Page 32 - The Decorative Painter Spring 2016

FABRIC PAINT
We will be using watercolor techniques to paint the sky and wa- ter. It is important therefore to learn to control the water. Load your no. 14 brush with water and touch it to the paper towel. Watch how the water is sucked out and the shine leaves the brush. Lift the brush at various stages so you can feel how much water is in it. In the pro- ceeding steps for painting the sky and water, you will be using about 50 percent water in the no. 14 brush. Your paint will be soupy. First paint across the water line with Mediterranean Blue, using the chisel edge of the brush. Keep it straight! Next switch to the no. 4 brush and paint in the sun using a brush mix of Cadmium Yellow+White (1:1), and then paint the reflection in the water. See Step 3 of the Step-by- Steps on page 29 to see the placement of the yellow. Pick up the no. 14 again and chisel-edge stroke on the water lines of Mediterranean Blue, Primary Blue and Dioxazine Purple. Clean your brush and add streaks of Cadmium Orange. Do the same with the sky, only paint more Cadmium Orange and add areas of Christmas Red and Dark Rose. These should be pulled out from the sun and kept irregular in length and thickness. Yes, you will get some of these colors on the trunks of the trees; blot if it bothers you, but it really doesn’t show. To create the illusion of the sun’s rays showing up above the clouds, pull strokes of White up with the whole width of the no. 14 brush. Start these strokes a short distance above the sun, leaving room for clouds to be added in the next step. Lightly add streaks of White to suggest waves in the water.
STEP 3: Because the background is wet, your paint has been bleed- ing and fading. In this step we are going to strengthen the colors we added in the previous step. This time your brush should only be about 25 percent water, just enough to make the paint flow freely. Paint back over any of the colors you think are too pale – the blues, yellow, or- ange, red and pink, and lastly the White. You can repeat this appli- cation of paint as often as you desire until the background is dry. I recommend you study photos of clouds, especially at sunset, or go outside and look at clouds; it will help you immensely when you paint yours. Load the corner of your brush with White. This time the brush is not wet; we want a heavy application of paint. Turn the brush with the paint corner up and push the paint off onto the sky in a motion that will create cloud shapes. Drag the brush across the sky as you think of how clouds look like they are “sliding” as they float along. See Step 4 of the Step-by-Steps on page 29 as well as the finished piece for suggestions of placement. After you are satisfied with sky and water you will add the fronds to your palm branches.
Notice Step 2 of the Step-by-Steps on page 29 again. The center frond shows the first application of Olive Green wisps pulled out from the branch using the chisel edge of the no. 2 brush. Moving right, the next branch shows the addition of Primary Blue and Dioxazine Purple to darken the fronds. The next to the last branch has strokes of Christ- mas Green on top of the previous applications and the last branch has a few Bright Avocado wisps stroked on top. Keep this light and airy; remember they are swaying in the wind.
FINISHING
Check to make sure the painting isn’t stuck to your panel by gently pulling the painting away from the panel. Your work of art should dry for at least 48 hours before you launder with mild detergent.
30 The Decorative Painter
• ISSUE NO. 1, 2016
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