Thyme to show you Water Taxi

I must admit I am way behind on my BLOGGING!

 I have so many completed projects to show you!

My desk is cleared, 

so lets begin with a project I recently completed 

called

 WATER TAXI. 

Design is by Cynthia Erekson

My Palette

DecoArt American Acrylic

Grey Sky, Lamp Black , Victorian Blue , Zinc, Heritage Brick, Neutral Grey, Bleached Sand, Deep Midnight Blue, Dove Grey

Let's Paint!

I began by first sanding my surface.

I then sealed it with Multi Purpose Sealer.

I created a textured Grey Sky base coat on the outer surface of the box.

 To do this I squirted out a large puddle of paint on my palette.

I then heavily loaded the broad flat side of a 2" sponge brush with paint.

I repeatedly used a "press and lift" motion with the loaded brush to create a bumpy, 

bubbly texture to the surface of the box.

While the paint is still wet, lightly "pat" the the dirty brush onto the front side of the box. 

I let this dry and did a second base coat in the same manner.

I then did a "press and lift" base coat using Deep Midnight Blue on the box lid.

Next I squirted a nickel size puddle of Neutral Grey on my palette.

Around this I squirted out 4 nickel size puddles of Glazing Medium

I mixed the puddles together well with my palette knife.

I added 2 nickel size puddles of Easy Float to the glaze mixture and mixed well again.

DecoArt 

also has a

Drying Time Extender 

that could be used.

To create the "wood grained" background on the box I loaded the flat side of a dry 2" sponge brush with the thin glaze I had made.  

I used the "press and lift" method to apply the glaze to one box side.

I then picked up the box and "stamped" the glazed surface onto my clean sheet of palette paper. 

I immediately lifted it straight up.

I repeated this process on each side of the box to create a wood grain look.

Next I painted the lid and inside the box with Deep Midnight Blue.

I have traced my pattern and transferred the horizon line onto the front of the box.

I used the chisel edge of a moon brush in a horizontal position to establish the hilltop with Zinc

I then turned my brush to a vertical position and streaked Zinc across the ground area.

I lifted my brush as I approached the box edges so that the color faded some.

The first coat of the water is painted Deep Midnight Blue. 

I added Victorian Blue to the second coat.

I worked from the bottom up to the wave tips, leaving the bottom edge slightly darker.

I then added more Victorian Blue to the wave tips and worked the color gradually towards the bottom.

Next I taped off the lid to paint the stripes.

I used a small stencil brush to "pounce" on the stripes with Neutral Grey first.

When dry I pounced the stripes again using Dove Grey.

I did the stripes around the bottom of the box in the same manner.

I have base coated the whale with Lamp Black.

I used my stencil brush to shade the edges of the box with Lamp Black.

I am base coating the buildings.

I am adding the shading and details to the buildings.

I am painting the "traveler".

I have painted the sign and the fences.

I am working on the lettering on the back of the box.

I use Silver Micron Mini lettering brushes to make the job easier.

I applied several coats of Dura Clear Matte Varnish to my box when completed.

It comes in several finishes it is a matter of taste what you prefer.

Make sure you let each coat dry well before applying the next.

I used Tacky Glue to apply the number plaque to my box.

Front of box

Back of box.

DecoArt and Rosemary Reynolds 

supplied the paint to complete this project as part of their 

Helping Artist 

and 

Blogger Outreach Programs

Thank you for all the wonderful products to create with!

You can visit the 

DecoArt Blog

HERE

I hope you have enjoyed watching me paint Water Taxi.

Happy Painting !

Lynn