By Ruth Ann Perkins – 9/2012

Colors are Fashenhues Translucents and Metalics

Supplies:

Bisque Wreath C-104 base coat

S-11 Yellow S-13 Flesh

S4-Jade S-15 Red

S-18 Brown S22 – Magenta

S-23 Mediterranean L–01 Poinsettia Red

L–03 Cobalt Blue L-09 Limeade

Black Acrylic Gold, Pilot Pen

Spray Sealer 8 Soft Flat Dry Brushes

2 - 1” or ¾” Shaders 1 Tiny Detail Brush

Q-tips 1 mini shader/angler

Wet- Ones

Apron

Aluminum Foil

Antiquing Solution;

Blending Medium

Soft cloths (T-Shirt/Viva)

Gloves,if you choose

Flat, Kitchen turn table

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Best brushes are softer, or soft, shader brushes. Or your worn out brushes can be taken to Fashenhues, for blending the edges of colors, extending the usefulness of your brushes.

*NOTE: You will use a different brush and different cloth/cloths with each color of “S” stain as you paint this wreath. You will need at least 8 different brushes. Usually a 1 or 3 (at least one 3) will do well. The tiny detailer needs to be either a 20/0 or smaller. The tiny shader or angler I recommend is a 1/8” or a 0.

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Put your wreath on a foil covered turntable (shiny side down) – flat one like a Rubber maid type turntable is best.

To your bisque fired wreath (03-04) coat the entire piece, including the back with two coats of C-104, using your 1” or ¾” Shader brush. Dry wreath completely.

Test the wreath by brushing it completely with Fashenhues Antiquing Solution with your other shader brush (especially in the detailed areas). Any areas that did not get covered will turn slightly darker. Pat dry with a paper towel (This does not dry, pat all the shiny areas). Go back and repaint those areas. Once it is completely covered and dry, begin to apply color. If you had a lot of places, it might pay you to check this once again. Clean your Shader brushes now. Lay aside to dry. (The one you tested with may have picked up some of the white base coat as you tested your piece.) Using the Antiquing Solution to test for unpainted areas also conditions your piece for smoother application of the colors that you are about to apply.

As you do this wreath, you will not wash the color translucents (“S” colors) from your brushes until we complete the wreath. As you complete each color, set aside both the cloth and the brush of each color. You will find that as you continue, if you will put the brush on the pile of cloths of the same color - that will help you later on as we continue.

Brush on S-18 Brown, small areas at a time, wiping back as you go – do the back of the wreath first. Continue until the entire piece is completely brown. Use a clean part of your cloth as you go… several cloths if necessary. Do not wash your brush. Set aside your cloths and lay your brush on top

Once the entire piece is covered, with no white spots showing, begin to apply the colors. NOTE: If you HAVE to stop at this point to resume applying color at another time (& I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS), but if you just have to, place your wreath in a plastic bag to keep the color from drying out. The colors need the S-18 to be fresh to be able to move properly.

At this point, pour out a dime size puddle of S-15 Red stain and set aside, for later use.

First, wipe back the centers of the textured ornaments with a wet-one, and be careful not to pull color from the balls themselves. (If you do pull some off on accident, take your brown rag and lightly rub back color with an already dark spot on the rag.)

Also, with CLEAN wets-ones, wipe the beard of Santa, his eye brows, and the hat brim, leaving the brown in the detailed areas. Keep using clean areas on the wet ones or more, clean-wet ones, as needed.

BE VERY CAREFUL TO TOSS THE WET-ONES AWAY WHEN YOU FINISH. If you get a wet-one on your piece, anywhere it will remove color. So keep the wet-ones away from your piece except when you are using them. AND… after handling a wet-one, DRY your hands, or you will have finger prints, where you pull off color by touching your wreath with wet hands.

Dampen a Q-tip with a wet one, and carefully wipe the color out of Santa’s eyes as well.

Continuing on, use your small shader and the P-2 White Pearl – paint the center sections of all the patterned ornaments – starting at the center of each ball and pulling out to the edged. Do not wipe this product back. WASH OUT YOUR BRUSH, AFTER THIS COLOR. Lay aside to dry.

With a clean & dry, brush, brush on S-4 Jade and wipe back all the pine needles throughout the entire wreath, again doing small areas at a time. Brush and wipe. Use a clean portion of your cloth each time. Set aside your cloths and lay your brush on top – Do not clean your brush.

Next, with the S-15 you poured out earlier, paint – without wiping back - all the berries, Santa’s lip and Santa’s hat. Again, DO NOT WIPE THIS RED BACK… After applying all the red where it goes, pat the red spots back to remove the shine from the red, while still leaving the dark red color. Set aside your cloths and lay your brush on top – Do not wash your brush.

With larger shader brush, and the L-01 Poinsettia Red, paint the entire bow and extending ribbons. Do not wipe this product back. WASH OUT YOUR BRUSH, AFTER THIS COLOR. Lay aside to dry & use on other “ L” colors.

Next, put out 3 drops of S-13 Flesh on your pallet, add 1 drop of blending medium to your color, and mix well. Apply this mixture to the entire face, and “blot” back. Very carefully wipe lightly with a clean cloth, removing just the gloss (same as the reds).

With your RED cloth, find a spot with just a little red on it and very carefully pat some red on the cheeks and tip of the nose of your Santa’s face.

With a clean area on the FLESH cloth, very lightly blend the edges of the blush to look natural. If you put too much red on for blush, then pat very carefully with the FLESH cloth, with a light flesh spot, already on the cloth, as if adding cosmetic powder to your cheeks. Do NOT wash out your brush… lay it aside, on the top of your flesh cloths. At this point, don’t worry about the flesh that you get in Santa’s eyes. We will clean it out later. If necessary, blend the cheeks so the blush is not noticable - you don't want a "painted lady" look on your Santa.

Using L-03 - Blue, paint three of the ornaments – Start at the top of the wreath, do the one with the white center between Santa’s hat and the ribbon; next, do the one at the end of the other ribbon with the larger center; finally do the one at the bottom where there are three – the one on the left, with the white center. WASH OUT THIS BRUSH NOW. Pat with a paper towel to dry, and take on to next color.

With L-09 – Limeade paint three more ornaments – The long one on the left, about half way up the wreath, by Santa’s hat; on the right top of the bow, the outer edge of the wreath, paint this ornament; finally, at the lower portion of the wreath where the three ornaments are together, paint the center one. WASH OUT THIS BRUSH NOW. Lay aside to dry.

S-11 Yellow should be applied with a “scrubbing motion” to two of the ornaments. First, the one on the top left, outside Santa’s Wreath, and wipe back lightly. Second is the third ornament in the group of three at the bottom of the wreath – again, lightly wipe this one back.. If your yellow is not as yellow as you would like, use your cloth to “blush on” a little more yellow very carefully. Set your brush on the yellow cloths that you have set aside. (If you want a brighter yellow, wipe the ornament with a wet one before applying this yellow.)

The final ornament, on the right hand, middle way up on the wreath, brush on S-22 Magenta, and wipe back. It won’t hurt to get some of this color on the white centers of this ornament. Again, set aside this brush on top of your cloths.

The pinecones, throughout the wreath are next. With a clean dry brush and the S-23 Mediterranean, paint all the pinecones, throughout the wreath, and wipe each one back as you go. DO NOT WASH OUT THIS BRUSH. Set aside cloths and lay the brush on top.

With a Q-tip and a fresh wet one, dampen the end of the Q-tip by holding the wet one around the cotton. Very carefully, clean out the eye areas on Santa’s face. This should bring the white back to the eyes. Repeat as necessary to get a nice white in his eyes. You may need more than one Q-tip.

With a very tiny shader brush or angler brush, paint a S-17 Blue circle in the middle of each eye. Lightly pat moisture out with a DRY Q-tip. Wipe most of the blue out of your brush with a clean cloth. Start at the center of the iris (circle) and lightly brush outward, making TINY lines from the center, out, all the way around the circle.

With the tip of your tiny detail brush (20/0) and your Black acrylic paint, very carefully outline the blue circle (iris), and make a tiny line at the top of each eye – as if applying a very thin coat of eyeliner, UNDER his lid. Again, (if you want lashes) with the very TIP of your brush – DO NOT PRESS DOWNWARD WITH YOUR BRUSH (“keep the ballerina on it’s toes”), starting at that line, pull out about 4 tiny lashes over his eye lid (NOT PAST THE LID). Your lashes should start at the outer edge of each eye, and should have a slight curve in them, like a stretched out “C”. This curve should begin at the liner, and go out and up… each side… out, and up… the final lash should be just above the center of the eyeball. Again, with the TIP of your brush, start just past the iris – (NOT AT THE INSIDE EDGE of each eye) – and draw a small line, under his eyeball, out to the edge of his eye on each side.

DO NOT CLOSE IN HIS ENTIRE EYE, AS IT MAKES THE EYE LOOK SMALLER. Leave the area between the corner of his eye and the iris unpainted.

Next, put a small black pupil in the center of the blue iris. Wash out your liner brush at this point.

Next, dip the “TIP” of your brush in the C-104 White and place a TINY tear drop dot in the “1 o’clock” position on each eye. This tiny highlight must be in the same spot on each eye – right top of the pupil to keep Santa from looking cross-eyed, and to give him the “twinkle” in his eye.

At this point, hold your wreath up in front of a mirror and you will be able to see what others see and will be able to see areas that need touching up…

Finally, using the brushes and cloths you set aside, as you painted, touch up any areas that need touching up. DO NOT DIP YOUR BRUSH BACK INTO FRESH PAINT… USE ONLY WHAT IS ON YOUR BRUSH AND CLOTHS THAT HAVE DRIED AT THE SAME SPEED AS THE ITEMS YOU’VE PAINTED. Dipping back into fresh paint will change the color that you are painting and possibly will mess up your piece.

Look at your Santa, if you happen to have gotten a lot of other colors on your Santa’s beard, hair or hat, first, wipe those areas with a wet one to remove as much as possible. Then pour out a little S-10 and dip your brush into it. Wipe most of this off onto a clean soft cloth, and using the side of your brush, lightly “wet brush” some white to each of these, as necessary, covering the other colors, while not covering the brown shading in the details. If you have to do Santa’s beard, be sure to do his hair and brows the same. It is not necessary to do the hat brim the exact same color as the beard and hair.

Once you spray this wreath, the colors will “come alive”… and you will be amazed at what you’ve done…

Taking your wreath outside, spray your wreath with Gloss Spray (I use Duncan Clear Gloss). Spray the back lightly, while holding your wreath with one hand, then spray one coat on the front. Let dry.

Bring back inside, and as soon as the back is dry to touch, set down and paint all the tops of the ornaments with the Pilot Gold Pen. Take back outside, and give the front of the wreath another coat of Gloss Spray.

Wash all brushes at this point. And, the cloths can also be washed, if you used white T-Shirt pieces. These can be reused for additional projects.

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