| Basic Painting Techniques |
From "DIY Crafts"
episode DIC-139 |
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Painting expert Julie McGuffee demonstrates simple folk-art painting strokes. Julie creates project books for DecoArt and is a member of the Society of Tole and Decorative Painters. But you don't have to be an artist to be a decorative painter. Materials:
Round brush
Flat brush
Water-based acrylic paint
Paper plate
Paper
Water in a bowl for cleaning brush
Paper towels
Comma Stroke - Place a small amount of paint on a paper plate. Using a round brush, swish it in water. Load the paint onto the brush. Work the brush around in the paint rather than just dipping it in. Turn the brush in the paint on all sides and press it against the paper plate for even distribution.
- Press the brush almost flat on the paper, spreading its bristles, to create the upper portion of the "comma," and pull the brush downward and slightly in a semicircle, lifting it as it reaches the bottom. The stroke will taper to a point.
- Try the comma stroke in the opposite direction, pulling the brush downward in a semicircle to the other side. You will have created a mirror image of the original comma stroke (figure A).
Teardrop Stroke Load the round brush with paint, and press it down on the paper, spreading the hairs of the brush. Pull the brush straight down, lifting it when it reaches the bottom. Rectangle Stroke Load a flat brush with paint as described above, working it through the paint for even distribution. Place the brush parallel to the top of the paper edge, and pull it straight across from left to right. This will produce a rectangle. Lift the brush for a clean edge. Crescent Stroke - Place a small amount of red acrylic paint on a paper plate and a similar amount of white acrylic paint on a second plate. Using a flat brush, load one corner with red paint and the other corner with white. Blend the colors on the brush a little bit by stroking the brush in a straight line across the paper plate. This will produce an area that has a white stripe and a red stripe. Turn the brush over, and stroke it again across the same area, being sure to brush over the same colors. Don't mix the red and white colors together.
- The crescent stroke is similar to the comma stroke but looks different because it's done with a flat brush. Place the brush on the paper, and pull the brush left to right in a semicircular motion. Lift the brush at the end of the stroke. Since the brush is loaded with red and white, both colors will be seen in the stroke, with a blending in the center. This produces natural shading.
- By duplicating the crescent stroke on the opposite side of the semicircle, you can create a rose petal.
Rose Petal - Load a round brush with red paint, and paint a circle. Dip the tip of the brush in the white paint (leaving the red on the brush), and make a comma stroke over the top edge of the circle, starting the stroke on the left (figure B).
- Load a little more white paint on the same brush without washing it, and make another comma stroke over the center of the circle, starting the comma stroke on the right (figure C).
- Using white paint, make two more comma strokes over the circle underneath the first two comma strokes, alternating the beginning of the strokes left and right (figure D).
Leaves Pour a small amount of green paint onto one paper plate and a small amount of white paint onto another. Load the round brush with green paint. Now dip the tip of the brush in white paint. Press the brush against the paper, and flick the tip outward to the right (figure E). Tips: - You can purchase stroke templates to place under washable practice sheets to help you learn the patterns.
- Work slowly and concentrate on the strokes.
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