Painted Grape Vase

Materials:

Mr. & Mrs. Of Dallas, Inc. tulip vase C6034
Folk Art enamels: fresh foliage, midnight, violet pansy, green forest, licorice, dioxazine purple, evergreen, wicker white, burnt umber, gold
Folk Art enamels clear medium 4035
KALA brushes: flat #8, 10, 12; #1 liner brush; 1" glaze/wash
Masterson Sta-Wet palette
Plaid large 5/8" dauber
Plaid brush basin
soft absorbent 100% cotton rags or soft paper towels
palette knife
rubbing alcohol
tracing paper
gray and white Saral paper
stylus

1. Wash the vase with warm soap and water. Rinse and dry thoroughly. Wipe with rubbing alcohol. Let dry.

2. Neatly trace the design on a piece of tracing paper (figure A).

3. Transfer the outline of the pattern with gray Saral paper (figure B). Soften the lines by wiping them lightly with a soft rag.

4. For the background: Using the 1-inch wash brush, double load with a little clear medium and midnight enamel. Blend on the palette to soften the color. Pat this around the outside of the design (figure C). Let dry.

5. Wash on a little fresh foliage enamel (figure D) and let dry.

6. To paint the grapes: Fill the dauber with the dioxazine purple (figure E). Touch, press and lift to paint on all the dark grapes (figure F).

7. While the undercoated grapes are drying for 15 minutes or so, undercoat the leaves with evergreen enamel. Let dry 10-15 minutes.

8. Paint the grapes again with the dauber. Let dry. You may have to do this a third time to get the coverage you desire.

9. While the dark grapes are wet, pick up a little bit of violet pansy and warm white on the dauber. Daub it up and down on the palette to blend the colors in the dauber. Carefully make the medium-value grapes.

10. Wipe the dauber and pick up more warm white and a tiny bit of fresh foliage. Blend the dauber on the palette or rag to soften the colors on the dauber. Paint two or three of the lightest value grapes (figure G). Don't be afraid to go back over the grapes if need be.

11. To paint the leaves: Shade the leaves by loading a large brush with licorice plus a touch of dioxazine purple 3:1 (figure H). Double load the brush with this mixture and clear medium.

12. Float the shadows on at the base of the leaves. Let dry 10 to 15 minutes.

13. Fill the brush with evergreen and a mixture of dioxazine purple and burnt umber (1:1). Paint the dark side of the leaves (figure I).

14. Paint the light side of the leaves with evergreen and warm white (figure J). Lightly blend. Note: This may take a little practice and work quickly so the paint doesn't lift (figure K).

15. To add curlicues: Fill the #1 liner brush with the mixture of dioxazine purple and burnt umber (1:1) (figure L). cds1736_1l Do not use water to thin--use the clear medium. Let dry.

16. Finishing: Trim the top edge of the vase with gold. Pat it on with a dauber or your finger (figure M).

17. When finished, let the piece air dry for 21 days or bake in an oven at 350 F degrees for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and let it cool completely. However, you can open the door to let the project cool quicker. The important thing is to not touch the painted areas until it has cooled. The paint will remain soft until it cools. Then remove the piece from the oven.

The painted china piece is waterproof and top-shelf dishwasher safe.

Tips:

1. Be sure you let the paint dry 10 to 15 minutes between coats.

2. When you apply a second coat, do it quickly. Too much blending could lift the first coat. If this happens, carefully clean the piece with alcohol and start over.

3. Don’t use WATER. Water keeps the paint from properly adhering to the china surface. Do not mix water into the enamels; use the clear medium for thinning. Water interferes with proper adhesion to the surface.