Page 60 - The Decorative Painter - Fall 2019

STEP 4
• Use the gel roller pen to draw on the lettering, filling the wide areas completely. Take care not to brush your hand over the wet inking to avoid smearing.
FINISHING
The painting should be completely dry before applying the varnish. In semi-arid climates, it should be dry in 2-3 weeks. In wetter climates, it will take longer. The time it takes to dry can be decreased by placing the painting under a light bulb positioned about 6" above the surface.
• Apply several light coats of Krylon Varnish 1377 Satin following the directions on the can.
• Always spray outside. Use a sweeping motion from left to right across the surface.
GOLD LEAF
• Peel the white paper off the cradle on one side of the surface revealing the sticky adhesive.
• Tear a sheet of the gold leaf into 2" squares. The leaf tears easily so the squares may not be exactly 2" or a square, but this will make the leafing easier to handle.
• Press the pieces of gold leaf onto the adhesive covering the adhesive completely.
• Repeat this process for the stripe of gold leaf across the front surface of the painting covering where the color band and the background surface meet. Use the 1/8" double-sided adhesive for this stripe.
• Allow piece to rest overnight.
• Using the hake brush, brush off any loose gold leaf. This leaves a nice clean edge of gold leaf trim on all the edges and across the front of the painting. Do this outside to avoid gold leaf flakes all over the area in which you are working.
TENDRILS
Using the gel roller pen, draw on the tendrils as desired. Take one last look and then sign your name.
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TheDecorativePainter • FALL 2019
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When the varnish is dry (24 hours), paint the edges of the wood cradle with Delta Ceramcoat Mendocino or any other reddish-brown acrylic color. This enhances the glow of the gold leaf. Allow the paint to dry.
Roll out the 5/8" double-sided adhesive along one side of the cradle, sticky side down. It is easier to lay the surface off the edge of a table to position the adhesive strip on the cradle. Press the tape down securely. Cut off the tape at the corner using the rotary cutter. Repeat this process along each of the remaining three sides.