Hi I am just so excited and happy to be writing my very first blog for DecoArt. I have loved and used their products for so long I couldn’t live without them. I truly love mixed media art and painting and their Media Fluid Acrylics among other products make my art pop. I really love to paint whimsical birds, so here is an instructional blog for you to make one too. 

First, apply a thin coat of DecoArt Gesso is White, let dry or dry with craft dryer being careful not to burn or blister the gesso. Once Dry squeeze a bit of Phthalo Blue and Titanium White DecoArt Fluid Acrylic and kinda mix, then with a 2” DecoArt Americana Decor Flat Brush in cross random kind of pattern. Then either wait for this to dry or use the craft dryer carefully again. 

Once this is dry it is time to get your chicken/Rooster image down, I drew my , on with my quickly with the marker however if you are uncomfortable drawing a chicken print a chicken out on regular copy paper and take a piece of DecoArt transfer paper in grey or white transfer paper or carbon paper and put it color side facing your painting then place printed rooster or chicken over the top with ballpoint pen trace basic shape onto canvas don’t worry about little details, we are going to cover it all in paint. 

Next, you will take the DecoArt American Decor Stencil Distressed Harlequin, place it over your canvas as desired and mix some more of the Phthalo Blue with the mixture you used to paint the canvas or mix some more of the blue and white to desired color and use the DecoArt Americana Large stencil brush #12.

Put the same stencil back down once the paint is dry and take the Flitter Glu and a makeup sponge and apply with a very light amount on the sponge remove the stencil and immediately wash with hot water and soap or citrus cleaner to remove glue residue, then apply gold leaf flake or sheets. Wipe off excess gold leaf into a container for another use. The use the coarse black sponge or a dry clean stencil brush to burnish and shine up the gold leaf and remove the rest of the excess.

I like the Flitter Glu as it will stay tacky and allow you to apply the gold leaf for up to 24 hours almost. Once the leafing is over the glue it is no longer tacky. 

Next you are ready to start painting the Comb on top of the roosters head. I mixed Cadmium Red Hue with Carbon Black to make a couple of tones of the red and use a 1/4” flat brush and filbert brush to paint and texture with darker and lighter tones. 

Keep blending and adding texture to comb till happy with it. Take small detail brush and Carbon Black and paint the black nose area and then mix in a little Titanium White and with the filbert brush and the grey you mixed texture that nose some. 

Add highlight to the beak and a little more Quinacridone Gold at beak opening to highlight the beak and give it some dimension. Take Black, Medium Grey and Carbon Black load 1/4’ brush with several colors and start brushing on feathers in downward strokes working your way to the top of the rooster and alternating on the liner brush and adding some dark grey, and colors above intermediately. 

Mixing titanium white into the mixture of Cadmium Red, Carbon Black and Quinacridone Red to make a couple of lighter tones and paint the face area. Keep adding texture to the red area with alternate colors you mix out of the colors you have on your palette with the small filbert brush. 

Paint the Wattles (the red dangly part by the beak with Cadmium Red, Quinacridone Red and Carbon Black mixed to a color you like. Then using the filbert brush and mixing colors as you go shade the area to add dimension.

Mix Quinacridone Gold with Titanium White and paint the eye making the outside a little darker than the inside.

Start Painting the green feathers with the 1/4” flat brush dipping and loading the brush intermediately in the following colors:
Viridian
Phthalo Green Yellow
Yellow Green Light
Green Gold
Sap Green
Metallic Gold
Titanium White

Brush down like you did with the grey changing back and forth between the flat brush and the liner brush 

When you get up to the smaller area of the head under the comb you will do all of those feathers with the liner brush and smaller round brush. Bring some over the face to create dimension and softer the face and eye area.
Add a Metallic Silver and a Titanium White highlight to the eye.

Either let dry or dry carefully with the craft dryer. 

Take the deli Paper and place it over dry painting and trace the rooster. Cut out the rooster outline on the deli paper and place it back over the painted rooster.

Then take the DecoArt Media Fluid Mister and spray a little of the red or open it and take the sprayer out and flick a little but on.

Remove the mask that was protecting the rooster carefully and either let the painting dry or carefully dry with a craft dryer being very careful not to burn. 

Little tip the Fluid Media Mister are paint so they can clog the way to avoid or fix this is to open the Mister shake paint from sprayer but the sprayer in a cup of warm or hot water and spray a couple of times is will work perfectly. Shake out excess water and replace in the mister and spray as desired. 

Once dry I take Titanium White and the small detail brush and put little dots below the eyes 

In a small solo cup or container mix either:

White Modeling Paste, Texture Sand Paste or Dimensional Effects Paste with the color desired to add texture to the face. I used Carbon Black, Cadmium Red, Titanium White and Quinacridone Red mixed with the DecoArt Media White Modeling Paste. 

Place another piece of deli paper and make a mask to cover the eye and the rest of the Rooster except the face area you are applying texture to, carefully place the stencil you are using over the are. I used a circle like texture stencil. 

Take a palette knife or a credit card and carefully spread a thin layer of the modeling paste you colored over the stencil, firmly holding the stencil with the other hand so it doesn’t move. 

Carefully remove the stencil and deli paper at the same time. They will kind of be stuck together. Rinse and dry stencil immediately as well as the credit card or palette knife and store any excess colored modeling paste in a container with an air-tight lid, and save for the comb and waddle area. 

After the face is dry repeat the process for the comb and then the Wattle. Masking each area and applying the modeling paste the same way. Add some more Cadmium Red and Carbon Black to the Modeling paste to make it darker.

Once dry Paint a nostril with the small detail brush on the black nose area. Once the painting is dry you will need to seal it. Use DecoArt Americana Sealer Finisher Spray in Matte or Gloss (I like Gloss in using gold leaf) and spray 3 - 4 coats letting it dry thoroughly in between coats. I do NOT use the craft dryer for this step. 

Thanks for checking out this project. I hope you have as much fun as I did painting your Whimsical and colorful rooster.