Vol. 64, No. 1 Spring 2019 30


of dark colors. To help achieve the deep colors of the water of the Atlantic I also blended all colors right on the plastered, textured surface and not just on the wet palette. As you will discover, once the paint has dried, your painted water will appear to be predominantly deep blue, but at other times it


will appear


to be a greenish hue. Just like the ocean, the diorama water will be ever changing as various light sources play with it. T is is evident in some of the photographs of the fi nished model.


16. Use a small artist’s brush to apply opaque FlexPaste atop the white pencil lines you have made on the wave crests. Carefully build-up the paste and keep in mind the direction of the wave’s motion caused by the wind.


sizable surface to cover: because acrylics are water- based, I needed to work quickly, in sections at a time for the large diorama. And remember, acrylics dry darker. T e Liquitex brand acrylic paints and acrylic mediums are recommended. I suggest using the ‘student basics’ range of colors to save money; there will be no compromise in the results.


T e black color combines with both blue and green to create a chiaroscuro eff ect that renders a deep and contrasting richness to the combination of the two complementary colors. T e results will also yield a semi-transparent look, as though the colors are layered. Let some of the white base color show through in random spots, lightening-up the mix


Once the paint was dry and I was satisfi ed with the fi nal tonalities of the colors overall, I used a white artist’s pencil (Figure 14) to sketch- in the shapes of the crests of the waves and churning, random foam where appropriate; many of the swells were happy


accidents of the compound base and toilet tissue layering. Of course, I constantly paid attention to the direction the diorama’s wind that was to blow across the water for all the appropriate accenting at this stage.


Aſt er sketching in the whitecaps and foam with white pencil guidelines, I applied opaque, white acrylic FlexPaste with a small paintbrush. (Figure 15) T is acrylic material dries glossy and opaque and creates foam and whitecaps. T is step is critical for creating apparent motion on the surface to augment and build up water movement. (Figure 16)


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