Summer Time

And the living's easy,,, at least that's how the song goes.

I should be settling to paint but find it hard to go in my work room and turn off the thoughts of being outside enjoying the warm beautiful weather.
I know full well there are things in that room that have to be done by a certain date. And what am I doing,,, everything but what I'm supposed to be doing...LOL

When I think of it I do my best painting when I'm under the gun. You know the time when you put your mind to the job and get started begrudgingly and the next thing you know you've lost all track of time and one thing leads you down the path to another and before you know it the piece is done.

Now I don't know if anyone else's has this problem but I have a terrible time deciding what design to paint. Especially if it's for someone or even a class, I don't know why that is but it keeps me awake some nights, yeah weird I know.

But when I figure out what I'm going to paint doing it is a breeze, it's like second nature and it's as easy as breathing. I am one of those that only wants to paint what I want to paint not what someone or something dictates. So what's the reason for telling you all this you ask. Because I thought I was the only one that felt this way,,,, wrong there are many painters who have the same feelings. So if your supposed to be painting for those fall craft shows and your doing everything BUT. Don't beat yourself up over it. Lets face it we go through this all the time and everything gets done. It always does .....Right? ....LOL Well almost always. So kick back mix a cold drink and enjoy the lazy day's of summer. After all this summer will never come again.

Slideshow

Chillin'

It's been pretty hot in these parts the last week. So what better time to chill out with this little guy. Snowmen are one of my favorite things to paint and they seem to bring a smile to every one's face. I guess because they look so cute and cuddly...LOL.

This design is from a Sandra Malone book, Season's Best 3. Over the years she has come up with some of the cutest snowmen and gingerbread designs. Sandra makes it easy to give all the millions of Snowman collectors something to Oooooo and Awwww over.
So if you want to chill out for a while crank up the A C and paint a snowman.

Dry Brushing

When I first learned to dry brush it was on ceramic's. And it worked like a charm on that textured surface so I was kinda surprised that I could dry brush on a flat wooden surface. But it's true it really works and gives you a nice highlight or soft little touches of color where ever you need them.
Once I've base coated the design I usually like to float my shading in first then I start doing the highlights and dry brushing works so well for this. Especially if you dry brush one color over another.

For dry brushing I use old worn out taklon brushes that I've been using for base coating and floating. After a while brushes normally start to wear, the ends start to frizz out a little and they're not so nice to use for base coating but they work great for dry brushing.

To start the bristles are dry do not use water.
Dip the end of the bristles in your paint.
On a paper towel start to scrub the paint out of the bristles, remove as much of the paint as possible. Note this is why you use your old brushes because scrubbing the paint out of a new brush will ruin it quick. I like to wipe the brush across the back of my hand to make sure there are no blobs of paint left in my brush.
Now when you go to your surface to paint the best advise I can give is to use a light touch. I usually use a circular motion for large section or a left to right or back and forth motion when painting small narrow sections. Just like anything else this takes some practice to get used to it but it is well worth the practice to learn to do it right.

Notice the highlight and the green moss on the pot also the magenta color on the petals and down the center on the leaves was all dry brushed.
So don't throw out those worn brushes because they come in real handy.

A sign of Welcome

This is the next project for the class on July 13th.

I really like this piece, did you know that the Pineapple is the sign of hospitality and friendship?
Yes that's true, here you can read all about it http://www.levins.com/pineapple.html

Anyway I have looked for the longest time for a pattern with a pretty pineapple and I was happy when Patricia Rawlinson offered this pretty pattern on her site.
I used canvas to paint this piece and I like the look, the dry brush technique gives it a look of very fine needle work.
This looks so nice out in the yard or hung by the front door to welcome your friends and family. I'm thinking I might like to do this design on a wooden sign to put out front with my house numbers on it. Well one of these days I'll get to it...LOL

Yesterday's Class

We had our first class yesterday in our new location and I think this new spot is going to work well for us. I had three new students join in and they seemed to enjoy themselves. That's what it's all about having a good time as you learn.
Everyone did a good job on their project. And as they paint more they will get more comfortable with handling their brushes and they will improve a little more with each class. It's just like anything else your learning to do for the first time rather it's sewing or floral arranging it takes patients and practice to pick up the skill.

I'm looking forward to many more classes and watching everyone learn and have a good time.

Brushes, The Good the Bad & the Ugly

I think your brushes are your most important tools. A good brush is a real treasure. I know they sell all kinds of brushes at very cheap prices. But in this case the old saying "you pay for what you get ,and you get what you pay for" really comes into play here.
The cheap price is not always a good deal. A cheap brush can cause you nothing but grief and frustration and take all the fun out of your hobby.

Those nice fluffy brushes won't do the trick. Those are called mops and they are intended to do just that, mop.

What your looking for are nice Golden Taklon brushes that look like this. They have a nice springy bristle and they hold up well when your working your brush back and forth to side load your paint. I prefer Loew Cornell 7000 series brushes. They do cost a little more usually in the $5.00 to $6.00 range. So what you have to do is shop smart. Break out those Sunday Papers and use those coupons. Michael's will except AC Moore coupons or vice versa also they except Joann's coupons. And remember you don't need a million brushes. All you'll need are the very basic sizes of a #2 , #4, #6 square shader that you see here with the black handle.

You'll need a 10/0 liner brush LC7050 this is what I like to use for all my small detail work. And that's it, you can paint anything you want with those four brushes.

Now I'm not going to tell you these brushes won't wear out because they do, when they start to look like this...

you'll want to throw them out. STOP don't do that. They still serve a propose, no I'm not kidding. Now they will be used for dry brushing.
Now you need to know how to take care of those brushes so you'll be able to paint lots of different projects without a lot of hassles.
First thing I tell everyone when your painting you'll be tempted to leave a brush sit in the water basin. Or lay a brush down with paint still in the bristles, that's a Big No, No.

That's the two worst things you can do to your brushes. Why? Well if you leave it standing in water that will cause the bristles to bend so instead of nice straight bristles you'll have a nice C shaped bristled brush. Take it from me they don't even go around corners well ...LOL. Also the water will loosen the ferrule of the brush. I know your thinking what's a Ferrule? The ferrule is that shiny metal thingy that holds the bristles onto the wooden handle. So be sure to rinse the paint from your brushes as you use them and never ever ,ever leave them lay in water.
To clean my brushes I rinse them continuously as I'm working so paint doesn't have a chance to build up and dry around the ferrule aka that shinny metal thingy. When paint builds up around the ferrule and hardens it causes the bristles to separate and spread and that's no good.
So before I leave the table I pounce my brushes around in a small glass jar of alcohol that will remove any paint hiding up in there that will cause trouble later. Then I either leave the brushes laying flat on the table or stand them handle end down in a jar. And that's about it. Everyone has their own way of taking care of their brushes that works for them, with all the fancy cream cleaners and soaps. This just seems to work well for me and at a low cost. Besides the money you spend on those fancy soaps and cleaners you could use for more paint or brushes. Happy Painting.