[santagibbs]

I not sure if I am on the right forum, but if not I can change to painting or birds etc.. I am trying to finish this Santa that I have been working on for months and as you can see, I am trying to make one for the Gallery like Curtis made me nine years ago.. On that one I put sawdust to white glue and painted it to look like the forest floor. but... I was not satisfied with the paint color.. so this time I made a mistake that I can not correct as I put sawdust all over the base with a few of Art Olivers cottonwood bark pieces in it.. Now my question is.. I have seen, in one of Curtis' bird carving books where you put the sawdust to look like the forerst floor but it doesn't say what colors to paint it and I want it to look natural and not garish like the last one I did. Has anyone done this before and wlhat colors did you use to make the grass look soft in color and not loud like I did...! The one on the left is the one Curtis did and the one on the right is the one I am working on as you can see by the sawdust.. Thanks for your help. I will have the deer , rabbit and feeder box on there also.. Charlotte

[santagibbs]

Well the other picture didn't upload so I am trying again..Charlotte

[santagibbs]

I had it too large and will try again. Charlotte

[Bartster]

miss charlotte,

not sure if you are painting in oils or acrylics, but if you are painting in acrylics you can get some different colors of green and some scrap wood and make a test board and match it up.


bart

[santagibbs]

Well, Woodwittler.. I tried that and mixed some brown in with it and I won't tell you what someone said it looked like so .. I just thought someone had already done this with the right colors.. lol Charlotte

[santagibbs]

Should I move this thread somewhere else as I haven't gotten and answer? Charlotte

[Mitchell]

It's fine here Charlotte....it is a WIP. You may not have an answer yet due to not many people having visited the site yet - it may take a day.

I think Bart was right in his suggestion to make a scrap piece up and try a few different combinations out on it. That way, you can see what works best with what you have available to use.

The original does not appear to have the sawdust over the entire surface, and it's painted two different shades of green. I'd try the same colors that are in the wreath on his head.

[santagibbs]

Thanks Mitchell , I thought about the green in the wreath but am now tryng more of an olive green to keep it from looking so brilght. Hugh told me his way of doing it and that helped me a lot.. how to seal etc. and paint colors and how to use them on the sawdust .. Thanks for your answer.. Charlotte

[Hugh]

Hi, I sent Charlotte a message about painting the sawdust to look like moss.
If anyone is interested, I'll post it here.
First after glueing the sawdust, spray several coats of sealer, and then blow any sawdust particles clear. Start with Jo sonja Moss Green, use it thick, very little thinning, stipple it on with a short stiff brush. dry and paint again until you achieve an even colour. Next mix in small amts of black to darken the moss green. Use this for shadows at the base of the moss or sawdust. Patches at random give it character. Use yellow ochre and a little gesso to make it cover, and paint a few of the tips of the moss. Lastly use a medium red and put a few random spots of red on the tips of the moss.

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Charlotte......Here's my suggestion on making natural looking scenic bases:

Down the road from my shop is a junction where a dirt road meets the paved one I live on. As with all T-junctions, half the traffic turns one way and the other half goes the opposite. In the middle of their turning they create a little triangle of material and from that I fill my bucket. I take it back to the shop lay down some newspaper and, using an old pair of panty hose I sift out all the large stones which I toss. I put half of the first screening aside and double up the hose and sift again. This gives me two levels of material...fine and extra fine. To use it is paint the area on the base with ModPodge and sprinkle it with a heavy layer of the screenings. After letting it set a bit I tip off the excess. I have a spray bottle of water to which I've added a couple of drops of dish soap. Holding the base out in front of me I spray up above the base so the water falls directly downward to dampen all the material. Don't soak it...just dampen. The soapy water will pull the ModPodge up to fully soak everything and give it good adhesion. Set it aside to dry.

I paint this base a light tan or linen color, mixing in wisps of red iron oxide and yellow ochre for a little extra color. This is all you need if you just want an earthen looking base.

For grass, go to Hobby Lobby or a hobby store and buy model railroad grass. It comes in several colors...I use a tan color and a light green one. Again, paint ModPodge over the already prepared soil base and sprinkle on the grass, mixing the colors for a natural look. Knock off the excess and spray again with the water mixture to get it all to stick.

For any touch up I have a squirt bottle of very thinned ModPodge mixed with a couple drops of soap. If you have any doubt about everything sticking down you can resoak the entire area with this mixture.

I've used this system for years and it has never failed me and most who see my scenes comment on how natural it looks. You can also buy a more coarsely ground grass mixture to create thicker grass around trees, stumps, etc.