Oil Painting with Patterns
How to Prepare Your Object
Recommendations for preparing Your Project If you choose to paint on wood:
Make sure it is clean and free of oil or grease. It should be dry. Most wood is porous and must be sealed. If you want the wood grain to show as a back ground, seal it with clear varnish. If it is not sealed you will have a great difficulty keeping your paint from soaking into the wood. It must be sealed.
Any other product that is porous must be treated like wood. If you choose stone, rock or slate, it must be sealed.
I have best results by cleaning it and spray it with flat black, flat white or grey primer. When that is dry, (in an hour or so), then you put on a coat of whatever color you want for a back ground. It should be a flat colored paint, not enamel or high gloss. If enamel or high gloss has to be used, you will need to let it dry at least 48 hours, then transfer your pattern onto the surface. Then spray on a misty spray of mate finish, let that set 5 - 10 min. and mist it again. DO NOT OVER USE THE MATE FINISH. It is a wonderful product, but too much will give you problems. It will run, it won't dry good, it will cause your oil paint to crackle. It is a wonderful drying element, but use with caution.
If you choose metal to paint on, always sand it to clear off any rust. Once it is clean and rust free, always spray grey primer. This prevents any rust that might come along, from bleeding thru your oil paint. It makes a perfect surface. You can spray or paint any color over it after 30 min. Then give this 48 hrs at least, before transferring a pattern onto it. I prefer metal over all materials to paint on.
Glass and plastic can be painted on, as well as china or prcelan, but must be finished with something to make the oil paint stick. As on enamel or high gloss paint. Glass and smooth plastic let the oils glaide along and not cover or stick to the surface, so you need to spray plastic with grey primer. It soome times will peel and scratch easily. Glass will work with a mate finish spray. It will leave the glass cloudy, but it will 'stick and cover. Always let a surface dry no less than 48 hours before transferring your pattern. If you don't you will have finger prints, smears and smugges from the transfer paper sticking to your project. Your paint will ndt flow or brush on smooth.
Canvas, comes prepared for painting, sometimes. You can watch and read on the prodict you purchase. If it is not pre~treated, then you need to apply magic white or black. If not treated, you will have trouble painting. Your paint will not move. The brush will drag and you use 3 or 4 times as much paint as you should.
When tracing always trace all lines. This helps you know what all is envolved in the painting. We sometimes paint over and cover some lines, but you know what was there once you trace it there. You can go back and put them in, better if you have once drawn them
I am not joking about preparing you project as soon as possible after recieving or choosing a project pattern. You will like the results. Melba Fields Johnston . 323~5851 call me if you need to.
