Painting Santa

PAINTING INSTRUCTIONS

for

Santa Claus

* Color Palette * Misc Supplies * General Instructions *
* Cheeks * Lips * Eyes * Brush Care *

BACK TO CARVING * BACK TO ARCHIVES

Color Palette

The following table serves as a color palette for painting Santa.

Color	Manufacturer
White	Any good quality latex wall paint or acrylic craft paint. Folk Art� Tapioca 903 Delta� Ivory 2036
Flesh	Delta AC Flesh 2085
Red	Delta Tompte Red 2107 Delta Red Iron Oxide 2020 Delta Tomato Spice 2098
Green	Delta Dark Forest 2096 Folk Art Green Meadow 726
Brown	Folk Art Nutmeg 944 Folk Art Spice Brown 2049
Blue	Delta Wedgewood Blue 2069 Deco Art� Uniform Blue DA86
Gold	Delta Bleams 14K Gold 2604
Black	Delta Black 2506

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Miscellaneous Supplies

The following supplies will also be required:

Item	Manufacturer
Sealer	Delta Water Based Varnish Patricia Nimrock Matte Clear Acrylic Sealer�
Wax	Turtle Wax� Shoe Polish – Brown and Neutral
Markers	Sharpie�*, Pentel�, or Pigmy� Utra Fine Permanent Pens
Brushes	Match brush size and type to the size of the project.

* I have been told this is the only brand that definitely will not bleed but I have not had any trouble with any brands as long as they are NOT used directly on raw wood.

After application of details with these markers, it is best to let the project dry overnight. This lets the ink dry. Some inks will bleed when sealer is applied over them. It is best to mist several light coats of sealer rather than applying one heavy coat.

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General Instructions

Before painting, review the following:

1. Using an old toothbrush, wash carving with suds only from a liquid detergent. Rinse well, towel dry and then let dry completely.

2. Pick all "fuzzies" out of deep cuts.

3. Acrylic paint dries very rapidly. Make sure paint stays thin while painting. Add drops of water if necessary. A too thick paint can leave "ridges" in work and it also is hard to apply.

4. Paint all flesh parts, hair, beard, and fur areas with white. Put second coat of white on hair, beard, and fur areas.

5. Using desired colors, determine remainder of painting order by trying to paint from the inside out and top to bottom when possible. This order will keep touch ups to a minimum.

6. If Santa (Bed Post Santa) is on a base, stain base last.
    Carve off any paint drips. Dilute Nutmeg to a thin wash, if you desire the wood grain to show. If you do not put some paint on the raw wood, the wax finish will be too dark.

7. Check for uneven paint lines and touch up these areas.

8. Spray with matte finish, if desired, before waxing.
    Scrub on wax with old toothbrush. Wipe and buff to a shine. If the wax is too dark, rub some neutral wax on the desired areas. Wipe and buff again.

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Cheeks

1. Mix AC Flesh (or flesh color of face) with
    Red Iron Oxide.

2. Paint on the cheek area of face blending at edges with the AC Flesh color (using wet-on-wet technique) if necessary.

NOTE: Sometimes the face is carved in such a way that blending isn't necessary.

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Lips

1. Mix a small amount of Tomato Spice into your mixed cheek color (see Cheeks).

2. Paint lips or mouth area.

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Eyes

1. Paint the white eyeball.



2. Paint the iris with the Wedgewood Blue. Experiment with the handle end of a brush for applying the iris.



3. Paint, or dot, the pupil with Black. A toothpick works well for the pupil.

4. Paint, or dot, the white highlight of the pupil at the two o'clock position. A toothpick does a good job.



5. Using a black fine point art pen, outline the eye.

6. Try it !

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Brush Care

1. Tap the brush on the side of the water container to rinse.

2. When finished painting, clean brushes with brush soap or any non-detergent soap (Ivory). Rinse well.

3. Work additional soap into bristles. Pull and shape with your fingers into the original brush shape. Lay flat until dry. Store with bristles UP.

4. While painting never leave bristles touching the bottom of the water container.

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– Developed by Lee & Lillian Perkins: Knoxville, Tennessee
Revised: 2001-01-12