Painting Tips and Techniques
by Karen Wisner
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1. Seal the wood surface - Wipe wood with a tack cloth to remove dust. Apply a thin coat of Matte Varnish (liquid). Let dry. Sand wood very lightly and wipe away any dust. It is also very important to seal your project after the painting and inking is done. This will protect all the hard work you put into it.
2. Transferring pattern to wood - Lay tracing paper over pattern. Trace lines using a fine tip pen (I use a Black Micron Pen 01). On the back of the tracing paper, using a pencil, draw where the lines are (this makes a "homemade" graphite paper). Lay your pattern over the wood piece, graphite touching the surface. With the small tip of a stylus, trace over lines. This will transfer graphite from the pencil lead onto your wood surface. Remove tracing paper and save for later. Transfer basic shape lines first and detail lines after "base coating" is finished.
3. Base Coating - This is just painting the basic background color onto your surface. It sometimes takes 2-3 coats of paint to get a good cover, depending on the paint color you are using. I use the "Flat Wash" brushes and "Round" brushes depending on the size of the area to be covered.
4. Shading or Floating - This is making parts of your project darker. I use "Shader" brushes #8 through #20. To load the brush for shading: dip brush into water. Pat lightly on a paper towel, retaining some water in the brush. With one corner tip of the brush, dip brush into paint. On your paint palette, work back and forth, working the paint into one side of the brush. Press the brush onto project and drag. This will give the shaded effect. To help blend the shading color to the base color, use a "Mop" brush by gently pouncing and patting.
5. Highlighting or Floating - This is making parts of your project lighter. Same brushes and technique as for #4.
6. Stipple - Using a "Round Fabric Brush", dip into paint. Pat on a paper towel, so only a small amount of paint remains on the brush. With an up and down motion, gently tap bristles onto project surface. This will lighten or darken an area, depending on the color paint you are using. I also use different brushes to do this job, sometimes a "Deer Foot" brush or an old scruffy brush, depending on what you want for a result.
7. Dry Brushing - This is done using a "Dry Brush" or "Fabric Round" brush, to lighten or darken an area. Dip the brush into a small amount of paint. Wipe most of the paint off on a dry paper towel, working paint into the dry bristles. You can either use a circular motion or back and forth to achieve the desired look.
8. "Wash" - This is simply watering down paint so it is transparent. Use a "Flat Wash" brush to apply this to the painted surface. Sometimes I gently pat the wood with a soft paper towel to remove some of the "wash" and leave an antiqued or aged look.
9. Gel Stain - Gel Stain Medium mixed with any color will turn the paint into a "gel stain". In my directions - Gel Stain Medium (2 parts) and Spice Brown (1 part), means mix twice as much medium to the amount of paint used. Make sure you mix enough to do the entire project.
10. Splatter - This can be done with an old toothbrush or old scruffy paint brush. Dip the brush into slightly watered paint. Run your finger across bristles, causing it to splatter the paint. If it gets out of control, wet a Q-tip and wipe off quickly. I test splatter on a piece of paper to make sure my paint is the right consistency.
11. Stencil - I use the 1/2" T Stencil Brush most of the time unless I have a large stencil, then I use a larger brush. If I am stenciling a 1/4" star, I use a 1/4" Stencil brush. Dip the brush into a small amount of paint, pounce up and down on your paint palette working paint into the brush and removing some at the same time. Hold stencil tightly in place and pounce up and down. If you have too much paint on your brush, it will slide under the stencil.
12. Comma Strokes, Snowflakes & Starbursts - I use a "Script Liner" brush to do these, size depending on how large I want them, usually I use 10/0, 20/0, 0 or 1 sizes.
13. Inking - I use a Black Micron Pen for this. On most of my projects, after the painting is completed and dry, I like to ink the outlines and details, using size 01. On the signs, 03 is a good size to use.
Article reprinted with permission by Karen Wisner of
Homespun Country Collectibles.
