Summer Lilacsby Donna Hodson, CDA

Summer LilacsBy Donna Hodson, CDA

Palette: DecoArt Americana AcrylicsAntique Gold #13009 Cadmium Yellow #13010Dioxazine Purple #13101 Hauser Dark Green #13133Hauser Light Green #13131 Hauser Medium Green #13132Light Buttermilk #13164 Olive Green #13056Raw Sienna #13093 Titanium White #13001Ultra Blue Deep #13100 Dazzling MetallicsVenetian Gold #14079

Surface: Tall Block Candleholder #62625

Misc. Supplies:White Graphite Paper #70139 DecoArt Wood Filler #83210Palette Knife #70194 Large Sanding Pad, Fine/Extra Fine #70797Tracing Paper Pad #83176 Palette Paper Pad #70560Brush Basin #70174 JoSonja Polyurethane Varnish – Matte #84104JoSonja All Purpose Sealer #84151 Bright LED Taper Candle #82217600 Wet/Dry Sandpaper Scotch Brand Magic Tape

Brushes: Papillon by the Artist’s ClubAngular Shader, size ½” #20111 Filbert, size 12 #20121Glaze Wash, size 1” #20103 Round, size 2 #20158; size 3 #20159Shader, size 10 #20130 Script Liner, size 10/0 #20137

Preparation:Using the Large Sanding Pad – Fine/Extra Fine, sand the candle holder following the grain of the wood as much as possible. If needed, fi ll any holes with wood fi ller, dry and re-sand that part. Mix Hauser Dark Green + JoSonja All Purpose Sealer, about 1-1 with a palette knife. Using a 1” Glaze Wash brush, paint all parts except the edges with this mix. Paint inside the candle insert and wipe away any paint that gets on the insert before it can cure. For the edges, mix Antique Gold + JoSonja All Purpose Sealer, 1-1 and paint with one coat using a size 10 Shader. After the fi rst base coats dry, lightly smooth with a piece of 600 wet/dry sandpaper or with a piece of crumpled paper sack. Remove any residue with a damp lint free cloth. Use the size 12 Filbert brush for this part. Painting a small section at a time, coat with Hauser Dark Green and while wet dab some Hauser Light Green randomly over the Hauser Dark Green, wipe your brush and then soften the two values together in a criss-cross manner. Wipe your brush and then smooth out if needed. You want the two values to show but also a mid value will also be cre-ated. Repeat until the front, sides, back and top are covered and that the colors blend well at the edges of the sides. Paint the bottom with another coat of Hauser Dark Green. The edges will be painted again later. Allow the base coat to dry thoroughly. Place some Scotch Brand Magic tape along the lower edge 1

of the base right up against the front and sides of the block. This will protect the base while you paint the design.Make a tracing of pattern 1 and transfer the leaves and centers of daisies to the surface with White Graphite. Transfer just a loose oval type shape for the lilac blossoms, ignoring the ones that will fall in front of the leaves. Basecoat as follows:Leaves: Using the size 10 Shader, paint with two coats of Hauser Medium Green. Ignore the stems for now. Daisies: Paint the centers with one coat of Antique Gold using the size 2 Round brush. Lilacs: These will be painted after the leaves are fi nished.

Painting Instructions:TECHNIQUES: I use several techniques when painting this type design. Most of my shading and highlighting is done with a ½” Angular Shader. I fl oat very lightly using a “blended method”. I don’t use a lot of paint on my brush and add layers of one value until I have a smooth graded value. I move to a slightly darker value and apply it as many times as needed. I don’t carry the subsequent values out as far as my initial applications. I will set the brush down and lightly stoke the paint moving it out a little. When I am

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satisfi ed or the paint begins to dry I stop. I use the short clean edge of my brush to tap the edges if needed to soften any lines I have created. This is where some of you might choose to use a mop. Use whatever works for you.

A second technique is using a Round brush and strokes to create the daisies and the lilacs. The daisies are a modifi ed comma stroke holding the brush above the ferrule in a vertical position. The lilacs are short little set down strokes using the tip of a small round brush holding it at a slight angle. I fully load the brushes (but not globby) for this technique and like to use fresh paint.

LEAVES: Refer to the step by step illustrations and the fi nished photo.

1. Begin by fl oat shading at the base of the leaves with a mix of Hauser Medium Green + Hauser Dark Green, about 1-1. I repeat this step so that the color is solid and fades to nothing.2. Re-shade and pull some of the fi rst shading mix down both sides of the center vein line fading to nothing at the tip of the leaf. 3. Using Hauser Dark Green, fl oat more shading at the base but don’t cover all of the previous val-ues. Pull a bit of this down the center vein area but don’t create any hard lines or cover all of the previous values. 4. Begin to add highlights with Hauser Light Green. I use back to back fl oats in the center high-light area of the leaves, but if this step is diffi cult for you, use a dry brush method for the center highlights. Repeat this highlight as many times as needed. It’s better to apply just a little paint and build gradually. I fl oated the highlights on the edges. Notice that the highlights on the leaves at the top and around the edges are not as bright as those in the center area. 5. Using the size 10/0 Script Liner, thin Hauser Light Green slightly with water and fully load your brush, tap a bit on the palette to be sure you can paint fi ne lines. Paint in the center vein lines and then the side veins slightly curving from the center to the edge. For the most part, the side veins meet at the center vein line. Mash down a bit more on the brush for the center vein lines but lighten the pressure to lose the vein at the tip of the leaves. 6. The background and upper leaves are mostly fi nished after this step. Using the angle brush,

load just a tiny bit of Hauser Dark Green on the tip, work on your palette to move the paint a bit and shade next to the center vein and behind some of the side veins. Be careful not to cover all of the highlights. I also fl oated this down the side of the vein away from the upper right light source. Shade again at the base if needed. 7. Using some Olive Green, highlight the major leaves in the center areas on the edges and between the veins lightly. In the center high-light use small back to back fl oats between the veins.

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Add a highlight to the center vein and a bit on the side veins where they fall in a highlighted area. 8. Accents are added with a medium mix of Dioxa-zine Purple + a bit of Light Buttermilk. You might want to wait until the fl owers are painted to add the accents and fi nal highlights as needed.

LILACS: Technique: I began to lay in dark and medium dark value shapes to the lilacs. I use a size 2 Round brush and loosely paint little 3-5 petal shapes try-ing not to be too regular at the edges. I added some bud like strokes at the tips. It’s good to leave some background showing here and there to add some stems later on. I go over these 3 or 4 times to build the values and stack the blossoms so that some darker values would show underneath. As my val-ues get lighter, my fl owers have more defi nition.

MIXES: I used mixes of Dioxazine Purple + Ultra Blue Deep. One is more purple and the other more blue but by having both mixed the colors will harmonize. I have labeled the pattern for the purple or the blue lilacs. I keep some of the pure color on my palette to adjust the colors as needed. Test your mixes with a bit of Light Buttermilk until you like what you see. To create lighter values, I simply add Light But-termilk until toward the end; then I add Titanium White for the lightest values. The following directions and illustrations are for both colors. I work wet on wet or over dry. I don’t clean my brush between colors or values until I think it needs a cleaning. Then I start over. I usually work the purple fl owers and then the blue ones. Refer to the pattern or fi nished photo.

1. Using the round brush, load in a darker mix plus just a tiny bit of Light Buttermilk, and begin to paint little fl ower shapes using the tip of your brush at a slight angle. Do these loosely and randomly over the area of the lilac shape you are working on. Place some of these over leaves previously painted and tuck others under the leaves. 2. Add a bit more Light Buttermilk to the mix to cre-ate a dark/medium value and place some more over these but don’t cover all the previous ones. 3. Add more Light Buttermilk to the mix for a me-dium light value and add more fl owers. As you move up in the values try to make more distinct fl owers with 4 – 5 petals. Overlap previous fl owers.

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Add some more buds at the top of the clusters or go over some that were added. Note that the lilacs away from the center areas or to the back do not have bright highlights. 4. Add some Light Buttermilk to the mix and add lighter fl owers paying attention to the highlight areas and the light source. 5. I used a dirty brush but dipped into Light But-termilk to highlight and paint new little fl owers in the highlight area or go over some that are already painted. If these are too glaring, add a bit of the col-or mix to this to tone down, and try again. If needed add some straight Light Buttermilk highlights. Stems: Use Hauser Medium Green + Hauser Light Green to paint little stems inside the blossoms and connecting the buds. The other stems will be paint-ed later. 6. Centers: Use the tip of the liner to add dots for the centers. For the darker blossoms, add some centers of Hauser Light Green. For those in the mid value range, add Olive Green dots to the centers. Add Cadmium Yellow dots to those in the highlight areas.

DAISIES: Refer to the fi nished picture and the step by step illustration as you paint these.

Mix a bit of Hauser Medium Green into Light But-termilk to create a very pale green. Using a size 2 Round brush, follow the step by step illustration to paint the petals around the center. I begin at the top of the center with my fi rst stroke for the back petals. (Don’t worry about pretty tails on these strokes, just stop at the center). After the initial stroke, I add petals to one side and then the other. As I approach the front petals, I shorten them so that the daisy will face in the direction I desire. I will use a loaded brush and sometimes will use two strokes for each petal. Don’t mash the brush too much when you paint these. If you have little ridges in the paint, that’s fi ne. I use a loaded brush but not globby. I load my brush on all four sides and let it return to the round shape by tapping on my palette if needed. It would be a good idea to practice a bit before you paint on your surface if strokes are a new technique for you.I paint the petals free-handed, but if you need a pattern, transfer only a line down the center of the petal.

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1. Using the pale green mix of Light Buttermilk + a touch of Hauser Medium, load the size 2 Round brush and stroke the petals around the center of all of the daisies. It’s fi ne to create a few ridges as you paint these. Refer to the photograph or the complete pattern to assist. For those that fall under a leaf, put a bit of tape over the leaf or wipe off as soon as you paint that stroke with a damp brush or paper towel. 2. Using the ½” Angular Shader brush, fl oat some shade on the petals next to the center lightly with Hauser Medium Green, more on the back petals. Use this to also separate petals so that one will fall in front of another or where they fall behind a leaf. 3. Re-shade as needed with Hauser Medium Green + a bit of Hauser Dark Green at the centers. 4. Float some Titanium White Highlights on the tips of the petals, more on those that fl ip up or are catch-ing light from the upper right light source. You could also highlight with some Titanium White strokes at the tips using your round brush or a liner. Don’t carry the strokes all the way to the center.5. Create a very light wash on your palette with Cad-mium Yellow + water and lightly apply some to the petals in the center of interest area. When dry, re-highlight with white as needed.

CENTERS: Re-paint the centers with Antique Gold and clean up any edges where you came into the center too far when you painted the petals. 1. Mix Hauser Medium Green + Raw Sienna to create a “dirty golden green”. Using the tip of your size 10/0 Script Liner or small Round, “dab” a bit of this in the center to create a dent. Tap around the edges, using more on the shaded side with this value.2. Switch to Antique Gold using the dirty brush and tap between the shade and the center softening the line so that you don’t see where one ended and the other began. Tap around the dent in the center to soften the edges but don’t cover the dent. 3. Use Antique Gold to tap around the center area and into the shaded portion to blend in with the other shading values.4. Tap on a highlight with Cadmium Yellow. There will be some on both sides of the dark center “dent”. The top part will be brighter. 5. After the whole piece is fi nished, you can add more highlights to the centers of the daisies in the central portion of the design with Cadmium Yellow + Tita-nium White, a pale yellow.

Larger Stems: After all of the leaves, lilacs, and daisies are fi nished, add some of the heavier stems. I used the size 10/0 Script Liner for this step.Lilacs: Mix Hauser Medium Green + Burnt Umber to create a dirty green value and use your liner to paint the stems. Refer to the fi nished piece or connect in a logical place according to how you have painted your lilacs. Highlight as needed lightly with Hauser Light Green.Leaves: Pull some stems from the base of the leaves as needed with Hauser Medium Green. Shade a bit with Hauser Dark Green and highlight some with Hauser Light Green.Daisies: Pull some stems coming from the daisies with Hauser Medium Green, some are slightly curved. Lose them where they tuck into the lilac clusters. Highlight if needed with a bit of Hauser Light Green.

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Finishing:Evaluate your design. Add more highlights to the leaves or the lilacs if the daisies are too over-powering. I added some medium purple accents to the leaves with Dioxazine Purple + a bit of Ultra Blue Deep + Titanium White. Refer to the photo.

Edges: I painted the edges with 2-3 coats of DecoArt Dazzling Metallic Venetian Gold over the An-tique Gold. After all of the paint has had time to cure, varnish as you desire. I like JoSonja’s Poly-urethane Matte Varnish and apply 4 – 5 light coats for a surface that will be handled. Between the last two coats, I will wet sand very lightly with the 600 wet/dry sandpaper. You don’t want to sand off any of the painting underneath the varnish. I wipe away the residue and add one more coat of varnish. Another option is to use paste wax with super fi ne steel wool to apply and then buff for a nice fi nish. To protect your furniture attach some felt bumper dots to the bottom of the holder.

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Pattern at 100%1” x 1”

To ensure your pattern is at 100%, this box should measure 1” x 1” when printed.

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Copyright 2015 by Donna Hodson, CDA and Crafts Americana Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. #331923

No. *A331923*© Artist’s Club ®. All rights reserved. For private, non-commercial use only. Please see our web site for terms of use.