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DIGITAL SKETCHBOOK...

Monday, 19 March 01 -- 10 p.m.

Project No.Cf 249 - DEBORAH FAUST -- PAINT BY NUMBERS

Straight Photo
Color by Numbers Sheet
Finished Project

17" x 11" Paint by Number sheet - with instructions - 210k

Why?
Because Deborah Faust is someone who has chosen to share her art with so many people, I thought it only made sense to share my art of her with everyone who came to see the Californium show.

Here is your free (but priceless) Artboy Magnadott Paint by Numbers Watercolor Sheet. If you go to your local art store and buy a few supplies, you can enjoy some leisure hours creating your own original Magnadott artwork!

Print It!
First you should download the PDF file. It includes all the instructions you'll need to paint a fabulous portrait. You should print the Color By Number sheet on your printer or at someplace like Kinko's. Print it on the nicest and thickest paper you can find.

Art Supplies
You have several choices of materials for your original Magnadott masterpiece: Gouache, Markers or Colored Pencils. Unfortunately I don’t think you can get the point on crayons that you’ll need to make this piece work.

Before I tell you what Marker and Pencil colors to use, let me strongly encourage you to use Gouache. Often folks will be really excited about markers or pencils but a little afraid of an actual paintbrush… don’t be! Gouache is simply opaque watercolor, it’s really quite easy to use, and you’ll get a wonderful result.
If you buy a really nice gouache like Windsor Newton you’ll spend about $50. I also found a box of more generic gouaches, $10 for the whole thing. Either way, small brushes are not very expensive, so buy a nice sable brush – it’s worth it! Depending you how you like to work, you could get something as big as a #1 or as small as a #000. Note that small tubes will paint a bunch of these so you could always share with a friend.

For the markers I’d recommend Prismacolor markers. For the pencils I’d recommend Prismacolor pencils. The markers will run you about $15 and the pencils maybe $10. The only catch is, for the pencils to work best you really ought to pick up an electric pencil sharpener. The Panasonic ones are the best. Whatever you do, never buy a battery operated pencil sharpener!

Go for it!
I like to mix about 3 parts gouache with about 1 part water.
If you tape your work down (four strips all the way around the perimeter) to some flat surface, a board or table perhaps, it will buckle much less as it dries.

Then just paint by numbers… er, letters! Where there’s no letter you just leave it white. I like to paint all of one color at a time; it’s faster and easier. Notice the color placement patterns as you work, it’ll make placing your dots easier and you’ll gain an appreciation for the structure of the image.

A lot of the image structure in this image is contained in the black. If you paint it first, you’ll have a great sense of what you’re doing, but there’ll be a lot of work to go, even after it looks close. If you paint the black last, all your efforts will suddenly pop into bold power, but it’ll take a while to get there. You could always do the black somewhere in the middle.

Color Key:

Letter on Chart
Winsor Newton Gouache Generic Gouache Prismacolor Markers Prismacolor Pencils
Y
Cadmium Lemon Yellow PM-19 Canary Yellow 917 Yellow Orange
R
1/2 Bengal Rose
1/2 Zinc White
1/4 Red
3/4 White
PM-8 Pink 929 Pink
O
Cadmium Red Pale Red PM-4 Crimson Red 922 Scarlet Red
G
Brilliant Green Green PM-165 Grass Green 909 Grass Green
B
Ultramarine Ultramarine
(or Blue)
PM-42 Violet Blue 933 Blue Violet
K
Lamp Black Black PM-98 Black 935 Black

Checking your progress
When you aren’t working on the piece, be sure to leave it out somewhere prominent so you’ll see it as you pass through your space. You’ll see Deborah’s face emerge, and passing it at different distances and angles will give you a variety of visual effects between representation and abstraction.

As you’re working you can just step back to get a sense of the face emerging. You can also pick-up a really cool, free "Magnadott Viewer." Just go to your local One-Hour Photo place and ask for a discarded disposable camera body. Break it open and take the little "negative lens" (thinner in the middle, thicker on the edges) out of the camera’s viewfinder. Hold the lens between your eye and your art, maybe a foot from your eye, more or less, wherever it focuses for you. You’ll get a really cool preview of your developing artwork.

Caution & Disclaimer!
Breaking plastic cameras open is an inherently dangerous activity for which neither the artist nor the gallery can be liable. Under no circumstances should you break open a disposable "Flash" camera. Flash cameras contain capacitors that store an electric charge. You could shock yourself or create a nasty arc. Even non-flash disposable cameras will probably break open with sharp edges that cling together with pressure as you try to pry out the lens. This activity is for adults only and if they choose to do it they should be careful. Standard lobster eating gear such as a screwdriver and pliers may be helpful.

Finishing Up
If you get frustrated or can’t read some of the letters just move on to another color, as you fill more of the piece in any questions should be revealed in the emerging color patterns and rhythms.
Be sure to sign your original somewhere.
Then frame and proudly display your masterpiece!



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