Summer Pleasures

Paint canvas director's chairs to match your umbrella.

• 8-foot natural canvas market umbrella
• Director's chairs with natural canvas seats and backs
• Tulip Ultra-Soft Paint: Azalea #15789, Grape #15793, Holiday Green #15799, Lime #15797, Sunshine Yellow #15786, and Turquoise #15826
• Tulip Dimensional Paint: Ebony Matte #15727
• Artist's brushes: 1/2-inch and 1-inch flat
• Salad plate and saucer to trace
• Newsprint or paper sheets
• Pencil

Note: While working, separate the umbrella poles, using only the lower portion of the pole to stand the open umbrella in the stand.

1. Download the free patterns. (This requires Adobe Acrobat software.) For general how-to information, check out Decorative Painting Basics.

Summer Pleasures patterns

Adobe Acrobat

Decorative Painting Basics

2. Referring to the photograph, use a pencil to draw stems and leaves onto the umbrella. Trace around half the salad plate perimeter for the flower petals. Draw a line across the bottom to connect the perimeter line, and draw a smaller half circle for the flower center at the bottom of the large half circle. Draw at least four flowers on each umbrella panel.

3. Paint the stems, leaves, and flower centers with Lime, using the 1/2-inch brush. Accent with Holiday Green along one edge of each leaf and on each half-circle.

4. Mix paint and fill in flower half-circles. For the flowers, mix each of the following colors 2:1 with water: Azalea, Grape, Sunshine Yellow, and Turquoise. Use the 1-inch brush to fill in the flower half-circles with one of the flower colors, using each color on every panel. Let the paint dry.

5. Proceed to Finishing, below.

1. For the chair backs, trace the flower patterns in the pattern packet onto tracing paper. Transfer the flowers onto the fabric using transfer paper and a stylus. Or draw the leaves and flowers onto the backs of each chair, using a saucer for the flower petals. Follow Steps 3 and 4, above.

2. For the chair seats, use all of the paint colors from the leaves and flowers to paint randomly spaced stripes.

3. Proceed to Finishing, below.

1. Add details. Directly from the squeeze bottle, apply lines of Ebony Matte dimensional paint to add the details and outline the leaves, stems, and flowers on the umbrella. Work with just a few elements at a time. Before the paint dries, lay newsprint or paper on the outlines. Press to flatten the dimensional paint. Carefully remove the paper and discard. Repeat for the next section of flowers, leaves, and stems. Let the paint dry thoroughly.

2. Repeat the dimensional paint and paper-pressing technique to add details and to outline the flowers, leaves, and stems on the canvas chair backs. Let the paint dry.

3. Embellish with dimensional paint. To finish the chair seats, outline and embellish the stripes with the dimensional paint. Use the paper pressing technique to flatten the paint. Let the paint dry.