(aNSID ERTHE pas SIB ILIT IES- fire distinct paint areas set up in the Denver Center for the Per- forming ,-\rt paint shop. fresh surfaces prepared br DCPA scenic artists. and a palette of paints. donated by SculpruraJ .-\rts Coatings. ready to be pushed. pulled. sprayed. spattered and mopped. "~Iaking friends With Your Paintbrush." a workshop chaired by James Hill and sponsored br the Scene Design Commission. prOlided new solUlions to some common and recurring scene painting challenges. For part of Thursdar afternoon. 150 observers were treated to scenic painting demonstrations br Mary Heilman. Dennis Hassan. John Saari. Robert Smith and \ick Claru. The follo\ring segments describe four of the five scene painting techniques demonstrated in Denver. (Unfortunatelr Dennis Hassan could not be contacted while this article was being prepared.) FAUX WOOD GRAIN - OAK PlANKED FLOORING -----demonstrated by MARY HEILMAN White primer \ras applied to a four-foot br eight-foot piece of panel board. T\ro colors \rere mixed for the inilial \ret blended base coat. The main base color \ras two parts white latex with one part ra\\' sienna from the kit (Sculptural Arts Coatings' wood graining color kit \ras used for this demonstration). The second color \ras one part \rhite to three parts raw umber. A small amount of water was added to the paint because the air \ras \'err dry in Denver. The wet blend base coat was applied \rith a four-inch lay-in brush for the sienna and a two-inch layin brush for the umber. The ra\r sienna was brushed on covering aboul serenty percent of the surface in a long striation pattern and then before it started to dl:J' the umber \ras applied using the same long strokes \rith minimal blending. Oak planks. six inches \ride. \rere measured and drawn in Irith permanent felt marker and a straight edge in the direction of the wet blend striations. Then graining color was mixed out of one part black and one part raIl' umber paint, diluted Irith IrateI' about one to one. The wood graining brush used for the demonstration was made br cutting chunks of bristles out of a cheap white bristle chip brush purchased for less than two dollars at a hardlrare store. This graining brush \ras dipped in graining color paint and held at a perpendicular angle to the plank. .-\ ellt grain Iras drawn using jagged lightning bolt pattern strokes moving down the plank leaVing a lot of negative space. (Cuny graining lines produce a busr. unre~Llistic look.) Before the paint started to dr\' a four-inch \\'hite bristle brush (must be dn-) Iras dragged orer the graining paint. once in one direction and once in the opposite direction. This pulls out the grain for a more natural look. .-\ 10llg grain \ras then applied to aU the planks. Holding the graining brush Irith the handle parallel to the direction of the plank lines. a reI'\' light dry-brush drag \\'as pulled along the indiridual planks..-\s soon as the grain paint Iras dry some 1110re of the graining color Iras spattered orer the planks and dry-brush dragged in the direction of the grain. The final larer Iras mixed out of a clear gloss latex urethane acr\'lic. L'niversal colorants Ilwe added to the clear gloss-raw sienna. bulletin red. and raIl' umber-making a saturate deep golden color. Colorants add a rich quality to the glaze \rithout making it chalk\' or opaque. Asponge brush applicator (the kind \\ith soft blistles oreI' a sponge base) was used to apply tlle glaze. TIJese hold a large amount of paint and reduce tlle need to recharge tlle applicator. They also gire tlle surface a fine grain stliationwhich is subtly lisible when the glaze is dl~: It is important to be vel~' careful and thorough when dragging the applicator across the plank. making sure the coverage is straight and even. It is best to apply glaze to one or two planks at a time Irhich will reduce the risk of the glaze dl~~ng before rou can do the final smooth out. Additional colors of glaze mar be applied in a come-and-go fashion to add more interest and depth to the finished faux \\'Ood grained planks. Afinal coat or tiro of clear latex urethane aCl~'lic can be applied to surfaces that will need to stand up to rough or prolonged use. MILES AND MILES 0' BRICK; YARDS AND YARDS 0' BLOCK demonstrated by JOHN SAARI A muslin surface three feet wide by tirentI· feet long was primed Irith Sculplural Art Coatings Tough .\ White Primer. The main painting tool used Iras a sponge mop-the brickshaped cellulose sponge kind. not the soft sponge kind which falls apart too quickly. SereraJ roller trars. and a rough wide bristle brush \rere the onII' other tools used. The mortar color Iras applied orer the primed surface. neutral tone gray. white and rail' sienna paints (supplied by Sculptural Arts Coatings) Irere mixed vel~' \ret-about ten parts water to one part paint. Working on the [Joor or other horizontal surface is necessar\, for this technique. The brick base color was a mixture of dark red and burnt sienna. A\I'arm brick tone of rellOlr ochre and ra\r sienna Irith some of the base color \ras also mixed and as was a dark brick color of roral purple mi_xed Irith the base color. .-\fter the primed surface \ras dl~·. the sponge mop Iras used to la\' in the base color in long. parallel strokes from one end of the cam'as to the other. Because the paint was vel'\' wet a slight trail line \ras left where the paint flOlred away from the ends of the mop head. These trail lines were used to establish the horizontal mortar lines: in the case of bricks. each run of the base paint Iras overlapped by half leaving each brick T i)&T s t' ~t ~t E R o [) [) 11