I AM JUST FINISHING UP CARVING A BEAR. I WANT TO PAINT THIS BEAR CHOCOLATE(BLONDE) PHASE. THE PROBLEM IS THAT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO GO ABOUT IT? I NEED SOME INSTRUCTION ON HOW TO PAINT THIS BEAR IN WATER BASE PAINTS. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!


SONNYB
e-mail: DSB58@AOL.COM

I think the best thing to do is go to your local art teacher and ask her to show you how to mix paints. Mix some and try it on a practice piece first. Make sure you mix enough or know the exact formula you used to get the color you want. Matching can be quite difficult.

I paint my bears in the Debbe Edwards style. VERY THIN water based paints-5/1 to 10/1 and several coats to get the desired look after drying between coats. I first make a dark dirty mix of burnt umber with a touch of black. Use this on the joints and shadowed areas--dobbing it on in an uneven pattern so it doesn't look like lines. Then for a honeyed bear look, I use a mix of burnt umber and raw sienna and burnt sienna--again thin,thin. Eyes are small black dot with a bit of burnt sienna circling it. NO WHITE HIGHLIGHT. Once this is all very dry, I go back and drybrush; first with a light sienna--let it dry, then with a dirty white (off white, cream). When everything is dry, I start putting coats of high gloss varnish or poly on the eyes with a toothpick--one small drop to each eye. Let it dry and do it again--as much as 5-8 times. This makes the eyes more lifelike and really make it stand out. Put one coat of this gloss on the nose, wait until it gets 'tacky' and lightly press your thumbprint into it--this makes a shiny but textured nose. When all done and dry, I usually use a lemon oil on it and buff/wipe off. Let dry somewhere where air circulates well for several days. If the bear is on rocks I finish them off with Minwax. That's it. Good Luck!