TWO HEARTS, ONE LOVE

By Barbara Bunsey, CDA Barbara began painting and teaching over 30 years ago. She’s taught at conferences, conventions, and in her home studio. Early American Life Magazine has named her to the Directory of Traditional American Crafts since 2004, and Colonial Williamsburg has commissioned her to paint pieces for its shops. She’s a member of the SDP, Decorative Arts Collection, and Tole Painters of the Western Reserve, where she’s held various board positions.

SUPPLIES: I love the look of Victorian Valentines and wanted to get that look, but updated a bit using some new pastel colors. And what is love, but two people, two hearts, joined as one.

INSTRUCTIONS

DecoArt®: • Aloe DA364-3 • Antique White DAO58-1 • Avocado DAO52-1 • Berry Cobbler DA370-3 • Bleached Sand DA257-1 • Blush Pink DA355-3 • Evergreen DAO82-1 • Foliage Green DA269-1 • Light Avocado DA106-1 • Margarita DA299-1 • Peony Pink DA215-1 • Pink Chiffon DA192-1 • Saffron DA273-1 • Shoreline DA365-3 • Sugared Peach DA354-3 • Thicket DA357-3 • Vintage Pink DA369-3 • Watermelon Slice DA324-1 • Wild Berry DA362-3

Brushes: FM Black Gold: #7000 series: #2 round; #10 & #16 shader; #0 script liner; #10 filbert; L & XL Mezzaluna.

Special Supplies: DecoArt ® Vintage Effect Whitewash: White DCW02-64; DecoArt ® Soft Touch Varnish ADM03-36; sponge brush.

Artist ’s Tip: To achieve a soft look, swipe your side-loaded brush on a damp part of your paper towel to remove excess paint and water. BACKGROUND: Sand, but do not seal wood. Using damp sponge brush, wash over entire surface with White Vintage Effect Whitewash. Thin Antique White and wash over center area. Dampen area above hearts, extending it out to the sides and up. Thin Avocado with a lot of water and, using Mezzaluna brush, apply above hearts and working out using a circular motion, letting the water pull the paint out. Let the grain of the wood work for you and let it settle into any grain. Dry well. Repeat if you want it a tad darker. (Fig 1)

Fig 1

HEARTS: Base with a heavy wash of Blush Pink, using the #10 filbert. Using dry XL Mezzaluna, pick up Blush Pink, take out excess on palette, pick up Pink Chiffon, take out excess, then dry-brush on center areas of heart; repeat, adding more Pink Chiffon to dirty brush; repeat, adding Sugared Peach to dirty brush and leaving a “halo” of the first color showing around the outside edge; repeat, adding Bleached Sand to dirty brush. (Fig 2) Using dry L or XL Mezzaluna, pick up Blush Pink, take out excess, pick up Peony Pink, take out excess, and add shading to outside areas of hearts and where the right one lies under the left. Begin at the edge, then bring in toward

center using a circular motion; repeat, adding more Peony Pink to dirty brush; repeat, adding Berry Cobbler to dirty brush; repeat, adding a touch of Avocado to dirty brush and adding to right side of left heart and where right heart lies under the left, being sure to pull out in the two V-areas; repeat, adding more Avocado to dirty brush and adding just to V-areas (Fig 3). Fig 3 Fig 2

LEAVES: Add a medium wash of Antique White to leaves that lie over the hearts, as this is your background. Leaves #1: Wash with a thin wash of Foliage Green. Sideload #10 shader with Margarita, blend, then add to lighter areas of leaves; repeat, adding more Margarita. (Fig. 4) Side-load #10 shader (keep a little extra water in your brush) in Light Avocado, blend well, then add to shadow areas of leaves. Keep this color thin as you don’t want to overpower the leaves. Repeat, adding Evergreen to dirty brush, again, keeping the color soft and thin. (Fig. 5) Stems, veins, and curlicues: Fig 4 Fig 5

Add to all leaves, etc. with a liner of Aloe. Leaves #2: Wash with a thin wash of Aloe. Side-load #10 shader with Aloe, blend, pick up Sugared Peach on the same corner, blend, then add to lighter areas of leaves; repeat, adding more Sugared Peach. (Fig. 4) Side-load #10 shader (keep a little extra water in your brush) in Thicket, blend well, then add to shadow areas of leaves. Keep this color thin as you don’t want to overpower the leaves. Repeat, adding Evergreen to dirty brush, again, keeping the color soft and thin. (Fig. 5)

ROSES (THESE ARE OLD-FASHIONED SWEET BRIAR ROSES FROM OUR GARDEN): Add a medium wash of Antique White to any petals that have too much green on them from the background. Float Vintage Pink on “red” areas of petals, keeping a bit more water in your brush and the color thin, walking it down into each petal; repeat, using thin Wild Berry but not walking it down as far; (Fig. 6) repeat, adding thin Watermelon Slice, again not walking down as far. Use these floats for shadows, where one petal lies under another, under the flipped edge, etc. In darker areas, pick up a touch of Thicket on dirty brush, blend, and add to flowers; repeat, adding a small touch of Evergreen to darkest areas. (Fig. 7) Fig 6 Fig 7

CENTERS: Tap in Light Avocado with the tip of #2 round. Add a touch of Margarita for highlights and Avocado for shadows. (Fig. 8) Note: I did this next step after the light colors were put on the flowers. Add thin lines of Saffron, starting at

Fig 8

Fig 9

Fig 10

Fig 11

Fig 12

center and pulling onto petals, only on the top section on the left flower; add a bit of Watermelon Slice to dirty brush, mix to blend and pull rest of lines. Add dots at the ends of lines, spilling onto petals and center, with this color mix + a bit more Watermelon Slice. I also added a little touch of Avocado to the mix for some darker ones. Lightly float a mix of Berry Cobbler + Avocado (approx. 1:1) over parts of the center. (Fig. 9) Highlights on Petals: Side-load #10 shader in Sugared Peach, blend, and add to base of petals, laying paint side of brush next to centers; repeat, adding Bleached Sand to dirty brush. (Fig. 10) Add touches of Shoreline to highlight areas and large flower center. BLUE FILLER FLOWERS: Using #2 round and thin Shoreline, scatter here-andthere on background around flowers. Touch a few of the petals near the centers with Berry Cobbler. Add a center with the round brush and Saffron; touch these on one side with Saffron + Avocado (approx. 2:1), keeping the color very light. (Fig. 10) LETTERING: Make a mix of Watermelon Slice + Avocado (approx. 1: 1 ½ or 2) to get a brown color. Thin with a lot of water. Line in with script liner, keeping color thin, applying pressure to wider areas and less pressure to thin areas. (Fig. 11) LEAF BORDER: Wash leaves with a thin wash of Avocado. Float Margarita on each tip and Evergreen on side of leaf next to vine. Add a float of Shoreline to tips of leaves next to center. Thin lettering mix with a lot of water, then use liner to fill in the grooved areas. (Fig. 11) Pink Flowers: Using #2 round and thin Blush Pink, scatter here-andthere in the border area; tap with your finger to soften and press into background. Add very light touches of Berry Cobbler to some of the petals near the center of the flower. If it’s too bright, tap with your finger. Add centers with the tip of your liner and Saffron, again blotting if necessary. Drybrush Blush Pink here-and-there on the background. (Fig. 12) FRAME: Thin Shoreline and wash over frame area. Dry well. Using dry XL Mezzaluna, load in Thicket, take out excess on palette, then scrub onto outside edges, filling in corner, using a circular motion to blend into background. Using dry L Mezzaluna, load in Wild Berry, take out excess and add to corners. Paint outside of frame Wild Berry. (Fig. 12) Surface #42073 available from: Walnut Hollow 1409 State Road 23 Dodgeville, WI 53533 800-395-5995 www.walnuthollow.com

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