“Mamma’s Kitchen Window”

Designed by: Mara Trumbo

Remembering the happy afternoons spent in Mamma’s Italian kitchen. She always had geraniums growing on her window sill, and cute little net curtains adorning the small alcove. What my childhood memories may have left out, my fantasy will try and make up for in this rendition.

SUPPLIES
Americana Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic Paints:

True Blue (DA528)

Sky Blue(DA522)

Brown Sugar(DA534)

Coffee Bean(DA536)

Paprika(DA512)

Green Beret(DA521)

Leprechaun(DA519)

Flamingo(DA504)

Dark Scarlet(DA508)

Cotton Ball(DA500)

Dolphin(DA537)

Steel Grey(DA538)

Black Tie(DA539)

School Bus Yellow (DA 515)

Americana Dura Clear Satin Varnish(DS21 )

Brushes:

DecoArt Traditions FlatBrush size 1’’ (TB38), ½” Angle (TB74-B), #6 Chisel Blender (TB61B)

#6Filbert(TB41B), Round (TB22), 0 Liner (TB12-B), ¾” Soft White Mop (TB 121-B).

Canvas:

The pattern is based on a 16”x20”MDF Board or canvas, but you can enlarge or diminish the size to suit your needs.

Other Necessities:

White and GreyGraphite Paper, Ruler or Tape Measure, 1” Low-tack Artist Tape, Water Basin, Palette Paper or Styrofoam Plate, Stylus or Pencil, Paper Towels.

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. With a ruler and pencil mark both 20”sides of your canvas at the following points: @1” (window’s ledge) @4” (giving you a 3 inch wide window sill) @5(top of first row of window pane tape)@9” (run bottom of tape for second row of window panes) @14 (run bottom of tape for top row of window panes), and lastly @19” for wooden top of window frame) Follow diagram photo to place the 1” artist tape as directed, with your pencil marks as guide to keep it straight.
  2. Run your nail along edges of tape to ensure tight adhesion to the canvas surface.
  3. With your 1” Flat Brush pick up theTrue Blue and paint the top two window panes as follows. Put your brush flat on the edge of the tape and paint inwards towards the middle of the glass pane. Do not reverse stroke or paint may seep under the tape. With a criss-cross stroke blend the center, and remove any pronounced stroke marks with your Mop Brush.
  4. In the next row, use the True Blue on the top half of the window pane, and without cleaning your brush introduce the Sky Blue in the middle. Wash brush and use only Sky Blue at the bottom of both middle panes. You can create clouds if you wish by whisking the Mop Brush from the lighter Sky Blue in “C” strokes onto the darker True Blue.
  5. The bottom row is in the light Sky Blue on both sides.
  6. Once all the sky is dry, peel the bottom tapes back and paint the window sill with the Dolphin Grey and the bottom ledge in Steel Grey.
  7. When the background is all dry, it’s time to paint the wooden window frame. You can use the old tape strips to cover possible smudging on the blue sky. Using your 1” Flat Brush loaded in Brown Sugar start from top to bottom (and side to side for cross bars) all in one direction. If you don’t intend framing this piece, paint the top, bottom and sides of the canvas as you go along, so the design continues like paintings on gallery wrap canvases. While the paint is still wet, with the corner of your brush make elongated “S” and “O” marks to simulate wood markings (see photo).
  8. Once all the wood paneling has been painted, outline with the Angle Brush, side loaded with Coffee Bean brown on the toe of the brush and water in the heel of the brush.
  9. Where the window sill touches the bottom of the window frame, paint a shadow line with the Steel Grey on the toe of your angle brush double loaded with water on the heel.
  10. Time to trace the sheer curtains with white graphite. Join the two halves of the pattern with scotch tape and place at the top of your canvas so that the sheers start immediately underneath the top section of the wood window frame.
  11. With your 1” Flat Brush and very diluted Cotton Ballwhite, paint streaks from the top of the sheer and let gradually fade out before you get to its bottom edge. (See photo).
  12. To obtain best results in transparency, you have t work quick and with a couple of brushes. I keep on standby the 1” FlatBrushclean and wet for corrections.
  13. Load the Liner Brush with undiluted white and paint along the base of ONLY one fold of the curtain at a time, as you need to catch the paint while still wet for the next step. Immediately you have painted the hemline, take your clean chisel blender brush and catch the top of the paint line and streak it upwards in rapid movements.
  14. The fold can be accentuated with a little more white paint on the toe of your Angle Brush double loaded with water, either at this stage or when we do final touch ups.
  15. Once the entire sheer valance is completed, take your Round Brush and dipping the point in undiluted Cotton Ballwhite start forming the lace pattern attached to the bottom of the hemline, being careful whenever one fold runs into another.
  16. Enhance the gathers with more washes of white from the top down, especially where the triple layers created by the folds in the fabric appear. If you find some are too heavy, this is where you can make corrections with your clean flat brush acting as an eraser. If this paint has dried, a wash of Blue in the same direction will fix it.
  17. Time to trace the flower pot, this time with the darkGrey Graphite. Double load your brush with Coffee Bean and Paprika and start with vertical strokes down the left side of the pot, and under the lip of the pot. The darker brown will create a shadow effect. Continue painting the rest of the pot with just the Paprika for a terracotta look.
  18. Dab on some highlights where the sun hits the pot on the right side by patting some Brown Sugar and a little Cotton Ball white mixed in with the Paprika. Do not blend as the texture makes the old pot look more organic.
  19. Follow directions on the sketches to create your own arrangement of geranium leaves and blossom clusters. I like picking up different colors in double loading the angle brush for creating the wavy leaves. Light Green(some tipped in white) on the toeand Dark Green on the heel, alternating with Browns, Reds and Gold from the colors used on your palette so far.
  20. The Geranium flowers are clusters base-coated with Dark Scarlet with your Flat Brush and let dry. Switching to your Filbert Brush and Flamingo pink, shape the 5 petals of each front facing blossom and add 3-2-1 next to every full one to indicate side-facing and overlapping ones.When these are dry, you can highlight some with Cotton Ballwhite, especially on the right side where your light source comes from.
  21. The geranium buds are teardrops done with your Angle Brushdouble-loaded with Scarlet and Flamingo. Once they are dry, outline with the dark Green to form their stems and calyx. Tip the stems and calyx on the right side with the lighter Green.
  22. Shadows. The purple shadow immediately under the flowerpot goes from right to left. This is painted with a small mix of the True Blue and Deep Scarlet and diluted with water as the leaves and flowers cast their shadow on the window frame and sill.Where leaves overlap one another, paint a shadow immediately under the top one and smudge to blend the color of the bottom one.
  23. So as not to leave hard lines, best do this with your double loaded Angle Brush, with mauve, brown, green hues on the toe and water on the heel part of the bristles.
  24. You may like to imagine your own background looking at the garden through the window. I have chosen to depict the little Yellow Finch which often sang outside perched on our peach tree. He was a regular visitor and his constant chirping delighted my dear Papa` when his Dementia kept him mostly home-bound. I suggest you increase or decrease the pattern to best fit your size canvas and the space within your window glass pane.
  25. Trace the bird and sketch the branches and leaves with a pencil. Using Black on the tip of your liner brush, paint the pupil of his eye, the lower part of his beak and his nostril. Continue using the same brush and color for the shadows on his wings and tail with a push-slide-and pull up stroke.
  26. Now take your round brush with Yellow and start painting his head with a dot-dot tap. These dawn feathers are too small to distinguish individually so tap lightly. Continue this on the top of his wing and his chest, gradually adding white on his tummy to obtain a rounded effect. Brush mix a little of the Paprika with your Yellow to create an orange hue shadow on his neck, under his wing and on his lower belly. Use this same color for his beak.
  27. Lighten the mix with more Yellow and with upward strokes paint the top layer of his wings. The subsequent layers of his wings and tail feathers, are tipped with White in thepush-slide-and pull up stroke to blend onto the black portion of his feathers.
  28. Now add a touch of the Green Beret to the Yellow to paint the top of the Finch’s leg with dot-dot strokes. Use this same mix for the recess shadow round his eye. Separate the two legs with a very thin line of the undilutedGreen. Now paint his lower legs and feet with Black and score horizontally with a little grey (black & white mix) to denote the creases.
  29. Time to paint the Tree Branches. I like double-loading my small flat brush or round brush (depending on the size of your branch) with Black and Brown. Do not paint straight sticks, move your hand for a more natural look. Keeping the black side down and the brown side up, shape the larger branches. Downsize to the liner branch for smaller branches and leaf stems.
  30. The leaves are painted by holding your mall flat brush at an angle and press-push away from you. Alternate the two greens and add some yellow and brown to vary colors.
  31. Highlights- Check your piece for places that may need that little sparkle of light (i.e. the glint in the Finch’s eye, the lacey edges of sheer, tips of petals and leaves) and add these on.
  32. Move back, see if you are happy with your composition, make any adjustments necessary, and finally sign your name with pride.
  33. Varnish your painting with the Satin Varnish. I do one coat in the evening and another the next morning before framing.

I do hope you have enjoyed visiting my Mamma’s Tuscan kitchen with me. Enjoy creating your own rendition of this painting. If you can find a roll of ½” low tack tape at your art or hardware store, you may even venture into making it a more Victorian 9 glass pane window.

The possibilities are endless!

For more ideas on other projects I have created as a DecoArt Helping Artists Member, please visit my website on

Until then Ciao for now and Happy Painting!

Mara Trumbo

Art Expressions Studio

Ellenton, Florida