Christmas Bear Plates
by Bonnye Isenhower
Copyright 2009 Bonnye Isenhower and Crafts Americana Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
No.
*A331443*
Christmas Bear Plates
By Bonnye Isenhower
Palette:
Deco Art Americana Acrylics
Antique Rose #13156
Black Green #13157
Burnt Umber #13064
Cadmium Red #13015
Hauser Light Green #13131
Leaf Green #13051
Light Mocha #13241
Milk Chocolate #13174
Payne’s Grey #13167
Rookwood Red #13097
Titanium (Snow) White #13001
Toffee #13059
Winter Blue #13190
Surface:
Square Plates – Set of 3 #60071
Misc.
Supplies:
#2 Pencil
Art Gum Eraser
Gray Graphite Paper #70141
Fine Grit Sandpaper
Micron Pigma Pen – Black, size .005
Brushes:
Papillon by the Artist’s Club
Script Liner, size 10/0, #20137
Angular Shader, size ½” #20111
Shader, size 8, #20129; size 10 #20130
Glaze Wash, size 1” #20103
Blending Set #20168
Old scruffy round or flat brush for fur
Preparation:
These plates come primed, so there is no real preparation except maybe a very light sanding.
Painting Instructions:
Base the front of the plates with two light coats of Winter Blue, sanding between coats.
Transfer the bear patterns. Shade around the bears by floating Payne’s Grey. To get the mottled
effect on the background, I “wash and blend” with Payne’s Grey, which is done by using a ½”
flat brush and very thin paint to wash on. Then, immediately blend it out onto the background
with the blending brush so that there are no straight or definite edges. Continue doing this
especially on the flat part of the plate and a little onto the surfaces where the lettering and
leaves will be.
Bears: Season of Love plate:
Left bear is based with thin Toffee. Add lighter fur using your old brush with Light Mocha.
Shade with Milk Chocolate. Also shade inside the padw with Milk Chocolate. All bears noses
and eyes are Burnt Umber with a Titanium (Snow) White highlight dot. The right bear is based
with thin Milk Chocolate. Use your old brush to add
lighter fur with Toffee. Shade with Burnt Umber. Also shade inside the pads with Burnt Umber.
Season of Joy plate: Base the bear with thin Toffee. Add the lighter fur with Light Mocha.
No. 331443
Page 1
© Artist's Club ®. All rights reserved. For private, non-commercial use only. Please see our web site for terms of use. Designed by
Bonnye Isenhower for Artist's Club®.
Shade with Milk Chocolate. Candy stick is Titanium (Snow) White and Cadmium Red. Run a
very thin line of Titanium (Snow) White down the center for reflection.
Season of Giving plate: Base the left bear with thin Toffee. Lighter fur is Light Mocha.
Shading is Milk Chocolate. Her ribbon bow is Cadmium Red, shaded with Rookwood Red.
With the script liner brush, add tiny dots around the bow and ribbon with Leaf Green.
Right bear: base with thin Toffee. Add the lighter fur using Light Mocha with your scruffy
brush. Shading is Milk Chocolate. Hearts are Cadmium Red shaded with Rookwood Red.
Float thin Cadmium Red to blush the cheeks on all bears, heavier on the girl bears. All red
clothing is Cadmium Red with Antique Rose highlighting and Rookwood Red shading. All
green clothing is Leaf Green with Hauser Light Green highlighting and Black Green shading.
Small buttons on the green vest and the green shirt are dots of Titanium (Snow) White. The
brim and ball on her Santa hat are Light Mocha with a bit of Milk Chocolate shading. Light
sections of the hats are Toffee with Milk Chocolate shading and Light Mocha highlighting.
All Holly Leaves and Berries: Transfer the patterns onto the plates. Paint the leaves with Leaf
Green, highlight with Hauser Light Green, and shade with Black Green. The vines and tendrils
are Black Green, using the 10/0 script liner brush. Berries are Cadmium Red with a highlight stroke of Antique Rose. Transfer the pattern for the lettering. Use the liner brush to paint
around the edges of each letter, then fill in with a small round brush that you feel comfortable
with for the space. Add the highlight strokes on each letter with Titanium (Snow) White, using
the liner brush. Linework is done with a very fine point Black permanent pen. (I used an Ultra
Fine Point Sharpie.) Line everything except the lettering. On the bears, make little fur strokes.
The side edges of each plate are alternating ¼” stripes of Leaf Green and Cadmium Red. I
painted the backs of the plates with solid Leaf Green, about three light coats to cover.
Finishing:
After using the ink pen to line the design, use several light coats of Matte Finish Spray.
ENJOY!
No. 331443
Page 2
© Artist's Club ®. All rights reserved. For private, non-commercial use only. Please see our web site for terms of use. Designed by
Bonnye Isenhower for Artist's Club®.
No. 331443
Page 3
© Artist's Club ®. All rights reserved. For private, non-commercial use only. Please see our web site for terms of use. Designed by
Bonnye Isenhower for Artist's Club®.
No. 331443
Page 4
© Artist's Club ®. All rights reserved. For private, non-commercial use only. Please see our web site for terms of use. Designed by
Bonnye Isenhower for Artist's Club®.
No. 331443
Page 5
© Artist's Club ®. All rights reserved. For private, non-commercial use only. Please see our web site for terms of use. Designed by
Bonnye Isenhower for Artist's Club®.
No. 331443
Page 6
© Artist's Club ®. All rights reserved. For private, non-commercial use only. Please see our web site for terms of use. Designed by
Bonnye Isenhower for Artist's Club®.