I’m painting.
LET’S PAINT
STEP 1: Paint Buttermilk on the inner edge of one tree trunk at a time then fill in the rest of the trunk with Burnt Sienna and blend gently where they meet. Shade the outer edge with a sideload of Lamp Black. Using the chisel edge of the no. 2 brush, stroke Brown horizontal marks on the trunks to create texture. Lastly, paint the broken frond in- dications at the top of each trunk in Step 2 of the Step-by- Steps. Review the photo of the palm tree for a reference.
Pull branches out from the top of the trunks using the no. 2 chisel brush and Olive Green. See Step 2 of the Step- by-Steps; the left side shows just the branches without the fronds. Save the fronds until after you paint the sky. Keep these branches loose and random.
STEP 2: Wet the entire fabric surface using the no. 14 brush. You want it to be evenly moist, but not dripping. It is helpful to let it set about half an hour, then come and check to see if the entire area is wet. If not, add more water.
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