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Part Three of a Three Part Series by Bette Largent
Finishing up Rosebud! Our wonder of a horse.
Ask your hardware salesman for a can of green and blue plaid paint!
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The Super Bowl is over, it is the month of the groundhog and we probably
have 6 more weeks of winter. It is time to finish up those winter projects or
perhaps to begin one.
I have painted the plaid on our little wonder pony using the dark
green from the front breastplate and black. Every good plaid has a black thin
line. All plaids are simply repetition of vertical and horizontal lines. The
trick is to paint each line, thick or thin, when the surface is dry. It is
also a great way to bring all the colors you have used in your trappings
together. I have also added an outer outline on the border of the lapels so
they do not become "lost" in the body color. A new hole for the real horse
tail has been drilled.
Silk flowers, modeling paste and glue
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I had such good luck adding the fabric for the front breast piece
that I decided to add "carved flowers and leaves" using the same method. This
will also help the composition by distracting from the too large proportions
of the back of the animal.
Silk flowers, modeling paste and glue
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The attachments are actually silk flowers that I
have applied 5 to 6 coats of the Liquitex modeling paste- hard. I then glued
them onto the horse, sometimes even drilling small holes to hold the stems. I
used ordinary wood glue. I made paper mache' stuffing to support the flowers
by soaking paper towels with water and Elmers glue and pushing it into the
gaps under the flowers. When this had dried, I coated the entire surface again
with the modeling paste, painting it on with a synthetic flat brush. They soon
attained the appearance of real, carved flowers.
Teddy bear finial
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At this point, I also glue
gross-grained ribbon onto the wooden pole in a spiral pattern. It will be
primed with two coats of the rust-red primer and then painted gold. Voile! A
carousel pole. This one has a teddy bear finial, which was a pre-made teddy
bear ornament component.
Mauve stitching has been added to the saddle, bridle, and to the
plaid pattern and the lapel pinstriping. This continues the circle of color.
The flowers and leaves are painted using the alkyd paints, beginning with
leaves and working to the flowers in the center. All the colors are pulled
from our fabric swatch, as shown in the previous article.
The flowers and leaves are painted using the alkyd paints
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The flowers are brought down through the mane and onto the green breast
piece. You can tape the flowers onto the surface to check your composition
before gluing them on. The photo also shows the added tendrils of the mane
plus the painting process of the pole.
Rosebud has proven to be too pretty to be
relegated to Lissa's room. A light blue script-monogram of L.L. has been added
to the bridle piece, a gold ring on the bit, and an upper row of teeth. Her
transformation has truly been a wonder and she has provided a ride for a
parade of favorite teddy bears, porcelain dolls and even snuggled up to the
Christmas tree during the holidays.
The photo below shows the eager participants of the workshop group
of the Washington Antique Carousel Society. They all enjoyed practicing their
carousel painting skills on their little ponies. They will soon be painting
the real wooden carousel horses that will adorn their own carousel.
The Washington Antique Carousel Society
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Rosebud Complete!
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Bette Largent is a professional carousel horse restoration artist from
Washington State, and the author of
Paint The Ponies,
a guide for those who are interested in learning the art of painting
carousel figures.
Click
Here
for information on ordering her book.
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