Quick tips: Painting the chestnuts

They say the devil is in the details, because usually the details are the parts that take the longest to get right. However, every now and then, there's a detail that can be done quickly and easily and still look amazing. In today's Quick Tip, guest blogger, Lauren Hoeffer, shares her method for painting the chestnuts. 

How I Paint the Chestnuts

by Lauren Hoeffer

Since I'm finishing up a long suffering trad resin today... I thought maybe I'd share a little secret of mine: how I paint chestnuts. This method works best on traditionals (the larger size of the chestnuts helps show the detail)... but I do it on all models that I paint. 

Step 1: Paint chestnut. My color of choice is light, warm grey acrylic. Let dry.

Step 2: Paint a light wash of Burnt Umber over the grey. Adding just a bit of water to your umber will make it transparent enough for a wash. Do NOT let it dry.

Step 3: Immediately press your finger into the wash of umber. Don't scrub or move your finger around... just press and remove.

What you'll leave behind... is texture from your fingerprint. This wash adds dimension and texture to that light grey... AND a little bit of yourself too. 

I should also note - if you mess up, let the paint dry too much, apply the umber too thickly.... etc, its easy to remove. Just carefully wipe the painted chestnut off, and start over again. Believe me, acrylic dry quickly in Arizona, sometimes before I can even get my finger on it!

And now... my silly little secret is out.