Page 32 - TheDecorativePainter_DP4_Winter_2018

SECOND LAYER OF PAINT
Be sure the surface of your project is adequately cool to the touch before continuing to work over the existing layers of paint. Painting while the surface is hot could disrupt the heat-set process.
Flowers — Load your #2 flat brush with some Ultramarine Blue+Titanium White (1:4) and thin it down slightly. Gently blend your brush strokes from the center of the flower and outwards
of the petals to add a sense of depth to the inside of the flower. Lightly blend the paint along the inside edges of the curled petals to differentiate the inside of the flower from the outside more clearly. Then, use your brush to drag strokes of the paint from the center of the flower along the petals to give the appearance of light veins. Don’t do this too much at this stage; if you overdo the veins here, though, simply don’t emphasize the veins in the following layers. Use Titanium White to paint the outside/curved edges of the flowers to increase their capacity.
Berries — Use the #2 flat brush to increase the opacity of the branch using Titanium White. Thin the Titanium White down and gently paint the tops of the individual berries to give the appearance of a light source.
Leaves — Use Genesis Yellow+Ultramarine Blue (4:1) to fill in the leaves with a brilliant green a second time to increase opacity. Add a little more Genesis Yellow to increase the brilliance of the green.
Standing Bird — Use the #2 flat brush paint in the throat of the bird, thinning it as needed to achieve a gentle gradient into the blue feathers of the head. Taking some Genesis Red+Ultramarine Blue (3:1) fill in the crease beneath the wing, thin it down and fill in the leg and the under-tail. Load your brush with a touch of Titanium White to blend out gradients at the base of the tail and at the end of the tail. Fill the breast and belly in with Titanium White, taking caution not to create any hard edges aside from along the outside of the belly facing the flowers. Thin the Titanium White down to give a hit of paleness, connecting the white of the breast with the white of the throat in a diagonal. This diagonal will make it look like the bird is twisting his head instead of wearing his head on backwards. Taking a bit of thinned down Titanium White, give a gentle gradient to the place where the tail and wings meet, blending it out into the Ultramarine Blue. Fill the beak in, giving it a hard edge, with Carbon Black No. 1.
Sitting Bird — For the head, load your #6 flat brush with Ultramarine Blue+Genesis Red (3:1) and paint the entire head
up until the breast and back. Using the #2 flat brush add subtle gradient of Titanium White to the bird’s head by blending it in the throat area from beak to breast. Be sensitive with these strokes and don’t stress if you over-blend, this is just a basecoat for later. Thin down some Ultramarine Blue to fill in the lower wings and evenly tint those feathers darker. Brush a few diagonal lines with some thinned down Ultramarine Blue+Carbon Black No. 1 (1:1) to give a hint of definition and gently touch some of that same paint into the shoulder of the bird to give definition to the feathers about
the shoulder. Use this same Ultramarine Blue+Carbon Black No. 1 (1:1) to shade just below those feathers, avoiding the tail and fading out along the breast. Mix Ultramarine Blue+Carbon Black No. 1+Titanium White (1:1:5) for a soft gray and fill the breast in, allowing
STEP 2
30 TheDecorativePainter • WINTER 2018