LEARN how to PAINT Presented by Willow Wolfe Vintage Keys Level: Intermediate By Chris Haughey with Step-by-Step Instructions Gather These Supplies No drawing or painting experience necessary! Basic Supplies Pencil or stylus Canson tracing paper Scissors Canson palette paper Transfer paper in white and grey Palette knife Water basin Paper towels Brushes Princeton Artist Brush Co. Select Artiste #3750 1/4 angle shader 1/2 angle shader 3/8 deerfoot stippler 1 liner 1/2 mop 3/4 oval wash Surface 10 x 10 wood art panel Palette DecoArt Americana Acrylics Buttermilk DA03 Camel DA191 Honey Brown DA163 Light Cinnamon DA114 Soft Black DA155 Warm White DA239 mediums DecoArt Decou-Page, Matte DecoArt Modeling Paste other supplies DecoArt Vintage Keys stencil Tim Holtz Postale Tissue Wrap Paper Roll Tim Holtz Gothic Layering Stencil Princeton Catalys t silicone wedge princetonbrush.com Visit willowwolfe.ca for more ideas and free projects P.1
About Willow Wolfe Willow Wolfe is an award-winning artist, author, and teacher, proficient in oils, acrylics and watercolors. Over the past 15 years, Willow has taught seminars worldwide and worked with manufacturers to develop and test innovative new products, such as Select Artiste. She has written a library of how-to books, painting kits, and articles in the industry s best-known magazines. She has designed projects geared to artists of all levels, and her instructions are written in a beginner-friendly, step-by-step format. Brush Tips and Care Never allow paint to dry in the bristles. Continue to rinse the brush in water as you paint. Do not allow your brush to rest in the water basin. Laying the brush bristles-down in the basin for a period of time will cause the bristles to lose shape and will affect performance. Soaking in water will also loosen the ferrule and potentially cause a wooden handle to swell. Use warm, soapy water to clean your brushes. As you clean, blot your brush on paper towel to remove excess water and color. When the brush is completely clear of paint, use a bit of soap to reshape the bristles. Store your brushes upright. 1/4 angle shader 2 filbert, 8 filbert 1/2 mop 1 liner 10/0 script liner Willow Wolfe presents Chris Haughey With only three stations to select on her black-andwhite TV, artist Chris Haughey spent most of her childhood playing with crafts and envying her older sister s oil painting supplies and talents. In college Haughey majored in fine art (oil painting) but soon found out that making a living by selling oil paintings was not all fun and games. Work in oils came to a halt when expecting her first child, as the odor from the turpentine was intolerable. Then she discovered the wonderful world of acrylics (kids and oils do not mix!) and has been an addict ever since. Her background in art continually encourages her to try new and exciting paints, mediums, and techniques. She absolutely loves what she does and feels very blessed that she is able to design and share her wonderful world of art. Visit willowwolfe.ca for more ideas and free projects P.2
Painting Tips and Techniques Basecoating Use the largest brush that will fit in an area comfortably. Rinse the brush in water and blot on paper towel prior to loading it in paint. Touch the brush into the puddle of paint and pull the color out from the puddle. Fully load the brush, ensuring there are no heavy globs or ridges. Allow the paint to flow off the brush using long, smooth strokes to fill the area. Make sure the first coat is dry prior to adding a second coat. Linework Use a small palette knife to apply water to your puddle of paint until you achieve a consistency similar to ink. Rinse the brush and blot on paper towel. Load the liner near the edge of the puddle and roll your brush to a point. Apply light pressure as you stroke or detail. The more pressure, the thicker your line will be. Wash A wash is a transparent layer of color applied in a smooth, even coat. To create a wash, thin the paint puddle with water, load the brush, and blot gently on paper towel to remove excess paint. Apply the color in a smooth coat. Let dry and reapply if necessary. Blending Techniques Drybrush Drybrushing is a blending technique where very little paint is used and the brush is drug over the surface in order to leave a textured effect, shadow, or highlight. 1. Load the brush (usually a lunar blender) with paint. 2. Wipe the brush on paper towel to remove paint from the surface of the bristles. 3. Drag your brush across the painting surface with light strokes, using very little pressure. 4. The more textured the surface under the brush, the more dramatic the effect. Floating/Sideloading Floating is a technique used to add shading or highlights to a design. It is a form of blending where the color blends right into the bristles of a brush, allowing you to shade and highlight quickly. 1. Ensure you have clean water in your water basin. 2. Always work with a fresh puddle of paint, and use the largest angle brush (many artists like to use a flat brush, and either one is fine) that will fit comfortably within an area. 3. Dip the brush in water and blot on paper towel to remove the excess. 4. Dip the toe of the angle in color (this is referred to as sideloading the brush). 5. Stroke the brush on the palette in the same place several times, blending the color into the bristles. This creates a gradation of color to clear water. 6. Apply the blended paint to the area on the surface you wish to shade or highlight. 7. Rinse and reload the paint as needed. Ensure the first layer of color is dry before deepening or applying another. Stippling Stippling is a blending technique used to merge values by tapping or pouncing with the tip of a brush. The look of stippling varies, depending on the type of brush used. A deerfoot will offer a soft, spread-out appearance, while a liner or round brush will have a much more defined appearance. Varnishing Use the 1 oval mop. Load the brush with satin or gloss varnish, and brush a thin layer lightly over the entire surface. Note: Your project may look different than those in the pictures due to variations in colors or techniques. Special Techniques Comma Strokes Comma strokes vary, depending on what style of brush is used and how much pressure is applied. The more pressure and the wider the brush, the wider the stroke. 1. Load the brush with paint. 2. Apply pressure to create the head of the comma. 3. Pull, curve, and lift the brush. The gradual lift of the brush creates the comma s tail. Slip-Slap Slip-slapping creates a background with variation in color and is done while paint is still wet. If you use more than one color, it can be used to blend them. It is often done with a large flat brush. 1. Pick up paint on the brush. 2. Use a light touch to apply paint to the surface with strokes going in different directions, like an X. 3. While the first color is still wet and brush still dirty, load the second color. 4. Continue making crisscross strokes going in multiple directions. 5. Feather the colors together where they meet for a gradation of color rather than a defined line. Visit willowwolfe.ca for more ideas and free projects P.3
Vintage Keys The use of stencils to create texture as well as design will result in layers of interest and complexity. Preparation 1. Lightly sand the surface and wipe it clean. 2. Using a small specialty sponge, seal the wood surface with Multi-Purpose Sealer. 3. With the same sponge, basecoat the surface and sides with Buttermilk and allow to dry. 4. Following the manufacturer s instructions, coat the surface with decoupage. 5. Immediately place Postale tissue over the surface. 6. Using a Catalyst wedge, smooth the paper to remove any wrinkles or bubbles. 7. While still wet, apply a decoupage topcoat over the tissue and allow to thoroughly dry. 8. Trim or sand excess around the edges to fit. background Thin Light Cinnamon with water (about 1:1). Load the 3/4 oval wash and slip-slap color onto the background. This does not need to be smooth or even. Apply this mostly over the top, bottom, and side areas. While still wet, load the brush with thinned Honey Brown and fill in the center area, blending into the Light Cinnamon. This will be uneven but not spotty. Use water to move and blend the paint. A mop may be used to soften as needed. This is a very thin wash of color that allows the background print to be visible. painting border trim design Measure 2 1/4 from the side edges and apply painter s tape. Using the oval wash and thinned Light Cinnamon, darken the border backgrounds. This will be a thin wash. Leave the background print still visible. The Modeling Paste and a stencil will be used to create the textured border design. Mix Buttermilk into the Modeling Paste about 1:2. Position the Gothic stencil and secure it with painter s tape. Using a palette knife, spread a thin layer over the top of the stencil. Wipe to smooth the paste mixture level with the top of the stencil. Carefully remove the stencil. The stencil is not long enough for the length of the border. Allow the paste mixture to dry, line up the stencil with the existing texture design, and repeat to complete the border design. Repeat for both sides, and then remove the painter s tape. key stencil Position the key stencil and secure it with painter s tape. Load the 3/8 deerfoot stippler with Honey Brown. Wipe the brush across a paper towel to remove excess paint. Lightly and evenly stencil the key onto the surface. The print may still be visible, as this is not a heavy, solid coverage. Load a 1/2 angle brush with Soft Black, and float a shadow below the bottom and to the right of the key, including the inside areas. Lightly float on the left side to define the key from the background. Tip Because stencils have tags to keep them attached, there will be void areas on the designs. The secret to using stencils and not having a stenciled look is to use the same color to connect these sections. The results will be amazing and will look totally hand painted! Use the liner and Honey Brown to fill in the voids or blank spaces (created from the tags that hold the stencil together) in the stenciled key structure to form a complete key. To add shading on the key, load the toe of an angle shader with Light Cinnamon. Shade across the bottom and up the right sides of all areas and sections. Alternate between the 1/2 and 1/4 angle as needed. Using the same angle brushes, highlight the top and left side of the key sections with Camel. Brighten highlights with Buttermilk. To add strong shine highlights, load the liner with Warm White and touch on highlighted areas. lock stencil Following the previous instructions, stencil the lock with Honey Brown. Remove the stencil and fill in the inside to create a solid lock shape using the same Visit willowwolfe.ca for more ideas and free projects P.4
Vintage Keys color. After the paint has dried, reposition the stencil and stencil the lock hole with Soft Black. Follow the previous instructions for shading the background around the lock and to add shading and highlighting on the lock. Using the handle end of the brush, dip-dot Camel nail heads. Shade Light Cinnamon along the bottom and up the right side of the nail head. Highlight the top and left with Buttermilk, and add a stronger Warm White dip-dot on the top left. Pull a Camel highlight around the top and right of the keyhole. Add a touch of Warm White to strengthen the highlight. shading Load the toe of the 1/2 angle shader with thinned Soft Black. Float a light shadow around the edges of the middle section of the plaque. finishing Paint a wash of Light Cinnamon around the side edges using the oval wash. Spray seal with several light coats of DecoArt Americana Matte Spray Varnish, allowing adequate drying time between coats. Enlarge line drawing by 160% Visit willowwolfe.ca for more ideas and free projects P.5
Vintage Keys Worksheet Step 1: Apply a wash of color over the decoupaged background with an oval wash. Step 2: Use a filbert to apply and blend the colors. Step 3: Mask off the side borders and place the stencil. Step 4: Use the Catalyst blade to apply the texture. Step 5: Stencil the key shape in Honey Brown using a deerfoot stippler. Step 6: Add shading and highlighting. Visit willowwolfe.ca for more ideas and free projects P.6