Country Painting - Float Base Technique Tutorial -

Today I’m going to talk to you about how to paint shadows and highlights using the Float technique in a Country Painting project.

In this article, we will look together at the basic technique, done with only one color.

The tools you will need are the classic ones used in Country Painting: the brush washing tray, the wet palette used to hold the colors you need, the paper palette, flat brushes, and mop brushes.

PS if you want to learn more about the materials needed to create Country Painting projects, you can read this article: https://www.paolabassan.com//country-painting-i-materiali/

Once you have finished applying the base coat, always remember that if you are working on wood, before proceeding with shading or highlighting, always sand the surface to eliminate the roughness of the wood caused by absorbing the moisture from the paints.

Let's now see how to paint the basic shading with the Float technique, using only one color.

The first thing to do is to wet the brush in the clean water tray and then remove the excess water on the color palette.

The second step is to load the brush, only on one side, so as to form a triangle with the color (you can clearly see it from the photo). In this step, it is very important to make sure that one side of the brush is loaded with color while the other side remains clean. 

The third step is to work the brush on the palette paper and this is where the magic happens. You need to press it on the palette so that the bristles gently open and the color distributes evenly. The movement you need to make is from top to bottom and vice versa.

Basically, the Float technique used in Country Painting to paint both shadows and highlights is prepared on the palette paper. Once the shading you see on the palette is ready, then you can start painting it onto your project.

In the example you see in the photo, I started painting the shading from left, slowly moving towards right, always pressing the brush (as done on the palette).

Once the size of the gradient is what you want, to make it uniform, thus eliminating the lines created by the various brushstrokes, use the Mop brush (always dry), gently dabbing until completely even.

To conclude this first explanation on how to paint the basic shading with the Float technique, using only one color, I want to give you a little tip.

Regardless of the brand of brush you are using, whether it is JoSonia  or Dynasty or other famous brands, each brush holds more or less water making it easier or harder to create the gradient.

Especially when it's very hot and you have to paint a fairly large Country Painting project (we're talking about gradients/highlights of about 5 cm and up) to make your work easier and have more time to create the gradient and then fix it with the Mop brush, I recommend moistening the surface with a clean brush (obviously) and then proceed with the Float.

If you want to see the video I dedicated
to this tutorial you can watch it HERE

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Happy Painting 🎨

Paola