Page 73 - The Decorative Painter Winter 2014

ACRYLIC
groups of three dots with the colors from the flowers and leaves as well as Warm White.
Keep adding little flowers, leaves, and dots to the boxes until they’re filled.
BIRD
Paint the top part of the bird with Warm White+Deep Periwinkle (3:1). Paint the bottom part with Warm White. Float Deep Periwinkle shading on the top edge of the head and down to the feathers and to separate the tail feathers from the body. Float Pumpkin shading and then again Country Red in the throat area. Highlight the breast with Lemon Yellow. The tail and wing feathers are strokes of Warm White. Paint the eye, beak, and feet with Dark Chocolate+Black (4:1). Highlight the top of the head, eye, beak, and feet with Warm White.
NEST
Basecoat the nest with Warm White+Dark Chocolate (1:1). Paint the nest opening with Dark Chocolate. Trans- fer the eggs with white graphite. Paint the eggs with Warm White+Deep Periwinkle (3:1). Float Deep Periwinkle shad- ing on the bottom edges. Highlight the top edges with Warm White. Using a liner, add the twigs around the nest opening with Warm White+tch Dark Chocolate. Highlight around the opening with more Warm White. Float Dark Chocolate shading around the bottom of the nest.
BUTTERFLIES
Basecoat the wings with Pumpkin. Float Country Red shading onto the wings next to the body.
Float highlights on the wing edges with Lemon Yellow. Paint the body parts and tap in dots on the wings with
Dark Chocolate+Black (4:1). Outline and add gather lines on the wings with Country Red.
FINISHING
Add a floated shade of Hauser Dark Green around the outside edges of the
top of the bird, and
around the butterflies
and hollyhocks. Look
at your finished painting
to see if you need to add
any shading, highlighting,
or details. Correct if neces-
sary. Remove any graphite
lines with a soft white eraser.
I sanded the edges of the roof and house until the wood showed through. I like the way the distress- ing adds highlights to the edges.
Make sure the entire piece (including the marker) is dry before varnishing. Brush one thin coat of De- coArt DuraClear Matte Varnish over the sign and let dry. Finish varnishing the project with three or four additional coats ac- cording to the manu- facturer’s instructions. Glue the pegs into the
holes with wood glue.
dEcOratIvEpaINtErS.Org
The Decorative Painter
• ISSUE NO. 4, 2014 71
artist’s sketch
In 1983, Robin Mani walked into an antique shop that was offering a beginner tole painting class in a back room. She signed up right then, and hasn’t stopped painting since. She has worked as a shop owner, teacher, and designer. Robin is the author of a line of pattern packets called TaTa Robin. She has authored books, and her designs can be seen in many different national magazines in the United States and Canada. Robin’s travel- teaching has taken her to many chapters, shops, and conventions as well. Robin is an active member of Gypsy Tolers chapter in Redlands, Calif. Write to her at 4070 Garden Home Court, Riverside, CA 92506, or email her at tatarobin@live.com. You can find her on Facebook under Tata Robin.