EX

CLUSIVE

HEAR NO SEE NOSPEAK NO EVIL

by Leslie Smith

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SURFACEWhat’s better than a miniature ironing board? The answer is... three miniature ironing boards. These little boards are so very versatile and can be connected to make a triptych with cording or wire. The cord serves as hangers or hinges, depending upon how you choose to connect them.14” Mink—Ironing Board #63111

PALETTEDecoArt Americana AcrylicsCashmere Beige #13091Dark Chocolate #13065Grey Sky #13111Hauser Light Green #13131Honey Brown #13163Lamp (Ebony) Black #13067Raw Sienna #13093Snow White (Titanium White) #13001Sunny Day #13558

OTHER DECOART PRODUCTSMulti Purpose Sealer #87392Dura Clear Soft Touch Varnish #72013

BRUSHES:I used a round brush, approximately a size 6 for the entire painting. It is suffi ciently old that the brand wore off long ago and I can no longer tell the manu-facturer’s name. Use the largest round brush with which you are comfortable.

MISC. SUPPLIESDrillFishing line or other cord to make “hinges”General’s White Charcoal PencilSee-through rulerTransfer paper

TECHNIQUEThe puppies are painted almost entirely with a patting motion and a round brush. Think of it as a smooth stipple. The round brush is held normally (not upright as in a stipple) and increasingly lighter colors are patted into the underlying wet paint. First a layer of paint is laid down covering an area or object: Lamp Black for the black areas and Dark Chocolate for the brown areas.

While this paint is still wet, the dirty brush is loaded with the next lighter color in the family. The process of building highlights with sequentially lighter values in ever smaller areas is called pyramiding. Here are how the two pyramids are “built” on this piece:

Black —> Grey Sky —> Snow White

Dark Chocolate —> Raw Sienna —> Honey Brown —> Cashmere Beige —> optional Grey Sky

The newly created mixture is patted into the center of the area, working outward. Each time the brush is reloaded, the paint will become lighter. This requires that the brush be laid down in the center of the area each and every time the brush is reloaded with paint.

The brush is washed when switching from a lighter paint to a darker paint. Otherwise, it is seldom washed unless it is getting sticky or being retired.

After the area is dry, the fi nal highlights and shading are done with the same patting method, only onto the dry paint. Dry brushing makes them stronger and cleaner. Edges are blended out because less and less pressure is used as the brush moves outward. If further blended is needed, a tickling motion, using a clean round brush can be used. If you get stuck, you can also mix any two colors on your palette to create a “middle” color to bridge the two. In some instances, areas of fur may not require “perfect” blending. They simply appear to be changes in markings.

PREPARATIONDecide upon how you wish to connect the boards. You can make a triptych or choose to hang them vertically in a row. Once you have decided on this, drill small holes as shown in the line drawings. Then seal both sides of boards. Next, basecoat with Hauser Green Light.

Enlarge the pattern to 127% to fi t triptych. Then trans-fer the pattern. Solid lines denote edges; dotted lines indicate changes in color and markings. Basecoat with Hauser Light Green.

INSTRUCTIONSThe following instructions are for all three pups. Be-fore you start, look at the fi nal photos and note the diff erences. Obviously, some diff erences are defi ned

Hear No See No Speak No Evilby Leslie Smith

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by the line drawings. Other diff erences are achieved by diff erent markings, location of highlights and shading, and intensity of the highlights or shading.

The location and intensity of diff erent values are impor-tant to create the depth and dimension; they indicate how the front legs and paws are held. As an example, Hear No’s and See No’s front legs are held straight up and down. Speak No’s front legs are such that the elbows are held back and close to the torso.

Place your hands over your eyes, then your ears, and then your mouth. Did you notice? Your elbows stuck out when you covered your ears, but only when you covered your ears. That’s why there are stronger high-lights on Hear No’s arms close to his elbows.

EyesThe eyes take more steps and more time than anything else. But, they are worth it because it is the eyes that makes the pups. A step-by-step fi gure has been pro-vided and shows each step.

STEP 1Base with Lamp Black.

STEP 2Stroke in iris (the colored part) with Dark Chocolate. Be sure to leave the a thin outline of black around the eye, the pupil and two little triangles of black—one on either side.

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STEP 3Highlight the iris from 9 o’clock to about 5 o’clock with Raw Sienna. The easiest way is to just make arcs, start-ing at the bottom and working towards the pupil. Each arc is shorter. This results in the highlight being wider along the bottom of the iris and it appears to be almost triangular.

STEP 4The pups are all from the same litter, but may diff er in eye color. So, do not worry if they are not all the same. Just make sure each pair matches. Highlight the Raw Sienna with dirty brush while wet with Honey Brown. If necessary, repaint the center pupil with black to be sure that the edges are sharp.

STEP 5Highlight iris a second time—with that dirty brush and Honey Brown. Again it is triangular and extends from about 8 o’clock to 6 o’clock. It is also a shorter triangle, stopping before getting to the pupil.

STEP 6Highlight it a third time, but with a tiny triangle, made up of arcs— with Sunny Day. It should be in the center of the other highlights—about 7 o’clock. Wash brush.

STEP 7Tap some dilute Grey Sky into the pupil to start the highlight. It is a smudge, so I actually “blot” it with my fi nger. Be sure that it is located below the black outline of the eye. Use the same dilute Grey Sky to wash over the right side of the iris. This can extend a tiny bit into the pupil. It should be only slightly noticeable. This is the light, refl ected by the moisture of the eye.

STEP 8Highlight the pupil a second time with Snow White. The fi nal white highlight remains clean and bright. Wash brush.

STEP 9The area above and below his eyes create his lids.

Base the area above his eye with arcing strokes of Lamp Black, extending to his brows. Use a single stroke of black below his eyes to defi ne his lower lid.

STEP 10Pick up Grey Sky on your dirty brush and highlight his upper eyelid—but only on the side nearest his ears. The Grey Sky does not extends across about half of his up-per eyelid.

The single arc nearest his eye both (top and bottom) is highlighted with Grey Sky and then, in a smaller area, with Snow White—Paint this to the left on the upper lids and to the right on his lower lids. Be sure the keep the black outline of his eyes; it is not highlighted.

EarsBase the ears with Lamp Black. While still wet, pick up Grey Sky with your dirty brush and edge the ears to create the edges, especially at the top where the ears connect to the pup’s head and turn. Use light pressure at fi rst, then press down harder with the brush, and end the line with light pressure.

This will vary both the width of the edge and the amount of paint that the brush puts down. If you want the edges to stand out more, repeat the same stroke, overlapping the previous one. Only, make the second stroke shorter. It should begin and end before the fi rst one. Wash brush.

Line the inside of his ears with Dark Chocolate (there’s two tiny triangles showing the undersides of his ears where they turn). Highlight in the center of that area with Raw Sienna and then Honey Brown. Shade the up-per and lower corners with Lamp Black.

NoseBase the top half of the nose with Lamp Black and the bottom half (or so) with Dark Chocolate. While still wet, pick up Grey Sky and highlight along the top and under each nostril with short vertical strokes. Start at the top in the very center of his nose and work fi rst to the right and then to the left. If you reload your brush, start again at the top center and work around his nostrils.

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Of course, you will pick up some of the wet dark base and probably have some dark already in your brush. So, the Grey Sky will be the lightest and cleanest in the top center and fade into the dark background of the nose. Blending and mixing happen at the same time.

Finally, highlight the top of his nose with Snow White. Use the same short vertical strokes and create a trian-gular area that sparkles. Wash brush.

MouthBase the little triangle that forms his mouth with Lamp Black. That’s it. All we need to do now is keep it’s place, so we can fi nd it later.

FaceThe rest of his face is painting around the already painted eyes, nose, etc. Be sure to overlap your strokes when you get to his eye lids so that his fur blends from area to area.

Start at the top of his head with Lamp Black on your brush and stroke downward in the direction of the pup’s fur. Work downward towards his nose and around his eyes and brows.

When you get to his brows, pick up Dark Chocolate, then Raw Sienna, and then Honey Brown. The brows on each pup can be in a diff erent place (near the nose or closer to the sides of his face). They just need to be in matching pairs. You can even add some whiskers or wild hairs. Give your pups their own personality. Wash brush.

CheeksAs you paint his cheeks, pick up some Dark Chocolate on your brush. The cheeks are not based in Black; they are brown. Keep painting with Dark Chocolate until the entire cheek area is covered. Paint one cheek at a time, so the Dark Chocolate stays wet. Pick up Raw Sienna on your dirty brush and pat it into the center of the cheek where it would bulge. Repeat, in a smaller area with Honey Brown, and fi nally with Cashmere Beige on either side near his nose. Wash brush.

Use dilute Dark Chocolate to create whisker dimples in two straight, but angled rows. Wash brush.

Under NosePaint a line of Lamp Black from the bottom of his nose to the top of his mouth. Darken the area on either side of this line with Dark Chocolate and then Black.

Wash Dark Chocolate over the inside of his mouth. Give him a tiny chin with Dark Chocolate. Paint short vertical strokes of Raw Sienna to create fur along the edge of his chin. If they do not stand out enough to make his chinny chin chin especially cute, either repeat or add some Honey Brown fur to the very center of his chin. His chin fades out on either side. Wash brush.

Above NoseThe area above his nose is probably dry by now, so it will accept dry brushing with ease. It can be dry brushed with Sky Grey or any of the browns. This light-er mix is strongest at the top of nose and fades into the forehead. A tiny bit of this can also used to highlight his forehead. Wash brush.

TorsoBase his chest with Dark Chocolate. Work through the browns as you did on his face: Raw Sienna, Honey Brown, and then a smaller area in the center with Cash-mere Beige. Be sure to extend this “ruff ” to each side and below his arms. This will enable his front legs to appear to come further out and towards the viewer.

His lower torso or tummy is based with Lamp Black. It has little if any highlights, but there is a line of Grey Sky (into the wet Black) to give him a tufted line of fur. While the Grey Sky is in your brush, go back and dry brush some of that mix into the Cashmere Beige area (if any) on his chest. Wash brush.

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Legs and PawsThe pups have been anthropomorphized—made more appealing by giving them some human characteristics. It’s a trick often used in commercials and cartoons. The paws are structured somewhat like a baby’s hands and the claws have been omitted.

Base in upper legs and paws with Dark Chocolate. Proceed, while wet, with Raw Sienna and Honey Brown. Leave the Dark Chocolate showing to visually separate his legs from his paw (creates a wrist) and his the fl at of paw from each of the “fi ngers.”

For the most part, his front legs contrast with his black torso by being brown. This creates distance and brings them forward. However, in a few spots, his brown legs are in front of an area of his torso that is also brown. In these instances, add dark (black) markings or stronger brown highlights. This is illustrated in the photos.

Base back legs and paws with Chocolate Brown and then paint them with the same colors as his ruff and front legs. The highlight of Cashmere Beige is fairly large and occupies the “knee caps.” The highlights on his paws are also both large and heavy. This helps to bring his knees and paws forward. Wash brush.

Dry brush some Lamp Black to divide his legs from his paws. Allow a slender line of brown to show along the inner edge of his legs to keep them separate and forward from his belly.

Finally, clean up all edges with Hauser Green Light.

EvaluateWhen you fi rst glance at the pups, you should see the faces. The faces are the focal point. If you see the hind legs fi rst, that means that the highlights on his back haunches and paws are too strong or the highlights on his front legs/paws and face are too weak and need to be reinforced.

In addition, no one pup should be more noticeable than the other two. Again, check the highlights to be sure that they are equal, clean and crisp on all three pups’ faces.

FINISHINGWhen you are satisfi ed, sign your piece. Once dry, coat with two coats of Soft Touch varnish. You may have to use a needle to remove the dried varnish from the holes. Lay boards, back side up, with sides touch-ing. Cut about 8” of fi shing line and run through two matching holes so both ends come out on the back side of your triptych. Lay a pencil on top of the groove formed by two boards and tie the boards together . Remove pencil—its only purpose was to create a little slack for the pieces to bend. Secure knots with a dot of glue, using a glue gun.

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Pattern at 100%1” x 1”

To ensure yourpattern is at 100%,

this box should measure 1” x 1” when printed.

Copyright 2018 by Leslie Smith and Crafts Americana Group, Inc.All Rights Reserved. #332319

No. *A332319*© Artist’s Club ®. All rights reserved. For private, non-commercial use only.

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