LEARN TO PAINT: Using Latex Paint - Woodcarving Illustrated

LEARN TO PAINT:UsingLatexPaintFor durablepaint that iseasy to blend,try latexhouse paintBy Betty PaddenIam a professional sign carver, and when I’mmaking a sign that will hang outdoors, I paint itwith exterior latex paints. Yes, house paint. They aredesigned for the outdoors, so they stand up to theweather. Like acrylic paints, latex paints are waterbased, so they clean up easily with soap and water, butlatex paints have a longer drying time than acrylics,which allows you to blend them more easily. They stilldry relatively quickly, though, so you don’t have towait long to recoat. This method will give you a solidcoating—you will not see any wood grain when youuse these paints in layers as described.This is the third of four articles describingpainting options available to carvers. I designed theseprojects to be used as a changeable seasonal displaywith all four seasons represented. The final articleincludes a design for an optional banner so you can usethe completed carvings as an interchangeablesign display.62Woodcarving Illustrated FALL 2014BrushesI use the same brushes for painting with latex paintthat I use for other paints: a combination of syntheticand bristle brushes. The synthetics are great forapplying the paint, while the bristle brushes are greatfor blending. I have some old synthetic brushes withsplayed bristles that make good blenders, as well. Irarely throw out a brush. Even stiff, splayed ones makea great brush to use for a variety of textures—bushes,tree foliage, and clouds, for example.PaintI use semi-gloss or satin latex paint; you may useflat (matte)-finish paints if you prefer. Use exteriorformulations if you intend to put this carving outside.Most stores will mix small sample-size cans of paint ifyou ask. I use the brand California Paints, which I’vepainted with for years with great success.

PUMPKINS: BASECOATING THE CARVING1234Prime the carving. Apply two coats of primer to the frontand back of the carving. Allow each coat to dry before applyingthe next one.Paint the sky. Using dark blue, paint the sky area, continuingthe paint up the sides of the leaves and the inside edges of theframe. Immediately add some white to the upper right side of thesky, and blend the edges of the white into the wet sky paint. Thiswill be the glow of the moon that you will paint later.PUMPKINS: DETAILING THE PROJECTBasecoat the design. Note: Latex dries quickly enough that youshould complete each pumpkin or leaf before moving on to the next.Mix 2 parts yellow with 1 part red to make a light orange, and paintthe bottom half of one pumpkin. Paint the top half yellow, and thenstipple along the line where the two colors meet to blend thems.Repeat the process for the other pumpkin. Mix 3 parts yellow with1/2 part blue to make a light green; apply this to the leaves.Paint the pumpkin stems. Use a warm medium grey, suchas barrel stave. Highlight the centers with a little white. Paint theoutside and top of the frame with the grey. Allow everything todry. Note: The primer shows through the basecoat in places, makingthe leaves appear to be more than one color although you have onlyapplied one coat of paint to them so far.5Add the leaf details.Mix 1 part yellow with 3 partsblue to make a dark green.Beginning with the leaf onthe far left, paint the top halfand edges of each leaf withthe light-green mixture usedin Step 2, and paint the centerwith the dark green. Blend thetwo colors well. Remember,complete each leaf beforestarting the next.www.woodcarvingillustrated.com63

PUMPKINS: DETAILING THE PROJECT6Highlight the leaves.Dip one corner of the blendingbrush in white. Position thebrush so the white will hitthe edge of the leaf, andthen blend the white into thegreens.78910Highlight the pumpkins. Paint the top half of each pumpkinwith yellow. Paint light orange just below the yellow, and blendthem together. While the paint is still wet, add some white to the top“humps” of the pumpkins and blend it in. Paint the leaf between thepumpkins using the technique explained in Steps 5 and 6.Paint the leaves that curl over the base. Use thetechniques explained in Steps 5 and 6 to paint these leaves and tohighlight the tips with white.64Woodcarving Illustrated FALL 2014Recoat the sky. Paint the sky dark blue and blend white inthe glow area around the moon like you did in Step 3. Paint themoon white, and let the paint dry.Paint the leaf curls. Paint the inner portion of the curl darkgreen and the outer portion light green. Blend the two colors, adda little white to the edge of the curl, and blend the colors again.

11Add leaf veins. Mix white into thelight green to make a celery color. Use ascript liner to add veins to the leaves.12Add shadows to the bottoms of the pumpkins. Add crimson to thebottom of each pumpkin and to the depressions between the humps. Use adamp—not wet—blending brush to blend the red. Darken the red by adding1/2 part black to 2 parts crimson, and repeat the process a little lower on eachpumpkin to add more shadow.13Finish the stems. Paint the stems with the warm mediumgrey. Add white to the top center of the stem and blend it in.14Finish the moon and sky. Paint the moon white again, andthen blend some warm medium grey into the lower portion. Dipa pencil tip or the end of a paintbrush into white or very light bluepaint and dot the sky with stars in a random pattern. Paint theedges, side, and back of the carving with warm medium grey.materials& toolsMATERIALS: Pine, 2" (51mm) thick: 83/4" x 14" Container (for water)(222mm x 356mm) Tin foil or other palette Primer (use exterior if the sign will Paper towel or clothbe outside): white Latex paint (use exterior if theTOOLS:sign will be outside): white, black, Assorted carving tools tocrimson red, lemon yellow (suchcarve the projectas California Confidant Yellow Assorted brushes:#DEA117), dark blue (such assynthetic and bristleCalifornia Navy Teal #DE5832),warm medium grey (such asThe author used these products for the project. SubstituteCalifornia Barrel Stave #DE6216) your choice of brands, tools, and materials as desired.Betty Padden and her husband, Bob, ownthe Wooden Apple Signmakers in Auburn,Mass., and have been professional signcarvers for 35 years. They have beenteaching their craft to students in theirstudio for more than 30 years. In addition,they created SantaCarls , a unique figurethat has been sold at Disney parks andBusch Gardens. Betty also designs and paints for Ne’Qwa Artand Blossom Bucket, among other companies. See more ofBetty’s work at trated.com65

Pumpkin plaquepatternEach block of this gridequals 1" in proportionto the original pattern.Enlarge this art to 150%,or to desired size.ON THEWEBGet full online instructionsfor carving this project.woodcarvingillustrated.com 2014 Woodcarving Illustrated66Woodcarving Illustrated FALL 2014

Prime the carving. Apply two coats of primer to the front and back of the carving. Allow each coat to dry before applying the next one. 1 Basecoat the design. Note: Latex dries quickly enough that you should complete each pumpkin or leaf before moving on to the next. Mix 2 parts yellow with 1 part red to make a light orange, and paint