Diane M Kellogg
- Sep 30, 2020
- 4 min read

Autumn Candlesticks

By Elaina Appleby

Using lighted candles in a home makes a cozy and welcoming atmosphere. In autumn there are special feelings from having them lit. These candlesticks would be a great centerpiece at the dinner table or set them on the mantle to invite the beautiful Autumn color indoors. The med-section reminds of squash or a gourd!

Bio

I feel at my best when I’m creating and getting the opportunity to use my talents. I know it’s a gift that must be shared. As the saying goes “if you don’t use it you may lose it". So that’s what I love most! Decorative Painting has been a joyous opportunity. I’ve been publishing and doing commissioned designs for over 35 years and love teaching all ages. I have a home studio now but have had large ones and held full classes 5 days a week. That was a blast from the past! Now my time spent travel teaching and designing cute things just for you makes me happy!

Supplies

Surface

11", 9" and 7" Turned Candlesticks by Cupboard Distributing www.cdwood.com

Three each 3" x 4" Wooden Maple Leaves, by Cupboard Distributing www.cdwood.com

Palette

DecoArt Americana Acrylic

Black Plum

Bright Orange

Buttermilk

Espresso

Evergreen

Foliage Green

Lamp Black

Marigold

Moon Yellow

Oxblood

DecoArt Americana Weathered Wood Crackle MediumDAS8

DecoArt One Step Crackle Medium DS69

DecoArt Americana Acrylic Sealer/Finisher MatteDAS13

DecoArt Americana Staining Antiquing Medium DS51

Brushes

Dynasty SC361 Series

Flat Wash 1/2" to a 3/4"

Round #8

Script Liner 5/0

Miscellaneous Supplies

Old Tooth Brush

3 Candlestick Cup Inserts

Three Tapered Candles your choice of color

Gold Ribbon 1/4" wide about 16" long cut into three equal parts

Scissors

Pencil

Palette Knife

Well Palette

Water Bin

Paper Towels

Cotton Swabs

Tip

Paint clean lines when separating between each color section, top, med-section, and base. Apply Crackle Medium only to the mid-section. Try not to get the crackle medium underneath the tape. If you do; clean it off with a damp cotton swab. You can always go back with the liner brush to clean and separate the sections.

Preparation

Do not seal the wooden leaves.

Sand and seal the Candlesticks if needed. Tape off the tops and bases leaving the mid-section of the candlesticks ready to paint. That’s where we start.

Instructions

Candlesticks Mid-section / Weathered Wood Crackle Medium

Basecoat the mid-section with Evergreen and let it dry well.

Following the manufacturer intrusion. Apply an even coat of Weathered Wood over the base coating. Let this dry. You will not see the crackles yet.

Follow the manufacturer's instructions and apply a thin but covering coat of the Moon Yellow. Watch it start to crackle immediately showing the contrast of color. Be careful to not apply paint over and over. When it’s dry it needs to be sealed to complete this crackle application.

Float a wide and dark shade at the top and bottom of this section. This may need to be shaded a few times to achieve the desired dark value.

Candlesticks Top-section (the cup)

Remove the tape. Basecoat the short candlestick with Marigold, the medium one with Foliage Green, and the tall one with Bright Orange.

Use the old toothbrush to splatter each one with Evergreen. It’s fine if you get a little of the splatters onto the mid-section. Let them dry.

Candlesticks Base-section, Finish

Basecoat each base with Espresso. When they are dry varnish over everything and set aside.

Palette set up for the leaves

Put a little of each color in the wells as shown and add a little water. Evergreen, Foliage Green, Marigold, Black Plum, Oxblood, and Bright Orange.

Leaves

Do not seal the wood, we want the paint colors to seep and bleed together into the grain.

Using a very wet brush start dabbing on each color. Tap at the brush to create some wet splatters also. Use the colors at random to achieve this look. There really isn’t any order that is required but I like the look of the lighter colors at the tips of the leaves. Be sure not to mix the colors together. Let them “run” together and cover the whole surface.

Paint the backside in the same manner. The finished project is three dimensional and the candlesticks might be seen from the backside. Basecoat the stems with Espresso.

One Step Crackle Texture for the leaves

Make sure everything is dry. Following the manufacturer instructions, apply an even coat of One Step Crackle Medium over the leaves front side only. No need to crackle the backside. (It acts a lot like honey.) A thin application will produce small crackles effects; a thicker application will produce large crackled effects.

Set them aside to dry. It takes about 2 hours but that varies. Be very careful if you blow-dry, the heat may pucker the medium. Setting them by a fan is good. The crackles are very subtle until they are antiqued.

Antiquing the leaves

Using a palette knife mix the Staining Antiquing Medium 1 to 1 with Black Plum. Following the manufacturer intrusion. Apply a good amount with a brush or cotton swabs over the crackled tops of the leaves. Wipe back excess with a slightly damp lint-free cloth. You can do this step over until it’s sealed. When the desired look is achieved seal with varnish.

Finish the leaves

When the previous step is dry touch up the stem with Espresso if needed then shade down one side of the stem with Lamp Black and highlight the other with Foliage Green.

Paint in all of the linework with Lamp Black, then go over the linework again with Buttermilk.

When they are all dry varnish on both sides.