Autumn De“Lite”

Pen and Ink with Rouged Oils

Copyright 2000 by Mary Owens

          First of all I would like to mention how happy I am to be able to share this technique with you.  I am so happy that I found the artist that inspired the wine glass concept!  I was teaching in Parkersburg, West Virginia and saw the sample [just the wineglass and shade].  Pam Maslany put the idea together after seeing it in a rubber stamp book!  Then I got the brainstorm to use it with my pen and ink and rouged oils! Pen and Ink is so much fun to do, and there are so many choices of surfaces to create your designs on!  I find that using the Koh I Noor Technical Pen and Daler Rowney FW Black Acrylic Artists Ink is absolutely essential in creating the heirlooms we will pass onto our families.  The permanency of the ink is what makes it so attractive, especially when you are doing projects that take many hours to complete.  The oil rouging technique I have created is a nice compliment to the inking and it is very easy to do.   You will find that this project that can be functional as well as attractive in your home, or as a gift.  You can purchase wine glasses very inexpensively and in all types of sizes and shapes.  Your local outlets sell them constantly, so you can always pop a quick hostess, teacher, thank you, or holiday gift together in little or no time. 

I would like to list a few suggestions for future use:

·        If you do not want an autumn theme, change the colors in the lampshade to harmonize with a spring or summer look.  Leave the pumpkins out of the picture and it will look completely different.

·        Use different types of papers to create the lampshades.  I love to use nubby watercolor paper.  The smoother the surface of the paper, the flatter your ink lines lay.  Using a rougher grade of paper will force the pen to skip and dance over the surface creating more interesting inked lines.  Looks more detailed than flat uninteresting lines.

·        Different colored inks without any additional color added over it creates a completely different appearance.  Brown over a white or cream-colored paper is wonderful and elegant.  A helpful hint though: I suggest not using actual colored ink…a better choice is airbrush paint like Daler Rowney.  This paint, or as they refer to it as “airbrush ink”, is fine enough to flow through the tip of an airbrush so it will work wonderfully in the Koh I Noor Technical Pen. But the biggest factor in my recommending it in replacement of actual colored ink is the permanency.  Airbrush paint or “ink” is acrylic based.  Once your ink strokes are dried, it does not reactivate if water hits it.  Colored inks for the most part are a tint or wash and not permanent.  Even labels can be misleading.  You cans still clean your pens and boo-boos with an ammonia based product like glass cleaner.

·        Convert this pattern to pen and ink with acrylic washes.  You can use a disposable marker instead of the technical pen I mentioned earlier, just make sure to test if applying washes or floating acrylic over the top of the inking.

MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED TO CREATE THIS PROJECT:

·        A long stemmed wine glass. For the size I have included in the article, my glass measures 2 ¾ inches across the width of the opening at the top of the glass and the glass is 8 inches high.  If your size and opening is different, make a photocopy of the pattern for the lampshade, cut it out after you size it up or down on the copy machine and see how it balances with the glass you are going to adapt the lampshade to.  Keep adjusting the size until you find one that is right.

·        Your choice of paper for the lampshade.  I used Canson “Canva Paper” for Oil and Acrylic.  This is a coated, textured paper that is a substitute for canvas.  As mentioned earlier, you can use any grade or texture watercolor paper.

·        Liberty Matte Spray

·        Your choice of either Technical Pen or Permanent Marker

·        Fiskar Scissors [I used the one with the deckle edge for that ripped watercolor paper effect]

·        Koh-I-Noor Technical Pen [size 1]

·        Regular scissors

·        Paper towels

·        Pencil

·        Needle and white thread

·        A tea light

·        Suggested oil colors and Gel Transparentizer

·        Suggested brushes

·        Waxy palette paper

·         Magic Rub Eraser and a “Click” Eraser that can be purchased at any office supply store

·        Cotton swabs and a small jar with Windex or any glass cleaner that contains ammonia

·        A light box for tracing or graphite paper [old] and a stylus for transferring  [Anyone owning an opaque projector can just put the pattern in the projector, image it down onto the paper, size it to fit your lampshade, and complete the inking without tracing and transferring!

·        A bar of plain soap for cleaning brushes after completing the oil rouging on this project

SUGGESTED MARTIN/F. WEBER PERMALBA OIL PAINTS:

·                 Paynes Gray         

·                 Burnt Umber

·                 Cad Yellow Medium

·                 Alizarin Crimson Permanent

SUGGESTED BRUSHES:

·        Scharff Series 100 Classic Brights; sizes 4, 14, 20 and 32

·        Scharff Liner Brush Series 455, size 1

·        Scharff Scumbler Set Series 240 Touch-It

PREPARATION:

          After purchasing a wine glass, make a photocopy of the pattern for the lampshade, cut it out, shape it and see how it fits.  Does it balance with the size of the glass?  If it does, trace the pattern onto the BACK of your choice of paper, whether it is watercolor or the canvas paper I mentioned earlier.  [This way the pencil lines will be on the inside of the lampshade.]   Cut the straight edges with regular scissors, and then use the Fiskar Scissors to cut the deckle edge, if desired.

          Go outside and spray the surface you will be working on with at least 4 GENEROUS coats of Liberty Matte Spray. Let it air out really well, and make sure each coat is dry before applying the next coat.  If your sealer is not applied on the heavy side, you will not be able to remove any inking boo-boos as well as correcting the oil rouging.  You will want the surface of the paper to have a plastic-coated appearance.

          After the spray has dried completely, you have a few choices for getting the pattern onto the paper: transfer the design on with old graphite paper, use a light box and proceed directly to the inking, use the opaque projector [as mentioned earlier].  Ink in as much detail as you want to.  Remove any mistakes with Windex and a Q-Tip.  Let that immediate area dry before going on with more inking.

          When the inking has dried, apply a few applications of Liberty Matte Spray. 

Read through the following instructions before starting if you have never worked with my technique before.  It will give you an overview of how I incorporate the rouging technique.

THE DIFFERENT APPROACH I USE TO ADD COLOR 

[AN EXPLANATION]:

          Rather than "painting in" the color, I prefer to use the term "rouging" or "tinting".  The paint is applied with either the Detailer or one of the Bristle Scumblers, in small amounts in an area where the shading or color is the richest or most intense, then different sized Blenders are used to coax the color over the surface, graduating the intensity or value of the color from deeper and richer to a medium value, then on to a lighter, brighter tone, or area appearing to catch a highlight or reflected light.  The most important thing to remember is every area that is painted should hold at least 3 values of color to give the appearance of dimension.

SOME RULES AND REGULATIONS

[Only kidding...they're just helpful hints]:

    Brush-mix a bit of gel into the paint as needed.  In most cases [if working on a really slick surface], apply the paint dry [right from the tube so to speak], and move the paint around with completely dry brushes.  If you are working on a surface that seems to be very porous and the paint appears to drag, use a tiny amount of the Gel Transparentizer I mentioned in the Materials required section.  Just incorporate a tiny bit of the gel into the brush before loading with paint.  Mix the paint and gel together on the palette before adding the color to the surface, and then proceed to rouge as directed.

    What about mistakes and paint outside the patterned areas? 

     Dry cotton swabs are excellent for lifting color in an area where you have "over-painted".  Rub in a circular motion to lift color off the surface, and then go back to using one of the Blenders to soften the outside edges of that area.  I also keep an extra Blender on the side to use for cleanup work.  Use the edge of the bristles to scuff color back inside the patterned areas if it has a tendency to get away from you. 

     Another trick I use to "take the pressure off" is to apply the color in stages, and I use the matte spray to "speed-dry" these "glazed" applications of color between coats.   In every area that is tinted, I applied at least 2 different color glazes, drying them between applications.  This keeps your color clear and vibrant, with less chance of "mudding".  Once you get the hang of this, it can become a lot of fun!

     Keep a close eye on the colored photo in the packet for reference.  I will tell you the colors I used in an area, but you need the photo to see how far I blended it out.

     Vary the sizes of the brushes for laying the color in, as well as blending the color out. 

“Swirl” brushes on paper towel after every few strokes, during the blending process.

STEPS FOR APPLYING THE OIL ROUGING:

STAGE 1

You will notice that just the sky is tinted with a light application of the blue tone.  This color is actually Paynes Gray.  Use the small Scumbler to scuff in the color mixed with a scant bit of gel where the color appears to be the deepest in the photo.  Use the largest Blender to buff the color away.  Add more color if it the first application seems to fade out.

STAGE 2

I incorporated an “undertinting” to the entire design before I added the actual color.  This adds a great amount of depth to the entire picture.  Mix a scant amount of Burnt Umber into Paynes Gray til a “grey-black” color is achieved.  Notice how I added the grey mix to the wooded area just above the ground-line?  This gives the illusion of other trees or foliage in the distance.  Follow the photo for color placement, and make sure that the outside edges of the rouging fade and there are no “make-up lines”.

          Apply several mists of Liberty Matte Spray to dry the sky as well as the undertinting.  When using the matte spray to dry, the first application is a light mist and each spray after that becomes more intense.  Let each coat dry before adding the next.

          Undertint the path as well as the rolling hills, fencing and pumpkins.  Use dry Q-Tips to lift highlights where needed and make sure to maintain the three-value progression.  A good way to evaluate your work is to step away and view it from a few feet away.  Does it resemble a well-executed float?  If it does you are right on the money!      

STAGE 3

          Use a palette knife to mix a scant bit of Cad Yellow into some Paynes Gray to create a deep pine green tone.  Use the same small Scumbler to scuff in bits of the deep green tone into the hilly areas.  Buff the color down with the #20 Blender.  Make sure there are no “make-up lines”.  Go back and strengthen where needed.

          Apply the matte spray again to dry the paint to this point, and then you are ready to add the finishing touches.

STAGE 4

Use the Scumbler to tap a bit of straight Burnt Umber into the wooded areas above the ground-line.  Soften with the #32 Blender.  I added a bit of the same color into the deep crevices of the hills.  The fencing is tinted at the ground line.

          Mix an orange tone by incorporating a bit of the Cad Yellow Medium with a bit of Alizarin Crimson Permanent.   Deepen the color with a bit of Burnt Umber if desired, and tint the pumpkins and add bits of the same to the wooded areas as well as the grassy knolls.  Keep the color very minimal for the best effect.

TO FINISH OFF YOUR WORK:

          Top off your work with a few more mists of the matte spray to dry the paint and at the same time put a protective finish on the lampshade material.  Use a needle and thread to stitch the lampshade together.  Drop the tea light candle in the glass, add the shade, light the candle and admire your work!

For information about ordering and help with instructions, feel free to contact me any time!  Reach me at:

MARY OWENS DESIGNS

Mary Owens

6325 Tonawanda Creek Road

Lockport, NY 14094

Phone [716] 433-3168  Fax [716] 433-3119

Toll free in the US [888] 433-3170

Email mary@maryo.com   Web site www.maryowensdesign.com

A SPECIAL NOTE:

            If you have not attended a seminar with me or one of my certified teachers, and you are a little apprehensive with starting this technique I would like to recommend one of the project DVDs we have created.  If you visit our website you can see the selections and each one has a pattern included.  Each DVD has complete visual instructions as well as extras like taking care of the tech pen, how to create your designs on alternative surfaces and how to prepare the surface.  Lots of extras and detailed demonstrations that you can apply to any of my pattern packets.  Over 3 hours of visual guidance that will show you how I use the brushes and also the sequencing for adding color as well as creating the inked textures that bring the designs to life!  Call us for answers to your questions!