Highway to Heaven Home Decor
John Gruen
Take pointers from the pros when it comes to artwork by hanging similar images in a nice, clean row.
Skill Level: Intermediate
Materials:
Ruler
Pencil
4 ready-made 10x10-inch gallery-wrap canvases (available from online art supply stores)
Painter's tape
2-inch paintbrush (for background), plus a variety of small artists brushes of different sizes
Background paint (we used Sherwin-Williams' Sagey and Kind Green interior latex paint in matte finish)
Acrylic craft paint for eggs (we used Plaid's Folk Art paints in Ivory White, Vintage White, Linen, Nutmeg, Asphaltum)
Palette with small cups to mix paint colors
Directions:
1. Using ruler and pencil, measure and mark the center point of each canvas. Draw an elliptical shaped egg around each center point (center point should be about 1 inch from bottom and sides of the egg and 1 1/4 inches from top).
2. Mask out the egg shapes with painter's tape. Using 2-inch brush, paint front and sides of canvases with Sagey hue. While paint is still wet, apply a top coat to the same area with the Kind Green hue, using alternating brush strokes to create an aged effect and add dimension to background. Allow to dry for three or four hours. Remove painter's tape.
3. To paint eggs, apply a base coat of Ivory White to the first egg shape using a 3/8-inch paintbrush, working very neatly around edges. Let dry for about 15 minutes. Mix Ivory White with Vintage White in palette cups for shade tone. While paint is slightly moist, apply shading to edge of one side of egg, using quick strokes and mottling brush for depth. Let dry for 30 minutes.
4. While paint on egg is drying, mix Linen and Nutmeg colors in another palette cup. Pour only Nutmeg color into another cup. Add small dotted speckles on the egg using the Linen-and-Nutmeg mix with a fine point paintbrush. Add larger speckles, using the Nutmeg color with a slightly larger brush. (For inspiration, Google "speckled egg photos" to refer to as a design guide.)
5. To create the second egg, refer back to Step 3 but use Linen as the color base. Let dry for 15 minutes. For shading, mix Linen paint with a drop of Nutmeg color in another palette cup. Apply mottled shading to egg as in Step 3; let dry for 30 minutes. While second egg base color is drying, paint third egg base, using a mix of Linen and Vintage White. For shading, add a small drop of Nutmeg to the paint mix. Paint bases and shading of each egg and let dry, as described in Step 3. For fourth egg, paint the base with Vintage White; while paint is drying on third egg, add a drop of Asphaltum to the shade mixture for fourth egg and apply as described above. Apply speckles to each egg as described in Step 4.
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Source: https://www.womansday.com/home/decorating/a3552/art-gallery-inspired-home-decorating-65314/