We paint after each of our chapter meetings and we have to rely on the members to volunteer to teach a project. This month we are painting an Americana tin star with a Santa on it. Last month we painted a lady sunbathing ont he beach with her sun bonnet on her head. I love painting flowers so I thought the ladies would like this. My husband is my best critic and he loves it. Wouldn't it be great if we could all get together and paint?
Thanks for the compliment.
B

Flowers
1. Based coat in Soft Sage (I then used a wet dry sandpaper to smooth - two coats
2. Base in the flowers with French Mauve, the leaves in Medium Hauser Green.
3. With a side load of Mauve, I shaded around the center one petal at a time. I used a slight C shape, meaning I started the shading on the side of the petal then came in toward the center and then back up the side of the petal.
4. Shade under the folded petal tip and between the petals where one petal is under another.
5. Highlight with buttermilk the petal edges and the turned part of the petal. Using a back to back float of white, highlight the center of several petals - the "shimmer" is where you want the petal to look raised up. Add a deeper shading with Black Plum, but it should be a smaller shade down in the deepest part of the petal.
6. With a small scruffy brush, pounce in the center with medium hauser green. Pounce a little bit of yellow and white on the right side of the center. Float dark green in a C shape around the left side of the petal to make it sit. The stamens are bright yellow with Black Plum on the tips.
7. The small pink flowers are simply based in with French Mauve, then shaded around the bottom and between the petals with Mauve and again with Black Plum. The little white lacy flowers are done with a scruffy brush and white, then a few stems pulled in with one of the greens.
Leaves

1. Base coat with Medium Hauser green. Shade the base of the leaf with Hauser Dark Green. With Medium Green and light Buttermilk double loaded, Stroke the leaf from the base to the tip. Then come back and stroke a vein from the base up with the chisel part of the brush. Accent a few leaves with Black Plum, add Black Plum to a few of the tips. I added a few Ice Blue accents on the bottom leaves.
2. Splatter the bottom part of the box with Medium and Dark Green (I use an old toothbrush, easier to control)
3. Fill a liner with the dark green and do a few curly q's.

Add a few champagne gold comma strokes, mask off the gold band with painter's tape, then paint in with two coats. I used a compass with the pencil about 1/2 inch shorter than the compass tip. Measure where you want the band to be from the edge. Place the pencil on that area, the compass point will be along the outside edge of the box. Gently glide the pencil around the box. This is the easiest way I have found to do banding.

Do the same band of gold around the sides of the box. Then with a liner and dark green make your vine going over the gold band and skipping the band a some points so it looks as though the vine went under. The doofer flowers are with a scruffy brush pounced in with French Mauve and tipped in white, I pounced in three, one to the left, one slightly higher in the center and then one to the right.

After I finish painting I leave it and will come back later and add more shading and highlight if necessary. I also decided to add a few leaves for balance and then I brought a few of the small leaves from the top of the box over the lid.

Hope this helps. I love teaching painting but don't do it often enough - I have to share with the other members. I originally planned to do stroke roses but didn't think I would have enough time.
B

Yall are the best!!

Sal