The STUDIO gets BUSY at this THYME of year!

It's that THYME of year again 

when things can get pretty BUSY 

in the 

STUDIO!

Because

it's 

THYME

TO MAKE THE MAGIC HAPPEN!

Step inside 

and

 I'll show you some of the pieces that I am working on

I'm working on lots of ornaments!

This is a wonderful 

SANTA 

design by Pam Grady

that I'm painting on MORE ornaments!

This is a design called

Rolling Out the Cookie Dough

by 

Prudy Vannier

It's a REAL favorite of mine!

NOW

You might be wondering where my ELF

HINKLEY

has been?

He arrived 

EARLY

this year so I was hopeful that we would not fall behind on preparations to

MAKE THE MAGIC 

happen for Christmas

HINKLEY

was made by the 

MASTER ELF MAKER

BRENDA

at

THE RUSTY THIMBLE

I had requested an Elf that could help me 

in the 

STUDIO

 to

sand & base coat pieces, type patterns, and some "light assembly work"

well....

he can't 

TYPE

This

 ELF 

also needed to be able to help with all the other 

usual Christmas preparations

 such as wrapping, decorating , baking etc.

Every thyme I take out the 

KITCHENAID 

he tells me to

BEAT IT

because 

it's THYME for his SPINNING workout......sigh

BEFORE

the Elves leave Brenda's workshop

they must attend 

ELF CLASSES

We all know how much I love to paint, design and create....

I've even had the PRIVLEDGE to MEET and PAINT 

with some

REAL BIG BRUSHES 

(ARTISTS/DESIGNERS)

who always inspire me 

to 

PAINT OUTSIDE THE LINES

I've shared so many painting stories with

  HINKLEY

during our thymes in the 

STUDIO

But a PAINTER he is not!

Nor does he even try to be.......when I try to teach

him....he says that I don't need any more

BIG BRUSHES

in the STUDIO.... I have enough!

Well.... it looks like I shall be heading back to my painting table 

ALONE

 I wasn't expecting him to become a

BIG BRUSH

but

a little help with base coating would be appreciated!

WELL

 I am just going to

Keep those brushes flying!

Happy Painting !

Lynn

It's THYME to paint an Olde World Santa

Today 

I am going to show you step by step

how I painted this 

ZIM'S 

Olde World Santa

Pattern Design 

by

Kristen Birkland, CDA

In case you are not familiar with 

ZIM'S

I will give a brief background history

Zim's was founded by Cliff & Eleanor Zimmerman over 50 years ago. Zim's was very well known as a major pioneer in the Arts and Crafts Industry and built a reputation in that industry as a most innovative and reliable company.

It was 1995 when Zim's began to produce a charming line of unique nutcrackers and smokers for the Gift Industry and this marked their official entry into this market. For many years prior to this time, Zim's supplied products, raw materials, various components and manufacturing services for many producers of quality gift lines. With four years of successful production and marketing of the Heirloom Collectibles Line, Zim's began to plan the next quality line that they would produce. The Elves Themselves were introduced in January 2000 and became an overnight sensation. With these incredible successful lines of finished products abd 50+ years in the Arts & Crafts Industry, many people became familiar with Zim's name and consistent dedication to quality, creativity and service.

Zim's 

unfortunately went out of business several years ago.

Their unpainted surfaces are hard to find now, if you are lucky enough to find one they are often pricey.

Lets paint! My Palette Deco Art Americana Acrylics Light Buttermilk, Shading Flesh, Fleshtone,Gingerbread,Tuscan Red, Royal Fushia, Persimmon, Light Cinnamon, Russet, Forest Green, Hauser Medium Green, Citron Green Lamp Black, Uniform Blue, French Grey Blue, Burnt Umber, Snow White Dazzling Metalics Splendid Gold, Glamour Dust Ice Crystal I started by first basecoating  the  coat, hat and pants  with  Tuscan Red Transfer design using graphite paper Painting detail along the bottom of the coat The trees, and scroll work were painted with Forest Green, Medium Hauser Green and highlighted with Citron Green Further detail work was added using Persimmon and  Dazzling Metalics Splendid Gold I then basecoated the fur trim on the hat, sleeves and coat  with  Light Buttermilk I added the various size dots on the back of the coat using  the ends of  different size brushes and  my stylus The various size dots were painted using Dazzling Metallics Splendid Gold I then painted the mittens and the Christmas tree.   After I painted the tree it was dry brushed with Dazzling Metallics Splendid Gold I then went back to working on the fur. I used a stippler brush  and  Snow White to go over the areas of the fur that I had previously painted I immediately used my blow dryer on it  which added texture to the paint. I then painted the fur using Deco Art Glamour Dust Ice Crystal to add some sPaRkLe Painting the shoes  and  adding details to the base Adding details to the hat Painting the BLUE bird! Almost done!  I sprayed my Santa with 2 coats of AMERICANA  MATTE Sealer/ Finisher THYME to give Santa a beard! Are you ready to see him? Olde World Santa This was a fun piece to paint! Deco Art provided me with the paints to complete this project as part of their Helping Artist Program and Blogger Out Reach Program Happy Painting! Lynn