Fall Pumpkin Floral Painting

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• Liquitex Acrylic Gouache colors:
• Titanium White
• Yellow Oxide
• Quinacridone Magenta
• Hookers Green Hue Permanent
• Burnt Sienna
• Mars Black
• Liquitex Basics Round Brush, Size 4
• Liquitex Palette Knife, Size 16, or similar
• Liquitex Basics Paddle Brush, 2" Size, or similar
• 10"x 10" Canvas (pre-primed)
• Pencil
• Palette Paper
• Paper Towels
• Optional: Gloves, Hairdryer

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare work surface and assemble supplies.
2. Squeeze out about 1/2 teaspoon of each of the colors onto palette paper.
3. Tip: Start with the lightest value color at the top and then the darkest value at the bottom.
4. Use the palette knife to mix the black and the white to make gray. Use about 1 part black to 3 parts white.
5. Next, use the 1" paddle brush to apply the gray mixture in horizontal stripes that descend down the canvas. Feel free to pick up extra black to make wood deeper stripes in some areas of the canvas.
6. Tip: Use a paper towel to remove the water from the brush and lightly dip it into the Mars Black. Lightly drag the dry brush across the surface to create a wood grain or weathered texture.
7. Allow it to become touch dry; approximately 15 minutes.
8. Tip: a hairdryer can be used to speed drying. Keep the dryer moving and keep it about 1 foot above the painting surface.
9. Use the pencil to sketch out the pumpkin, flowers, and leaves.
10. Next, take the palette knife and about 4 parts white to 1-part yellow oxide for a total mix about the size of 1/2 teaspoons.
11. Use the round brush with the ivory mixture to apply the pumpkin shape. Be sure to leave the texture lines of the pumpkin unpainted. Paint around wherever the leaves will be covering the pumpkin.
12. Next, clean the round brush with water, and dip it into the Hookers Green Hue Permanent.
13. Paint in the leaves and other greenery. Feel free to dip the brush (with the green still in it) into the white or ivory and paint it on top of the leaves here and there to show depth and variety in the leaves.
14. Clean the brush with water and dip it into the Mars Black. Paint a circle in the center of each of the 3 rose-like flowers.
15. Next, don't clean the brush, but dip it into both the Burnt Sienna and the Quinacridone Magenta to create a wet-on-wet rust color mixture.
16. Paint this rust color around the black circle in one of the two blooms on the right, somewhat overlapping the circle. Allow the colors to blend on the surface.
17. Continue making semicircle paint strokes around the black circle that radiate outwards to form the flower bloom.
18. Then, clean the brush and dip it into some of the white and/or ivory mixture and paint it directly on top of the rust color in some areas of the bloom. This creates visual depth and the illusion of light hitting the bloom as well and color variation in the bloom.
19. Repeat for the second bloom on the right.
20. Clean the round brush and dip it into the white.
21. Starting in the center of the last bloom, slightly overlap the black circle with the white and radiate outwards in small semi-circular lines to create the bloom.
22. Don't clean the brush, and then dip it into some or the rust color mixture and create some color transition between the black circle and the white petals.
23. For a rosier tone to the white bloom, add more Quinacridone Magenta.
24. Next, clean the brush and use the rust mixture to paint the 5 smaller bloom buds. Feel free to add ivory or white on top of the wet rust color to add depth to the bloom buds.
25. Clean the round brush with water. Then dip the brush into some white paint and the ivory mixture.
26. Use this wet brush to paint the 3 straight leaf rows. Again, to add depth and variety, dip the wet brush into some of the rust color mix and paint it directly on top of the wet ivory leaves.
27. Last step is to touch up any part of the painting that may need tweaks. For example, if the pumpkin texture lines need to be refined and narrowed, do so by applying additional ivory color.