Festive Fruit Place Mats

Decorate your table with colorful place mats and a table runner adorned with bright pears, grapes, apples and peaches. Figure A Figure B Figure C Figure D

4 place mats (13" x 17" oval)
1 table runner (17" x 36" oval)
Durable Colors (Barn Red #53308, Fairway Green #53319)
Decorator Glaze (Neutral #53501; discontinued - Berry #53531)

FolkArt Artists' Pigments (Titanium White #480, True Burgundy #456, Napthol Crimson #435, Red Light #629, Pure Orange #628, Burnt Sienna #943, Burnt Umber #462, Yellow Ochre #917, Yellow Light #918, Medium Yellow #455, Hauser Green Light #459,Hauser Green Medium #460, Hauser Green Dark #461, Dioxazine Purple #463, Pure Black #479)

FolkArt Acrylic Color (discontinued: Peach Cobbler #738)
brushes (Flat Shader- #10, 12, 1" Wash brush, Filbert - #8, 10, Script Liner #2 , Base coat brush, Glaze varnish brush)
chamois tool #30130
tracing paper
gray and white graphite paper
stylus or dry pen
tape
brush basin
wax-coated palette
Sta-Wet palette
paper towels

Steps:

Preparation

1. Base-coat the table runner and placemats in Barn Red with base coat brush. Apply several coats until opaque coverage is achieved.
2. Create a colored glaze of 50 percent Berry glaze and 50 percent neutral glaze (semi-gloss). Brush on one surface at a time with glaze brush.
3. Dab chamois tool on the surface in an up and down motion--this will develop a textured background on the surfaces (figure A). Allow to dry overnight.
4. Trim the edges with a 2-1/4-inch band of Fairway Green. Be sure to apply it carefully with a wash brush until opaque.

Pears

1. Base-coat the pear in Yellow Ochre. Apply several coats until opaque using a large flat brush.
2. Side-load a large flat brush with Burnt Sienna and begin developing the dark areas on the pear.
3. Apply several washes to develop these (figure B).
4. Add accent washes of Red Light in dark value areas. Allow to dry, and then dry-brush Yellow Ochre over the area with a filbert brush.
5. Establish highlight areas with a series of dry brush mixtures beginning with Medium Yellow, Medium Yellow plus Yellow Light, and Yellow Light plus Titanium White (figure C).
6. Dry-brush a final highlight of Titanium White on the pear. Add pear marking with a liner brush and thinned Burnt Sienna. Add a secondary reflection in a light purple mixture of Titanium White plus Dioxazine Purple. Side-load this color on the left side. Undercoat the pear stem in Burnt Umber, and then add Burnt Sienna and Burnt Sienna plus Titanium White.

Apple

1. Under-coat the apple in Napthol Crimson. Apply several coats until opaque. Side-load a #10 flat brush with True Burgundy plus Burnt Umber (figure B). Place dark shading in a "C" formation at the lower left side of the apple. Also place shading at stem area.
2. Dry-brush Napthol Crimson into dark shading area with a filbert brush. Create highlight streaks by loading a filbert with Red Light plus Napthol Crimson, drag brush from smile line down curving with the shape of the apple.
3. Build up to brighter streaked highlights with Red Light, Red Light plus Medium Yellow using very little paint and the filbert brush.
4. Add final smaller highlights of Medium Yellow plus Yellow Light, Yellow Light plus White and finally a White highlight (figure C). Under-coat the stem in Burnt Umber. Stroke on Burnt Sienna, and then Burnt Sienna plus Titanium White using a liner brush.

Grapes

1. Base-coat the grapes in a mixture of Dioxazine Purple plus Burnt Umber. Lightly sketch placement of grapes or transfer the clump on the under coated grapes. Make two values of Dioxazine Purple plus Burnt Umber plus Titanium White. Under coat medium value grapes in circle shapes with small flat brush. Apply two coats and let dry (figure B).
2. Coat light grapes in lighter purple mix. Apply two coats and let dry.
3. To shade grapes, side load a no. 8 flat brush with Dioxazine Purple plus a small amount Burnt Umber and stroke on the one side of the grapes (on the left side and bottom side of the clumps).
4. Dry brush highlights on the upper right area of each grape using a filbert brush and Titanium White plus lightest purple mixture. Load small flat brush with thin consistency Red Light and place a secondary reflection on the dark side of the grapes. To highlight the grapes, add white to the light value mixture. Loosely dry brush the highlight on each top grape. Then add a smaller dot of pure white for a final highlight.

Peach

1. Undercoat the peach in Medium Yellow. Apply several coats until opaque. Apply a wash of True Burgundy using a #10 flat brush. Place a "C" shape of dark shading on the left side of the peach and a line of shading in the cleft area. Place shading on in short choppy strokes. Build up shading with several washes.
2. Begin to develop the peach fuzz by stippling on Peach Cobbler using a small filbert brush.
3. Add another layer of fuzz with a mixture of peach Cobbler plus Titanium White.
4. Place a secondary reflection with a side loaded flat brush with Red Light on the left outside edge of the peach. Establish lighter areas with Peach Cobbler plus Titanium White. Use a scruffy flat brush or filbert brush. Slowly build up to a final smaller white highlight.

Leaves

1. Undercoat all leaves in Hauser Green Dark and allow to dry. Shade the base of each leaf with a flat brush side-loaded with Pure Black.
2. Base the leaf one at a time in Hauser Green Dark and then quickly over-stroke with Hauser Green Medium. While still wet, immediately over-stroke with Hauser Green Light. Follow the natural shape of the leaves and stroke color on from the edges in toward the center.
3. Add veins with thinned Hauser Green Light and a liner brush. Let veins curve and follow the direction the leaves (figure D).

Finishing

1. Trim the banded area with a squiggly line of Hauser Green Dark plus Pure Black. Add loose curlicues with a liner brush and the dark green mix as well (figure D).
2. Finish the placemats and table runner with several coats of a satin or gloss varnish.