Summer Garden Angelby Cindy Mann-Vitale

Summer Garden AngelBy Cindy Mann-Vitale

Palette: DecoArt Americana Acrylics

Antique White #13058 Avocado #13052Avocado Dip #13248 Baby Blue #13042Burnt Umber #13064 Country Red #13018Cranberry Wine #13112 Fawn #13242Gingerbread #13218 Green Tea #13282Lamp Black #13067 Light Cinnamon #13114Marigold #13194 Moon Yellow #13007Poodleskirt Pink #13257 Prussian Blue #13138Raw Sienna #13093 Russet #13080Slate Grey #13068 Spa Blue #13267Taffy Cream #13005 Toffee #13059Warm White #13239 Williamsburg Blue #13040Winter Blue #13190

Surface: Door Crown with Insert #62597Insert for Door Crown – set of 4 #62598

Misc. Supplies:DecoArt DuraClear Varnish – Matte #87395DecoArt Americana Acrylic Sealer/Finisher – Matte #70836DecoArt Wood Filler #83210Spatter ToolPermanent Ink Pen, size .005 Black

Brushes: Papillon by the Artist’s ClubRound, size 2 #20158; size 5 #20162; size 8 #20164Liner, size 0 #20146; size 1 #20147Glaze Wash, size 1” #20103

Preparation:Before We Begin:This is a note to encourage you, especially if you are trying my technique for the fi rst time!I never, never worry about being perfect! I gave that up years ago! Strive to create an acceptable result, keeping in mind that most errors and mistakes are never discerned by anyone but you!Relax, and have fun! Enjoy the experience, and give yourself permission to enjoy the painting as you learn!Good is Good Enough!A Note about Brushes: Use a brush size that’s in proportion for the area in which you are working, and is the best fi t for you. I use round brushes for almost all of my painting, basing, and shading. The only time I use a fl at or wash brush is for very large areas of base coating, antiquing, and varnishing.

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Fill in holes, if needed, lightly sand, and wipe away dust.

I like to seal the surface with a light application of the Dura Clear Matte Varnish, slightly diluted with water, in a ratio of approximately 50-50. Allow to dry, then lightly sand the surface to smooth. The surface should not be overly slick or smooth, as in a glass like surface. You should be able to discern a slight texture to the surface when brushing your fi ngertips over the wood. Clean of the surface of any residue or dust before transferring the pattern.

I usually transfer the entire design onto my board, and paint the background and base coat around each design element. This is, of course, a tedious process. What can I say? It’s a “Cindy” thing!However, it is more reasonable to base coat the majority, if not the entire board surface with the primary background color, allow to dry, and then transfer all the design elements.

If you are working with a pale or white background base coat, it works well to base in the entire surface, since painting over a very light and neutral color does not distort the next paint applica-tion.If the background is a dark color however, then I suggest an undercoating of white to lift the base coating back up to the desired level for best results.

If the surface or grain of the wood raises during the basing process, then sand lightly with very fi ne grit sandpaper, or a piece of brown paper bag. As I have mentioned above, do not sand the surface until it become slick and shiny. If you only have the very fi ne grit sandpaper, be sure to use a very light touch. Using the sandpaper will most likely require an additional coat of paint. With the brown paper I fi nd it does not require any touch up painting.

If the surface becomes too slick, it will hinder the shading mixture from adhering. The paint mix-ture will slide over the surface and smear. My shading process works much better if the surface is slightly rough, or has “tooth”. In that way, the shading mixture grabs into the grain.

Keep in mind that the results I achieve are a result of many layers, or applications of the shading applications, and are not accomplished in one simple step. In the fi rst steps of the process, the re-

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sults may be slightly blotchy or mottled. Do not be concerned with this, but simply allow to dry com-pletely, then apply another application until you are pleased with the results.

Painting Instructions:Door Crown:Transfer all the checkerboard squares and the gold edging which will cre-ate the area for the fl oral insets. Note: In the event that there may be slight dis-crepancies in the ex-act duplication of the board, you may need to slightly adjust the line drawing to fi t your board. Do Not Transfer the Following:The fl ower, stem or leaves. This will be transferred after the base coating and shading are completed.Black and White Checkerboard Design:Base in the white squares with Warm White.Base in the black squares with Slate Grey.Begin shading all of the squares with highly diluted Lamp Black. A suggested ratio to begin is 95% water to 5% paint, then adjust accordingly with less water, if needed. If you fi nd this is too drastic of a contrast for you to work with comfortably, then use a grey color of your choice. As you work, try to create different levels and variations of shading, so each square is slightly dif-ferent in effect. Apply more shading to the black squares to deepen, than to the white squares. This process may take quite a few applications of color, and can be time intensive. A short cut would be to simply base coat the squares with Lamp Black, and or a very dark charcoal shade. I like the sharp contrasts and variations of color, so I use this method, but go with what works best for you. The Board Edge:I suggest that you complete the entire front panel of the surface, allow the paint to dry, then var-nish with two light coats of varnish, as given in the basic varnishing instructions. When the fi nish-ing coats of varnish have been applied and are dry, begin to paint the board edges. I am a “messy” painter and fi nd it diffi cult to use great patience and precision while working in tight areas, therefore, I have paint all over the place! With a varnished surface, should I have a mishap ( which I will have! ) I fi nd that it is an easy fi x to simply wipe away the wayward paint from the varnished surface if I do so immediately. 3

I painted the edges with Slate Grey, and when dry, washed diluted Lamp Black over the surface in a wash effect in keeping with the shading process for the checkerboard squares. How-ever, if you want a faster and easier ap-plication, simply paint the board edges with Lamp Black or a dark charcoal grey. Gold Band: Base coat with Moon Yellow. Shade some areas with Raw Sienna, leaving “open” areas to provide contrast with the base coat.Floral Design:Transfer the fl ower center, the petals, the stem and the leaves.Do not transfer the dots around the fl ower center, or the veining on the leaves. Those will be transferred after the base coating and shading are com-plete.The white fl ower: Base in the fl ower center with Taffy Cream. Shade with Raw Sienna.Base in the petals with Warm White. Shade with highly diluted Lamp Black. Add the green dots around the outside center of the fl ower with the tip of a liner brush, with Green Tea. Allow to dry, then use diluted Avocado and lightly shade over the dots with a liner brush. The Stem and Leaves:Base coat with Green Tea. Shade with diluted Avocado. Paint the veining on the leaves with dilut-ed Avocado and a liner brush. Varnishing:When all the paint has thoroughly dried, brush on a thin, even application of varnish. Using a damp glaze/ wash brush, dip into diluted varnish ( approx. 50-50 varnish to water ) and brush on a light even coat. Allow to dry and repeat for complete coverage. I do not like a heavy, shiny fi nish. The surface should be adequately sealed, so when the antiquing is brushed on later, it will not grab into the grain of the wood and cause dark staining. Antiquing:Allow the varnish to completely dry, and then apply a wash of highly diluted Burnt Umber to create an an-tiqued effect with a large brush. I prefer a 1 inch glaze, or wash brush. Fill damp brush with mixture, and work over the surface until brush is empty. Work in grids, brush mixture over the surface, pulling out as far as possible to empty the brush.Refi ll brush, and repeat until entire surface is covered, blending the edges as you work, for even coverage.The process can be repeated to darken, if needed, when the fi rst application has completely dried. You can also add additional applications of the Burnt Umber wash to accent certain areas, such as the corners, with the glaze brush, or a small round brush for smaller areas, just as you would apply the shading technique.

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Note about Inking:For this project I decided against inking all the design elements. Use your own judgment as to what details you want to add to your project. If you decide to ink, then it should be drawn on before the spattering process. Spattering:Spatter the surface with a spatter tool or toothbrush, using Lamp Black. I suggest that you test the spatter pattern before spattering your project to be sure the paint is the right consistency before going directly to the surface.

The Summer Garden Angel:Transferring the Design:I transfer the design details in layers, just as in painting the design, with basing and shading. First, I transfer only the very basic design elements, which are usually the larger designs.For this design, I transferred the following details for the base coating process:The Angel face, neck, and hands, the outline only of the hair (the details and tendrils around the face will be added later) the dress, collar and cuffs, the fl ower petals and centers, the leaves, the fl ag, See info below, before you begin, to see what details should be eliminated until after the base coating is complete.Do not transfer until the base coating and shading are dry:The facial details, the tendrils of hair, the fl ower or halo banding, the hair ribbon, the bees, the bird’s face, buttons on collar and cuffs, polka dots on the dress, the star on the fl ag, dots around the fl ower centers, veins on the leaves, seeds on the watermelon, the nest, and the woven details on the cone basket.

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Note: I neglected to draw on the feet of the bird resting on the Angel’s fi nger. This was an oversight, and could certainly be added if you would so choose. My intention was to draw them on with the pen.

The Background:Base in the background with a mixture of Winter Blue and Warm White, in an approximate ratio of 50-50. If the mixture is rather inconsistent, in some areas, this will only further the effect of the sky. Make sure to blend the edges however, to avoid hard edge lines.Shade around the larger design elements with a thin shading mixture of Williamsburg Blue and water in a ratio of approximately 50-50. Add more shading mixtures as desired, until you have achieved a depth that appeals to you.

The Garden Angel: Base coat entire face, neck and hands with Toffee. Shade around the outside edges of the face, under the chin and around the neck with diluted Light Cinna-mon. Focus most of the shading along the right side of the neck and face (as you are facing the surface)Create shading on the hands to give the effect of knuckles and fi ngernails (where needed). Refer to the photo for help in placement.The Nose:Transfer or freehand the nose, and the eyes to assist in placement. Using a liner brush, and highly diluted Light Cinnamon, paint on a thin line to create the nose shape, and then shade around the left side of the nose to give dimension. The left side of the nose, meaning as you are facing the surface.The Eyes:

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Base coat the entire eye area with Warm White. Paint in the iris with Baby Blue. Add a small amount of highly diluted Prussian Blue on one side of the iris for depth. Paint in the centers of the eyes (pupils) with Lamp Black. Add a high light with diluted Warm White and a liner brush. Be sure to add the high light on the same side and area of the eye to avoid a “cross eyed” effect. Shade around the eyes with more diluted Light Cinnamon to provide depth, and paint on a thin line of Light Cinnamon along the lash line. The Eyebrows:Freehand or transfer the eyebrows. Use Raw Sienna and a liner brush to paint on the eyebrows. I used short, vertical strokes as opposed to straight horizontal lines. The Cheeks:The cheeks are created with diluted Country Red and Cranberry Wine, in a 50-50 ratio, which are slightly di-luted with water. I used a round brush, with a “dry brush” method to lightly rub the paint onto the surface. The Mouth:Transfer or freehand the mouth in place, being sure to center under the nose.Base in with Poodleskirt Pink. Pull the ends of the lips up to give a pleasant expression, as in a slight smile. Using a mixture of Poodleskirt Pink and Country Red, in a ratio of 50-50, which is slightly diluted with wa-ter, shade around the right side of the mouth and paint on a thin line of color to create a division to sepa-rate the upper and lower lip, leaving part of the lip area lighter for contrast.Add a small amount of diluted Light Cinnamon to the Poodleskirt Pink and Country Red mixture to deepen, and add this around the outside edges of the lips for more contrast. Paint in the center of the mouth with Lamp Black to create a small opening, which should not be a perfect-ly round shape. The Hair: The hair should not be painted on until the background base coating and shading are completed. For this design, I wanted to create a choppy hair style with uneven strands and edges. Pull out a few ten-drils to frame the face, and pulling out a few wisps of hair out into the background as well. I added the wisps or tendrils of hair with Taffy Cream for sharper contrast. Refer to the instructions below for the step by step process I used.Base coat with Marigold. While the base coat is still wet, begin pulling lighter colors through the darker base coat to high light and give the appearance of strands of hair. Fill the tip of the dirty brush ( fi lled with Marigold ) with Moon Yellow, and continue the process by ending with Taffy Cream. Continue working as quickly as you can so the base coat remains wet. Add a few strands of diluted Light Cinnamon to deepen and provide contrast. If the process is not giving the results desired, simply allow to dry, and repeat the process again.The Halo, Flower and Ribbons:When the background and the hair are completed, freehand or transfer the halo bands, the fl ower and rib-bon. Base in the bands with Slate Grey. Shade with highly diluted Lamp Black. Base in the fl ower centers with Taffy Cream. Shade with diluted Raw Sienna.Base the fl ower petals with Warm White. Using highly diluted Lamp Black, shade the fl ower petals to pro-vide contrast. If black seems too diffi cult to work with, select a grey of your choice to use for shading. Paint dots of Slate Grey around the outside edge of the fl ower centers. Use diluted Lamp Black to deepen the dots, to range from lights to darks.Base in the ribbons with Slate Grey. Shade with Lamp Black. When you have achieved the contrast desired, transfer or freehand the polka dots. Paint these with Moon Yellow.The Collar and Cuffs:Base coat with Warm White. Shade with highly diluted Lamp Black. Base in the collar edge and wavy trim with Slate Grey, and shade with Lamp Black. Transfer or freehand the buttons. Paint a thin band of Lamp Black around the inside of the buttons.The Dress:Base coat the dress with Taffy Cream. Shade with Marigold. Add a fi nal shading application of diluted Light Cinnamon to deepen and give more contrast. Freehand or transfer the polka dots. Paint on with Slate Gray. Shade with Lamp Black, to deepen. The Bluebird:Base in the outer edges of the head including the feathers on top of the head, the wing and the tail with

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Warm White and Baby Blue mixed in a ratio of 50-50%. Base the interior areas of the faces and the bird’s breasts with Warm White. Shade all the areas with highly diluted Prussian Blue. Add a highlight of Warm White mixed with Baby Blue in a ratio of 50-50% in the center area of the wings. Adding this highlight works best over a wet base coat, if possible. Add a bit of diluted Warm White to the tips of the feathers on the head, the tail feathers, the bird’s wings.The Beak:Transfer or freehand. Paint on the beak with Moon Yellow. Shade with diluted Light Cinnamon. The Bird’s Eyes:Transfer or freehand. Paint on with the tip of a liner brush, using Lamp Black. I drew on the eye-brows with the pen, after the varnishing and antiquing were completed.Note: As mentioned above, I neglected to draw on the feet of the bird resting on the Angel’s fi nger. This was an oversight, and could certainly be added if you would so choose. My intention was to draw them on with the pen; or they could be painted on with Moon Yellow, and shaded with Raw Sienna or with Light Cinna-mon, depending on if you would like to add more color and detail. The Flag:Base in the white areas with Warm White. Shade with Burnt Umber. Base in the red areas with Country Red. Shade with Cranberry Wine. Base in the blue area with Winter Blue. Shade with Prussian Blue.Transfer the star, and base with Moon Yellow. Shade with Raw Sienna.The Flag Pole:Base in with Marigold. Shade with Russet.The Daisies:Paint in the centers with Moon Yellow. Shade with Raw Sienna. Paint on the petals with Warm White. Shade with highly diluted Lamp Black. Add dots of Slate Grey around the outside edge of the fl ower center with the tip of a liner brush. Paint these on in irregular shapes and sizes for variation. Shade with Lamp Black in lights and darks for contrast.The Daisy Leaves and Stems:Base with Green Tea. Shade with Avocado. Paint on a thin vein down the center of the leaf with a liner brush using Avocado. The Bees:Transfer or freehand. Base with Moon Yellow. Shade with Raw Sienna. Paint on black areas with Lamp Black, using a liner brush. Edges should be irregular to give a “fuzzy” ap-pearance.Paint on the wings with highly diluted Warm White, keeping the application very light so as to give a trans-parency to the result, allowing the background to slightly show through. The antennae are drawn on after the varnishing and base coating are completed. The Watermelon:Base in the rind with Warm White. When dry, create the fi rst application of shading with Avocado Dip. Keep the shading focused toward the bottom edge of the watermelon rind, so as to fade off softly as it reaches the top of the rind, to maintain the white under color. Allow this application to dry. Use Avocado to shade around the outer most edge of the rind, being sure to maintain the effect of the Avo-cado Dip layer of shading. Base coat the interior area with Poodleskirt Pink. Shade around the area close to the rind, with Country Red, keeping the outer edge lighter for contrast. Use Cranberry Wine in the area closest to the rind, to deepen and give contrast. Transfer or freehand the seeds. Paint on with Lamp Black. Float a thin applica-tion of diluted Warm White to top edge of the watermelon. The Nest:Transfer or freehand in place. Base in the center area with Slate Grey. Shade with Lamp Black. Freehand or transfer the eggs. Base with Spa Blue. Shade with Williamsburg Blue. Add small splotches of brown, with highly diluted Burnt Umber. Using a liner brush, begin with Fawn to create thin twigs in a circular pattern around the center of the nest. Continuing with a “dirty” brush, fi lled with the Fawn, dip the tip into Antique White, to create a few lighter

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twigs, blending as you work. Clean out the brush, and work Burnt Umber into the wet base coat. Continue the process until you are pleased with the results. Pull out a few twigs from the basic shape of the nest, to avoid a smooth “donut” shape.The Cone Basket:Base coat with Gingerbread. Begin shading with Russet, creating divisions to resemble the weave of a basket. When dry, return to the area, with the tip of a liner brush, to intensify and darken. Create diagonal shading around the top band of the basket to create the appearance of bands of wicker. Use diluted Burnt Umber to continue deepening the divisions of the weave, to accent and provide contrast.

Finishing:When all the paint has thoroughly dried, brush on a thin, even application of varnish.Using a damp glaze/wash brush, dip into diluted varnish ( approx. 50-50 varnish to water ) and brush on a light even coat. Allow to dry and repeat for complete coverage. I do not like a heavy, shiny fi nish. The surface should be adequately sealed, so when the antiquing is brushed on later, it will not grab into the grain of the wood and cause dark staining. Antiquing:Allow the varnish to completely dry, and then apply a wash of highly diluted Burnt Umber to create an an-tiqued effect with a large brush. I prefer a 1 inch glaze, or wash brush. Fill damp brush with mixture, and work over the surface until brush is empty. Work in grids, brush mixture over the surface, pulling out as far as possible to empty the brush.Refi ll brush, and repeat until entire surface is covered, blending the edges as you work, for even coverage.The process can be repeated to darken, if needed, when the fi rst application has completely dried. You can also add additional applications of the Burnt Umber wash to accent certain areas, such as the corners, with the glaze brush, or a small round brush for smaller areas, just as you would apply the shading technique.Inking:As an option, you can outline the fi nished design with the .005 permanent ink pen.This technique pulls out design elements and is an easy way to add fi ne details that would be diffi cult with a brush and paint. I use the pen to outline all shapes and designs, such as the daisies, fl ag, crock, and watermelon. Spattering:The Inset: No spattering for this surface.The Arched Door Crown: Spatter using a spatter tool, or a toothbrush, with Lamp Black.The Final Finish:For a protective fi nish I suggest using Americana Matte Spray sealer.Brushing over the inking can cause bleeding.I usually apply two very light coats, allowing ample drying time, in between coats. Refer to directions printed on the can to ensure results. To display the board, attach a saw tooth hanger.

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Pattern at 100%

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Pattern at 100%

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Pattern at 100%

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Pattern at 100%

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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.

Copyright 2012 Cindy Mann-Vitale and Crafts Americana Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. #331630

No. *A331630*© Artist’s Club ®. All rights reserved. For private, non-commercial use only. Please see our web site for terms of use.