Jackie Shaw's Learn to Paint Flowers

A Step-by-Step Approach to Beautiful Results

Jackie Shaw

• Publisher: Design Originals
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781607654674
• Topic: Kunst
• Subtopic: Kunsttechniken

Discover how easy it is to paint beautifully stylized flowers—even if you have no previous artistic training or drawing skills. Renowned painting teacher Jackie Shaw reveals her systematic painting techniques that anyone can use to start creating classic floral designs. She starts by fully explaining the basics of painting, including color mixing, brush control, stroke techniques, surface preparation, and more. Detailed lessons are provided for a gorgeous array of blossoms, from daffodils and daisies to poinsettias and pansies. Each featured subject includes step-by-step illustrations, a ready-to-use shaded pattern, and full color reference photos. Here's how to paint if you don't know how—and how to improve if you do. This book offers valuable instruction in this delightful and imaginative craft for artists at every level of experience.

GETTING STARTED

To get started, you’ll need only a few basic brushes and paints. For the other supplies, you can “make do” with common household items to keep your initial expenses down. You don’t even have to be able to draw, because I’ll tell you several ways you can transfer patterns onto your surface. You may need to return to this chapter frequently in the beginning if the brush techniques discussed are new to you. So mark its location with a tab or ribbon for quick reference.

You’ve taken the first step on your painting adventure by picking up this book. Now let’s get you started collecting supplies and learning how to use them.

BASIC SUPPLIES

You can get started on your lifetime of creative self-expression with just a small investment. Your most important tools are brushes and paints, of which there is a wide range of price and quality. Pamper yourself with the best quality you can afford. Your brushes, if well cared for, will last a long time. And quality paints (with lots of pigment) will help you achieve the results you seek, and are a joy to work with. Inferior products will undermine both your efforts and your confidence.

While it is handy to have an assortment of brush sizes, you can get by substituting the basic brushes listed below for other brushes and sizes suggested in the lessons. Mixing paints is a lot of trial and error to achieve a specific color. Don’t panic—just mix and create.

PAINTS: DECOART AMERICANA ACRYLICS

Substitute your preferred paint brand and colors as desired. See page 8.

• Primary Red

• Primary Blue

• Yellow Light

• Titanium (Snow) White

• Lamp (Ebony) Black

• Purchase additional paints when you’re ready, concentrating first on additional primary colors.

BRUSHES: LOEW-CORNELL SYNTHETIC TAKLON BRUSHES

Substitute your preferred brush brand and sizes as desired. See page 10.

• Flats: Nos. 2, 6, and 10 (Series 7300)

• Round: No. 2 (Series 7040)

• Liner: No. 1 (Series JS)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Paint extender medium

• Pad of 9- by 12-inch Bristol board (art paper), watercolor paper (hot pressed), or poster board to paint on

• Tracing paper for copying patterns

HOUSEHOLD ITEMS

• Jar of water (for rinsing brushes)

• Bottle cap or jar lid (for holding water or painting medium on the palette)

• Paper towels (for blotting brushes)

• Foam or wax-coated paper plates, foam meat tray, or freezer paper (shiny side only) for palette to squeeze paint on, to mix paint, and to blend paint on

• Plastic knife (for mixing paints)

• Pencil or chalk (for sketching and making transfer paper)

• Dead ballpoint pen (for transferring patterns)

• Soap (such as Ivory) for cleaning brushes

• Alcohol, fingernail polish remover, or acetone (for cleaning badly neglected brushes)

• Cotton swabs (for lifting out damp paint)

• Hair dryer (handy for speeding up the drying of paints)

• Old toothbrush (for spattering water onto acrylics on the palette to keep them moist)

WISH LIST ITEMS

• Flat brushes: Nos. 4, 8, and 12 (Series 7300)

• Round brushes: Nos. 0 and 4 (Series 7040)

• Liner brushes: Nos. 2 and 10/0 (Series JS)

• Dagger brush: 1/4" (Series 7800)

• Round brush: No. 8 (Series Fabric Dye)

• Brush tub (for rinsing brushes)

• Plastic palette storage cups (for holding water and medium)

• Trowel-type palette knife (for mixing paints)

• Disposable paper palette (on which to squeeze and mix paints)

• Chacopaper in blue and white, plus graphite paper in black or gray.

• Stylus (for transferring patterns)

• Brush cleaner for acrylic paints (for cleaning brushes)

• Spray mister (to keep acrylics moist)

• Purchased or homemade wet palette (to keep acrylics fresh longer; see page 8)

Supplies for Special Backgrounds

There are a number of specialty and household items that can be used to achieve interesting background effects. On page 47 I explain a number of faux finish techniques, which make use of these supplies.

• 1" foam brush

• 2" sponge/foam paint roller

• Chip brush: 1" (Series 2053, for streaking)

• Flat wash brushes: ½", ¾", 1" (Series 7550)

• Sponges (synthetic or natural)

• Plastic wrap

• Plastic mesh bag

• Weathered wood finishing product

• Woodgraining comb

• Chamois cloth

ABOUT PAINTS

The paints used throughout the step-by-step lessons in this book are acrylics in squeezable bottles. My chosen brand is DecoArt Americana Acrylics, but you can substitute any brand or colors you prefer. Do be aware that some brands have similar paint names but their colors differ greatly. Or, they may have similar colors but quite different names. You can find conversion charts from one company to another online. If you already have other paints (tube acrylics, watercolors, oils) you can use them, making adjustments to accommodate their different attributes. Tube acrylics, other than needing a little more thinning for the washes and floated colors, will work like the bottled acrylics. Watercolors, which are traditionally used by building up layers of thin washes, respond similarly to the way acrylics work in washes. The greatest difference with acrylics is the use of colored backgrounds and opaque, colored undercoats. Oil paints, because of their slow drying time, do not lend themselves as readily to the buildup of thin layers. However, this technique was inspired by the old masters and their use of glazes over light undercoats to create luminous “glowing-from-within” effects. It just took longer drying periods and the use of drying agents added to their paints. A fast-drying oil paint, Genesis, can be heat set to hasten the drying time, thus allowing it to be used much like acrylics.

Prolonging the “Open Time”

The beauty of acrylics is that they dry quickly on our paintings. The frustrating thing about acrylics is that they dry quickly on our palettes. You can delay the drying time by mixing in a painting medium (see below) or by keeping a spray mister handy to mist the puddles of paint on your palette. Otherwise, flick water onto the paint piles with a wet toothbrush. You can also keep the paints workable longer by using a wet palette—a plastic box containing a sponge to be soaked in water and special water-absorbent palette paper that wicks water up into the puddle of paint. Create a makeshift wet palette by dipping a folded paper towel in water and covering it with a piece of deli paper or butcher/freezer paper. Paints squeezed onto that paper “sandwich” will dry more slowly than those squeezed onto a regular disposable palette.

Using Painting Mediums

Painting mediums or paint extender mediums are designed to extend the “open,” or “working,” time of the paint, rendering it more flexible and easier to work with when using techniques that require slower drying paints, such as applying washes. Use a medium of your choice. Any one medium can be mixed with acrylic paint to prolong the drying time. The medium can be applied directly to the surface or over layers of dry paint, and paint can then be worked into it while it is still wet. Painting mediums can also be used to render the paints more translucent: The greater the proportion of medium to paint, the more translucent the paint will be. Once the paint/medium mixture starts to set up on your painting, or feels like it’s beginning to drag, avoid stroking over it further. It will no longer react smoothly. To prevent reactivating paint layers that have had medium added to them, dry them thoroughly with a hair dryer before making additional paint applications. Otherwise, moisture may cause the previous paint layer to lift off. If the surface is cool to the touch, it is not dry.

Most extender mediums are approximately the thickness of bottled acrylic paint. Use them directly from the bottle or thin them with water if a finer application is desired. Mix ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Contents
• Getting Started
• Step-by-Step Lessons
• Glossary
• Index
• Copyright