Americana Angel

Made with a painting pattern, this pretty Americana angel declares, "God Bless America."  Start with a wood angel cut-out and use acrylic paint to create this angel.

Materials:

DecoArt Products Required
Americana Acrylics

• DA136 - Base Flesh
• DA137 - Shading Flesh

Dazzling Metallics

Americana Spray Sealers

• DAS13 - Americana Matte Spray

Americana Multi-Purpose Sealer

• DS17 - Multi-Purpose Sealer

Supplies

• Brushes - 1 Scroller; 2, 4, 8 Flat Brush; 4 Round Fabric Brush
• Misc - Fine Sandpaper, Soft cloth, Tracing paper, Graphite, Palette, Paper towels, Stylus
• Wood angel cutout
• Pattern

Instructions:

Preparation
Sand and seal the project with Multi-Purpose Sealer. When it is dry, if the wood feels toothy, lightly sand it again. Apply the pattern.

Painting Instructions
1. Artist Tip: I like to start from the back and move forward.
Basecoating:
Buttermilk: Wing and the bottom of the harp.
Red Iron Oxide: Dress.
Desert Sand: Apron.
French Grey/Blue: Sky (area under feet) and the lining of the ruffles of the dress and apron.
Base Flesh: Hands, feet, neck and face.
Antique Gold: Hair and the scroll work on the harp.
Warm Neutral: Ribbon.
Uniform Blue: Middle of the harp.
Charcoal Grey: Negative spaces and the center of the harp.

2. Shade on the sky, under the dress, feet and ribbon with Uniform Blue. The stars and dots on the sky are done with White Wash.

3. Shade on the feet along the dress with Shading Flesh. When dry, shade on the right side of the left foot. Shade the hand along the sleeve, on the neck along the dress and under her chin. Also shade the face along the bangs. Using Flesh Tone, highlight along the bottom of the feet, the bottom of the hands and the bottom of the face. The eyelids are applied with Flesh Tone, using a Flat Brush. The nose is applied with a Liner using Flesh Tone. Using the drybrush technique and the Round Fabric Brush, apply the cheeks using Gooseberry Pink. The center of the mouth is Lamp (Ebony) Black and the lips are also Gooseberry Pink. The eyelashes and eyebrows are Burnt Sienna.

4. Shade on the wings along the angel with Desert Sand. The dots and stars on her wings are White Wash.

5. Refer to pattern for where to shade dress, apron and ribbon. Shade the dress with Russet. Highlight the dress with Gooseberry Pink. The stars in the shaded areas are Mississippi Mud and the stars in the lighter area are Desert Sand. You may want to do some brush mixing to get a medium value. Shade the dress with Mississippi Mud. You may want to reinforce some of the shading with Dark Chocolate. Highlight the dress with Buttermilk. The stripes are Uniform Blue and the stitches are Red Iron Oxide.

6. Read this before you begin the lining on the ruffles. It is easier to highlight the lining of the ruffle first. Highlight the linings of the ruffles with a double load of French Grey/Blue and White Wash. The lining of the ruffles is shaded with Uniform Blue and some of the shading is reinforced with Midnite Blue. The dots are White Wash.

7. Shade the ribbon with Dark Chocolate and highlight with Buttermilk. Paint the stars first in Buttermilk and the lettering is Russet. Line the ribbon with Dazzling Metallics Royal Ruby.

8. The strokes that outline the right edge of the harp are Dark Chocolate. With Burnt Sienna, shade along the left and right of the ball on the scrollwork on the top of the harp. Highlight with Moon Yellow on the ends of the scrollwork and also on the left side of the ball. With Midnite Blue, shade on the harp along the scrollwork. The stars are Buttermilk. The stripes on the bottom of the harp are Red Iron Oxide. With Mississippi Mud, shade on the harp along the blue. Taking a small Flat Brush, shade the red stripes with Russet. With Lamp (Ebony) Black, shade the left side of the hole. The strings are painted by dipping a Liner Brush in Lamp (Ebony) Black and tipping it in White Wash.

9. With a Flat Brush and Burnt Sienna, float in the direction of the hair. Now, float in some Moon Yellow, keeping it lighter at the bottom of the hair and bangs. With a Liner, add individual strands using Moon Yellow and Burnt Sienna. The halo is Moon Yellow. The notes are Lamp (Ebony) Black.

Finishing Instructions
Finish the sides and backs using the same basecoating and decorating technique as the sky. Spray with Americana Matte Sealer.