Tuesday Tips_Poinsettia PlaceMat_ Faux Finishing and Creating Borders by Debbie- Cole CDA - Posted on December 3, 10 & 17, 2013 by debbiecole

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1 Tuesday Tips_Poinsettia PlaceMat_ Faux Finishing and Creating Borders by Debbie- Cole CDA - Posted on December 3, 10 & 17, 2013 by debbiecole Tuesday Tips - Poinsettia Placemat: Faux Finishing and Creating Borders Part 1 [In this tutorial] you can practice some of the skills I have discussed in my Tuesday Techniques and learn new techniques... I will be sharing my Stamp and Paint techniques with you along with faux finishing, dry brushing, and glazing to name a few. I am painting on an oval wood placemat, but you can use any surface you would like because we are simply painting a single poinsettia that can be positioned on a smaller surface. Some other suggestions would be a plate, lazy susan, table runner, bentwood boxes etc. I am keeping to traditional colors that are fairly neutral. If you choose to change the palette, I will not be able to help you with your shade and highlight colors.

2 Supplies Stampendous Supplies (Viking Item Numbers) Cling Jumbo Poinsettia Stamp ( ) Cling Jumbo Pinecone Boughs Stamp ( ) Perfectly Clear Acrylic Jumbo Handle ( ) DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint Avocado Golden Straw Cherry Red Gooseberry Pink Country Red Hauser Light Green Deep Burgundy Hauser Medium Green DecoArt Multi-Purpose Sealer DecoArt Easy Float Medium DecoArt DuraClear Matte Varnish Light Buttermilk Plantation Pine Russet True Ochre Silver Brush Ltd. Brushes- Golden Natural brushes, 2008S Square Wash, size ½, 2002S Shader, size #4 and #6, 2000S Round, size #3 and #4, Series 2007S Liner, size #00, Monza series 2629S Short round #0, and 2 for drybrushing) Surface - Wood Oval Placemats (set of 4), available from Viking Woodcrafts, item # C Miscellaneous supplies Delane s Border Tool - available from Viking Woodcrafts, item # cosmetic sponge wedges ( without oils or lotions) stylus plastic wrap sanding disc paper towel bubble palette removable tape paper palette large sea sponge Instructions 1. Prepare the wood surface. (Debbie s blog entry: Tuesday Tips Wood Preparation and Basecoating. Basecoat the placemat with a roller brush Light Buttermilk. Dampen the foam roller with water so it does not soak up too much paint. It is important not to have too much water in the roller. The above photo is an example of how the water creates bubbles with the paint. If this happens, take a paper towel and squeeze the foam roller to remove excess water. Then reload with full strength paint. Allow to dry and repeat until the basecoat smooth and even. 2. To create the alligator faux finish it is necessary to apply two layers of matte varnish, allowing to dry in between coats. This will allow the paint to be subtracted by the plastic wrap. Otherwise the paint will not lift to create an obvious texture. Mix one part paint with appx three parts water mixed with Easy Float. Use this mixture to thin Glorious Gold so that it is an ink like consistency. Use a large brush to spread over the top of the surface quickly. Apply plastic wrap and crinkle it up while on the surface. When you lift the plastic pull straight up and do not drag across the surface. Dragging will eliminate the texture that has been created. If the texture is not desir-

3 able there are two techniques to fix it. The first is to quickly take a clean piece of plastic wrap, roll it in a ball and simply pounce on top of the texture. The second it to apply additional thinned paint onto the plastic ball and pounce it onto the surface. If these do not work, simply add paint to the entire surface and start over. Allow to dry. 3. Using a border tool, select a hole to create your border, lace a pencil in the hole and draw around the surface. If the tool catches, rub some soap around the outer edge of the surface to make it move smoothly. Once the border line has been penciled in, lighten it with a kneaded eraser. Use a liner brush and thinned Glorious Gold to go over the line. Lining the edges helps keep a straight edge as you basecoat your border with full strength Glorious Gold. I added a second, subtle faux finish with sponging to the gold border to soften it. It is important when sponging to use a large sea sponge that is dampened. It should be damp, not dripping wet. Also, it is necessary to load the paint into the sponge and then off load onto clean paper palette. This blends the paint into the sponge so there are no harsh globs. Load the dampened seas sponge with Light Buttermilk, off load to blend and then gently pounce the sponge around the gold border. I also use the clean end of the sponge to blend a texture that is too harsh. Part 2 This [part] is loaded with techniques! I am focusing on the using the stencil and mask that come with the Stampendous Jumbo Cling Poinsettia stamp along with how to properly apply paint to a stamp. I am also discussing how to dry brush which has been my signature technique for years. Hopefully you have all of the supplies I listed in part one. To begin apply one coat of matte varnish over the entire surface that you have prepped, basecoated, and faux finished. Open the package with the poinsettia stamp and take out the stencil and mask sheet. Immediately use a permanent marker to mark the top of the mask. I simple labeled mine Mask. It would also be beneficial to label the stencil top on the top of the poinsettia. This will assure that you are placing it on the surface properly and right side up. Determine the placement of the poinsettia on the surface and tape it into position. Dampen a cosmetic sponge and remove as much water as possible. Pour a puddle of Gooseberry Pink paint out on the palette paper. Load the sponge into the paint and then offload it on a clean area of the palette. When you look at the bottom of the sponge it should be covered by paint but you should still be able to see the texture of the sponge. Pounce the sponge over the stencil to basecoat the entire poinsettia. Allow to dry. Repeat until an even coverage is achieved. Remove the stencil and clean it in soap and water. Apply a coat of matte varnish over the poinsettia and allow to dry. Use double sided tape to apply the mask over the poinsettia. The roughing in the background is completed with layers of drybrushing.

4 Over the years many painters have asked me why I like dry brushing and why I started using it to paint three dimensional objects. Walking out a float, circular floats, back to back floats are all difficult floats to master. Dry brushing, on the other hand, is much easier to learn. This technique can be used in place of or combined with all the difficult painting techniques. The key to success is proper loading and use of the brush. I use brushes that are dome shaped, rounded, and have shorter hairs. For years, I dry brushed using a round fabric brush. This made dry brushing very difficult because it scratched the surface or created an uneven application of paint. The hairs of the brush needs to be soft enough to dry brush without scratching the surface, yet durable so they withstand the scrubbing motion of dry brushing. To begin, dip the brush into the paint, Hauser Light Green, and work it into the brush on a dry palette. Then wipe the brush on a dry paper towel, rotating the brush until only a residue of paint remains. To paint, place the brush down where you want the greatest concentration of paint. In this situation, it is next to the poinsettia, working it outward. Lay the brush back on it s handle, keeping it in a 40-degree angle to the surface. Refer to the above photo. This is easier if the brush is held further back on the handle. Using a light pressure, begin scrubbing the paint out of the brush, slowly, in a small circular motion. Work the paint outward, allowing it to diminish so that there is a gradation of color. Work slowly, so that the application is smooth and even. It is important to start with a very soft touch and slowly increase the pressure on the brush as the paint begins to diminish. Repeat this process all around the poinsettia. While dry brushing, it is important not to paint on the tip of the brush. This will dig into the paint, creating a crater. This crater can also result from using too much paint or too much pressure on the brush. Loading the brush incorrectly will result in an opaque application of color, instead of a gradation of color. Also, using too much pressure while painting will create a hard edge. This also can happen if water is mistakenly picked up the brush. To avoid this, always use a separate dry paper towel to wipe the paint from the dry brush. If you use a wet palette to keep your paints open, load the brush from the center of the paint puddle, being careful not to pick up any water in the brush. Add another application of roughing around the poinsettia with Hauser Medium Green covering a smaller area. Add a third application with Hauser Dark Green. Apply a coat of matte varnish over the roughing. Place the evergreen stamp from the Stampendous Cling Jumbo Pinecone Boughs Stamp onto a jumbo acrylic handle. Load a cosmetic sponge with Plantation Pine, offloading it on a clean section of the paper palette. Quickly pounce the loaded sponge over the entire stamp. Stamp it onto the right side of the poinsettia. The mask will protect the basecoat color. Reload the stamp and stamp it on the upper left side. Reload a third time and stamp it onto the lower left side. At anytime, if you don t like what you have stamped simply wipe it off with a damp paper towel! Since you already have a coat of varnish on the surface, it will clean up easily. Immediately wash the stamp with soap and water. If any has dried use an old tooth brush to clean. The sponges can also be washed and reused. Remove the mask and clean if necessary. Load the poinsettia stamp onto the jumbo acrylic handle. Load a cosmetic sponge with Country Red and load the stamp in the same manner as above. Align the stamp over the basecoat and press down evenly. If the lines are just a little off, that s ok. Simply fill in with Gooseberry Pink. Refer to the photo above. Base the two leaves with Light Buttermilk. I free handed the lines in the center of the one leave and along the bottom of the other with thinned Hauser Medium Green using a liner brush.

5 Part 3 [In this part] we will be covering a variety of techniques. I discuss Creating a Wash of Color, Walking out a Float, and Glazing as well as the finishing instructions for our project. One of the techniques we will be using today is a Wash of Color. To create a wash of color the paint needs to be thinned to make it transparent. I find it useful to mix water with about 25% flow medium when creating a wash. I keep this mixture in a bottle so I always have it on hand. This will allow the paint to be applied more evenly than with water alone because the Easy Float has a self leveling agent in it. This helps the paint flow onto the surface with less streaking. The percentage of paint to water mixture will be determined by the type of wash needed. A light wash, would have very little paint mixed into the water mixture, while a heavy wash would have more paint mixed in. I generally mix very little paint into the water mixture, preferring to create a light wash. If necessary, it is applied twice. Load the brush with the thinned paint, then blot it on a paper towel to eliminate puddles on the surface. Use as large of brush as you can control. Start at the top and work downward. Work quickly and do not stop painting unless you have reached an edge. Do not go over and over the same area, this will cause the wash to streak. In large areas, dampen the entire surface lightly with the water mixture, then apply the wash. This will eliminate some of the streaking, but the wash may need to be repeated. Using a bubble palette, place about a dime size drop of Cherry Red and Light Hauser Green in individual bubbles. Add the water mixture to thin the paint for a light wash. Completely mix the paint in the bubble palette so there is no solid pigment left. Refer the above photo. Wash over the leaves with the green wash and the poinsettia with the red mix. Brush mixed Plantation Pine with water to create a wash. Using a # 3 round, wash over the stem of the pine branches. Float to shade with full strength Cherry Red to the poinsettia and Hauser Green Light to the leaves. Some floats may need to be walked out. Walking out a float is the technique used to cover wider areas that can t be achieved by a single float. To walk out a float, load as large as brush as possible, just as with a single float. Apply the first step, floating with the paint at the outside edge. Quickly lay the brush just inside the first float, overlapping it. Float again, overlapping the floats so that the opaque colors meet and meld together. Repeat this process until the desired width is created. Using a flow medium mixed in the water also helps with this technique. It is very important that the brush is in a 40-degree angle and that a very light pressure is used. As you walk out a float, there may be a little streaking. To avoid this, tip the brush towards the water edge of the brush as you float. Also, it will be necessary to repeat the float two or three times, until a smooth and even coverage of color is created. If you are having trouble with walking out a float, you are not alone. Most of my students find this to be difficult. The following are some of the problems I ve observed and they solutions for these problems: There are a lot of streaks in the walked out float. The most common reason for this is that the opaque sections of the floats are not being overlapped. There are gaps which cause the streaks. Practice, practice, practice. This will be the only way you will make the observations of where to place the brush down with each float. I have also observed that students who use angle brushes to float with have a difficult time with streaking. As you float with an angular brush, make sure the entire chisel edge of the brush is touching the surface when you are painting. If only the tip is touching the surface, this could cause the streaking. Paint is picked up when laying down the overlapping floats. One reason for this is that the brush is being held up in a perpendicular position. This will dig or lift the paint as you walk out the float. Lay the brush back on an angle. Another reason for this is that too much pressure is being using while floating. Try to lighten your touch, allowing the paint to merge together.

6 Reinforce the shade areas, covering a smaller area, with to the Poinsettia and Hauser Green Medium to the leaves. Highlights are Gooseberry Pink to the poinsettia and Light Hauser Green + Light Buttermilk (1:1). Dry brush the highlights that are away from an edge. Deepen the shades to the poinsettia further with Deep Burgundy and to the leaves with Avocado. Add texture lines to the poinsettia with Country Red in the dark areas of the poinsettia petals and Cherry Red in the highlight areas. Glaze the darkest areas of the poinsettia with Russet and the leaves with Plantation Pine. Glazing is applying transparent color over a painting to add more dimension and interest. Some artists refer to this as tinting. The technique is generally used to apply accents and/or to build greater values. This is my favorite technique because it adds so much life to a design. The key to success is applying multiple thin layers of transparent paint. Load the brush, as if to float, with a small amount of paint. Stroke the brush back and forth on the palette paper until most of the paint is out of the brush. What remains is a transparent color. Apply as if walking out a float of color. Repeat if necessary. With each layer, the color becomes more vibrant. Stipple the center with the tip of a #3 round brush beginning with True Ochre. Tap in shades with Hauser Green Medium + True Ochre (1:1) and highlights with Golden Straw.Allow to cure for 24 hours then apply multiple coats of mate varnish. I hope you now have a greater understanding of the techniques I discussed. Many of these need to be practiced so don t be discouraged if you have not mastered them. Now that you have completed this poinsettia, you can paint accessory pieces to decorate your home. Have a wonderful Holiday Season filled with many blessings! If you would like to see my daily posts, please like my Facebook page at Debbie Cole Designs.