Bright Bird With Gears

Bright Bird With Gears

Posted by DecoArt on Aug 2nd 2015

Let your creativity soar with this brightly colored bird on a mixed media canvas.

SUPPLIES

    • water container
    • palette or plastic plate
    • paper towels
    • tracing paper
    • transfer paper
    • scissors
    • pencil
    • #3 round brush
    • 1" flat brush
    • 1/2" flat brush
    • decorative paper
    • cosmetic sponge
    • Silhouette electronic cutting machine
    • 12" x 12" basswood canvas
    • Gears M-bossabilities

    INSTRUCTIONS

    NOTES:

    Let dry completely between painting steps.

    1. Cover the basswood canvas with ripped decorative paper. (The gears paper is ripped into a square in the middle. The pieces all around the edge are torn from the edge of the paper to line up with the edge of the canvas.) Decoupage the paper pieces down with Matte Medium and a 1" flat brush. (Place the gears paper down first.)
    2. Instruction #1
    3. Water down Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide and wash over the entire canvas with the 1" flat brush to add age.
    4. Instruction #2
    5. Using the Spellbinder machine and the Gears M-bossibliities, cut out about five gears and paint with Burnt Umber using the #3 round brush. Let dry. Dip the same brush in Vermilion and dry-brush over the gears to create a rusty look. When dry, put Metallic Gold on your finger and rub over the gears.
    6. Dip the #3 round brush in Burnt Umber and paint around the edge of the canvas front, smearing with your finger as you go. Paint the canvas sides with the 1" flat brush and Burnt Umber.
    7. Use a wet 1" flat brush and Vermilion to brush over each canvas side and lift off immediately with a wet paper towel. For a more subtle effect, use more water.
    8. Adhere the paper gears onto the wooden canvas with a 1" flat brush and Matte Medium. (Put them in random places or use the photo as a guide.)
    9. Instruction #6
    10. Mix Titanium White and Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide 2:1. Using the #3 round brush and the mix, outline around the gear shapes and rub them with your finger.
    11. Instruction #7
    12. Use the Americana Gears & Cogs Stencil, Burnt Umber, and a cosmetic sponge to apply stencils randomly around the canvas edge. (Avoid the paper gears you applied.)
    13. Instruction #8
    14. Using the 1/2" flat brush and Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide with just a touch of Titanium White, paint over the gear stencils so they fade into the background. (Do not paint over the paper gears.)
    15. Instruction #9
    16. Using the tracing and transfer papers and a pencil, transfer the bird and branch drawing to the canvas front.
    17. Using the #1 round brush and Primary Magenta, outline the bird and branch drawing. With the #3 round brush and Vermilion, paint around the edge of the canvas top.
    18. Instruction #11
    19. Make a color copy of one of the decorative papers. Feed it back into the paper feeder and print out the letters to spell "FLY" in any font you choose onto the decorative paper. Cut them out in a rectangle and decoupage them down with Matte Medium. (See photo for placement.)
    20. Use the pattern provided for the triangles or free-hand draw them. (See photo for placement.) I did 12 triangles in all.
    21. Outline the triangles and rectangles of decorative paper with the #1 round brush and Primary Magenta. Fill in the triangles with the #3 round brush and Dioxazine Purple, Cobalt Turquoise Hue, Vermilion, and Primary Magenta, repeating all the way around the canvas. Add a little Titanium White to all the colors and add a little shading in each triangle.
    22. Instruction #14
    23. Add Green Gold stripes and shading to the Cobalt Turquoise Hue triangles using the #3 round brush.
    24. To color in the bird and branch, use Cobalt Turquoise Hue, Dioxazine Purple, Green Gold, Primary Magenta, Primary Yellow, and Vermilion. Start with the #3 round brush laying in the bigger areas of color and use the #1 round brush to add details. Follow the color placement from the photo or do your own thing. Use Burnt Umber and Dioxazine Purple for the branch. Add Titanium White to lighten colors as desired.
    25. Instruction #16
    26. Go around the painting with the #1 round brush and Primary Magenta to add dashes, wavy lines, and swirls for interest.
    27. Use Metallic Gold and your finger to add a golden edge to the canvas front. Avoid the triangles.
    28. Instruction #18

    DOWNLOADS

    Bird Pattern Part 1
    Bird Pattern Part 2