Life's Sweet Fruits

PATTERN

Instructions
 
PREPARATION
NOTE: All colors used after basecoating are floated.

1. If hod is rusty, sand until clean and smooth. New or old, wash in hot, soapy water. Rinse with a vinegar/water solution. Dry thoroughly in oven set at 200 degrees or lower.

2. Spray with two or three light coats of Matte Spray Sealer (letting dry between each coat).

3. Basecoat inside and base with Antique Gold. Basecoat the outside with Brandy Wine. When dry, spatter entire piece using the toothbrush or palette knife and Lamp (Ebony) Black. Let dry.

4. Using graphite paper, transfer design to coal hod, omitting the bracts (small leaves at the base) on strawberries, grape stems and squiggles. Leaves could also be omitted and free-handed.

PAINTING INSTRUCTIONS
Pear: Basecoat with Antique Gold. To shade, float Burnt Sienna under grapes and along bottom. When dry, deepen shading with Cranberry Wine, but do not completely cover Burnt Sienna. Quickly highlight with Pineapple while Antique Gold is still wet. Float Country Blue along side of paper near grapes for reflection.

Apples: Basecoat with Country Red, two coats. When dry, shade lower side and stem area with Cranberry Wine. Deepen shading with Lamp (Ebony) Black, not completely covering Cranberry Wine. Highlight with a float of Antique Gold. Top this with a dab of Pineapple on the chisel edge of the brush. Add a reflection of Antique Gold near the pear. Stem is black.

Grapes: Basecoat with Uniform Blue. Shade with Cranberry Wine. First highlight is Country Blue. Deepen shading with Lamp (Ebony) Black. Clean up the top of the grapes (and reshape, if needed) with Baby Blue. With corner of brush, dab on Titanium (Snow) White as final highlight. Put reflections on the grapes near other fruits.

Strawberries: Basecoat with Country Red. The shading and highlights are done the same way as the apples. Then, with the #10/0 Liner and thin Lamp (Ebony) Black, outline each berry and put on a few seeds. At the top center of each berry, place a white dot. Dip the #3 Round Brush into Evergreen and Antique Gold. Make the bracts, beginning each at the white dot.

The leaves are one stroke with a #12 Flat. Begin near the fruit with Evergreen, pull and lift at the same time, ending with a point. Make reflections on some of the leaves near the fruit. Make veins.

The pear and apple stems, squiggles and leaf veins are all made with the #10/0 Liner and thinned Lamp (Ebony) Black paint. The grape stem is made with the #3 Round and thin Lamp (Ebony) Black paint.

Strawberries are also painted on both sides of the inside of the coal hod. Because the back of a large piece like this one is sometimes seen, I don't like to leave it "naked." I painted another pair of strawberries a bit larger than the ones inside.

FINISHING INSTRUCTIONS
Spray the piece with Matte Spray Sealer. When dry, antique the Antique Gold part, not the Brandy Wine, with Ebony Gel Stain. Let dry. With Glazing Brush and Black Gel Stain, float under the upper lip on the outside and along the base on the Red. Also float around each piece of fruit. With a #8 Stencil Brush and a small amount of Titanium (Snow) White, dab on baby's breath. Do not overdo it. When completely dry, spray with Matte Spray Sealer again.