It's thyme to Grin and Bear It!

It's really hard to believe that 

SUMMER

 is coming to an end!

The weather has been perfect

 here on 

Cape Cod

I've done lots of bike riding

kayaking

and

boating

But now

 it's thyme to step inside

 my STUDIO 

to see what I have been painting!

Today I wanted to show you a design

 by 

Cynthia Erekson 

that I have been working on

 called

 Grin and Bear It

My Palette

DecoArt American Acrylics

Lamp Black, Burnt Umber, Burnt Orange, Milk Chocolate, Spiced Pumpkin, Tangerine, Avocado, Camel, Antique Gold, Buttermilk, Persimmon

LETS PAINT!

I began my project by first sanding my surface

 and 

wiping off the dust

I then base coated the surface 

with

Lamp Black

After it was dry I added a second coat

 of 

Lamp Black 

to the paddle front 

using a "press and lift" motion

 with a 2" sponge brush

Repeatedly press the brush down and lift it straight up

This will create a bumpy , bubbly textured surface

You can "pat" the brush lightly over any areas that are too raised

I base coated the flag 

with

Antique Gold

The dowel 

is 

Milk Chocolate

I then measured up 2 3/4" and drew a line

I placed masking tape along this line

Next I traced the pattern 

and

 then transferred the 3 pumpkin sections

 and 

stem to my surface

I painted the 2 outer sections Burnt Orange

and

the center section Persimmon

I added shading to these sections

I then place a herringbone stencil 

over the 

left section

with the design in a vertical position

I used a stencil brush loaded

 with 

Spiced Pumpkin 

to unevenly pounce the design over the area

I then lifted the stencil 

and

 moved to the right section

I turned my stencil

 to a 

horizontal position 

to

 stencil this section

I used a honeycomb stencil for the middle section

I loaded my brush 

with 

Tangerine

I stenciled the center section

in the same manner as I did the outer sections

I used a 

Traditions Dome Blender Brush

loaded with

Persimmon 

to lightly 

"dry brush" 

unevenly over the stenciled areas

This causes the stenciled areas

to 

"disappear" somewhat

and

blend more with their background colors

I shaded between the pumpkin sections,

 below the stem and around edges with Burnt Sienna

I removed the tape and remeasured  5/16" down from the pumpkin

I taped this area off and pounced Avocado in that space

I used

  Silver Brush Ultra Mini Lettering brushes 

to paint the words

GRIN AND BEAR IT

Next I painted in the teeth

I painted a coat of Star Lite Varnish over the teeth

I applied 1 coat of Dura Clear Matte Varnish

I then spattered my surface

 with thinned

  Lamp Black 

paint

To do this I loaded a large stencil brush 

with my thinned paint

I then hold the brush over surface

 and

 repeatedly flick the bristles of the stencil brush 

using my palette knife, pulling towards me

I let this dry completely!

I then apply several additional coats of Dura Gloss Matte varnish

You can either use a brush 

or

 I like to use "blue shop towels" for the additional varnish coats

Next I took the zipper , opened it and spread Tacky Glue all around the edges

I then positioned the zipper over the mouth and pressed it in place

He is SPOOKtacular!

I then used brown and orange bakers twine

to wrap 

around the handle

DecoArt

provided me with the products to complete this project

 as part of their 

Helping Artist

 and

 Blogger Outreach Programs

Thank you DecoArt for all your wonderful products to create with!

Are you ready to see my completed project???

SUMMER

is

 GONE

so

GRIN AND BEAR IT!

I hope you have enjoyed watching me paint this project!

Happy Painting !

Lynn