Page 78 - The Decorative Painter Summer 2018

PLACEMENT MAP
TOES
Not all skin tones are alike so it is MOST important these slip-ons match your skin color. You may need to add more browns or blues or blacks for these to appear to be your skin.
STEP 3: Start in shadow areas of foot and edges of toes that are against the sole of the shoe and float in the dark- est skin tone. I tend to brush-mix Dark Chocolate+Burnt Sienna and slip-slap on the color. Peaches and Cream is in the highlight areas with blended strokes close to the top of the foot. Again, working with the black canvas shoes it will take more layers of paint to achieve good skin tones. The toes are painted using the “cylinder ef- fect” (edges are darkest value with the center highlighted to achieve a tube-like “curve”).
Allow to dry between coats. Use fine liner brush to add details of wrinkles and cuticles with Burnt Sienna or Dark Chocolate and highlight with Ultra White.
NAILS
Again, looking at your feet, you will see the curve of each nail will require using highlights and shadow values to showcase their importance with the pedicure – they are not just red!
STEP 4: Now using the rules of composition, add the lightest flesh tone in a spark of light area of the nail. (Re- fer to the Step-by-Step on page 75 and note the strong, sharp edge of black in the cuticle areas and flesh tone highlight.)
Allow to dry. You are now ready to paint the nail red. Use a heavy coat (like the nail technician does) of Red Pepper and stroke with pressure from cuticle to nail edge.
FINISHING
Finish the project with skin tone foot sides and blue sandal heel area. Shadow both at the bottom of foot. Use slip-slap technique to loosen your design. My signature is “tattooed” on my foot! Now go to the grocery store and enjoy the comments. Be sure to tell the bagger boy, “Don’t step on my toes!”
LET’S PAINT
STEP 1: Let’s start by creating the negative space behind and between the toes using black. If you bought black slip-ons, you are a step ahead! White shoes have the advan- tage of less work for creamy skin tones and light-colored nails. The black behind the toes and nails is perfect for the skin tones and red nails. These black “outlines” need to be sharp and crisp. Allow to dry before starting skin tones. STEP 2: The next step is to basecoat in color for shoes using Navy Blue. I used a ribbon and chalk pencil to help me divide leather strips. Get creative with intertwining straps for a realistic sandal appearance. Mirror the image for other shoe. Paint stitched edge around top of shoe and stitched edge down back of shoe with Navy. Shade under and between straps with black. Darkest shade should be in the “triangles of darkness” areas where straps cross over each other or meet the sole of shoe.
Use Indian Turquoise for highlight along edge of these strips and reverse float center of shoes for highlight.
Add stitching with Indian Turquoise+Ultra White. Add painted buckle using Lamp Black with Ultra White high- light or stitch on a store-bought metal buckle (optional). (Refer to the Step-by-Step on page 75.)
artist’s sketch
Marsha Sellers has been painting since 1988. Tole painting filled her empty nest and created a new life away from her busy child-raising role and nursing career. A self-taught painter, she recalls the help of lessons on Boise’s PBS station that aired Jackie Shaw’s “Creative Painting Series” and Sue Scheewe’s “The Gift of Painting.” She was hooked on art and suddenly clouds, trees, people, and sunsets took on new meaning and value in her life. It didn’t take long for people around her to show interest in buying her art and asking for custom designs. She quickly attracted interested students, and a tole painting class was the perfect stage to learn and share ideas for color value, composition, and comparative value.
In 1995, Marsha published her book “Holiday Hangarounds” through Susan Scheewe Publications. Her stories
opment of each character add to the charm of her book. She advertises her new projects on Facebook and yearly submits for regional conventions. You can contact Marsha by emailing her at grammie1434@q.com.
behind the devel-
76 The Decorative Painter • SUMMER 2018
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