Publications in the Traditions section

Mysteries of Russian painting patterns

Have Gzhel dishes always been blue and white, what traditional painting was born after the October Revolution, and why do painted boxes glow? We understand the secrets of folk art crafts.

Golden bowls. Khokhloma painting

Golden bowls. Khokhloma painting

Golden bowls. Khokhloma painting

The master began work by beating the baclush - he prepared wooden blocks (baklushi) from linden, aspen or birch. Wooden spoons and ladles, cups and salt shakers were made from them. Dishes not yet decorated with painting were called linen. The linen was primed and dried several times, and then painted in yellow, red and black tones. Popular motifs were floral patterns, flowers, berries, and lace branches. Forest birds on Khokhloma dishes reminded the peasants of the Firebird from Russian fairy tales; they said: “The Firebird flew past the house and touched the bowl with its wing, and the bowl became golden.”.

After applying the design, the product was coated with drying oil two or three times, tin or aluminum powder was rubbed into the surface and dried in an oven. After hardening with heat, they acquired a honey hue and really shone like gold.

At the beginning of the 18th century, dishes began to be brought to the Makaryevskaya Fair, where sellers and buyers from all over Russia gathered. Khokhloma products turned out to be known throughout the country. Since the 19th century, when guests from all over Europe and Asia began to come to the Nizhny Novgorod fair, painted dishes have appeared in many parts of the world. Russian merchants sold products in India and Turkey.

Snow background and blue patterns. Gzhel

Snow background and blue patterns. Gzhel. Photo: rusnardom.ru

Snow background and blue patterns. Gzhel. Photo: gzhel-spb.ru

Snow background and blue patterns. Gzhel. Photo: Sergey Lavrentiev / Lori Photobank

Gzhel clay has been known since the time of Ivan Kalita - since the 14th century. Local craftsmen used it to create “vessels for apothecary needs,” dishes and children’s toys. At the beginning of the 19th century, factories appeared in the Gzhel volost that produced porcelain. The first enterprise here was founded in 1810 by merchant Pavel Kulichkov. At first, painting on porcelain dishes was colored, but in the middle of the 19th century, the fashion for blue and white Dutch tiles and Chinese porcelain of the same shades came to Russia. Soon blue patterns on a snowy background became a distinctive feature of Gzhel painting.

To check the quality of porcelain, before painting, the product was dipped in magenta, a red aniline paint. The porcelain was painted an even pink color, and any crack was visible on it. The masters painted with cobalt paint - before firing it looks black. Using special techniques, working only with a brush and paint, the artists created more than 20 shades of blue.

Gzhel subjects are lush roses (they were called “agashkas” here), winter landscapes, scenes from folk tales. Children are sledding, Emelya is catching pike in the pond, villagers are celebrating Maslenitsa... After applying the design, the dishes were covered with glaze and fired. Pink products with black patterns took on their traditional look.

Luminous brooches and boxes. Fedoskino lacquer miniature

Luminous brooches and boxes. Fedoskino lacquer miniature

Luminous brooches and boxes. Fedoskino lacquer miniature

“When we organized the artel, for seven people we had only one collected works of Pushkin... This largely explains the fact that we wrote most of our miniatures based on Pushkin’s subjects.”

Alexander Kotukhin, miniaturist

In 1932, Palekh artists met with Maxim Gorky, who called Palekh lacquer miniature "one of the miracles created by the October Revolution". At his request, Ivan Golikov painted miniatures for the deluxe edition of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”

Khokhloma painting is an ancient Russian craft of arts and crafts. For more than 300 years, the production of “ceremonial” dishes has been practiced in Russia, which has become the hallmark of the country and is a complex technological process. From the manufacture of wooden blanks, special processing of the product and direct painting of the products in the original red, black and gold design of fancy curls of vegetation. This article provides information about the technology of Khokhloma painting; patterns for beginners are also included.

Manufacturing process

According to legend, the technology for obtaining “gilding” was borrowed from icon painters. They say that one of them went to the villages of the Volga region, where in those days they made wooden utensils and various types of ornaments and patterns were born. So the gilding itself was not gold. The process of obtaining such an effect is not the result of one day’s work with the product. When wooden boards, spoons and other utensils were made, clay, drying oil, tin dust, and then aluminum were used, and the product was initially silver-plated. There are simpler materials for children.

The technology of tableware production has reached our century almost unchanged in its stages. To begin with, they make blanks for dishes from wooden blocks; linden and aspen are often used. It should be sufficiently dried for a single day. Then the product was primed, coated with clay "vapoy"- this is a special solution of clay with drying oil, then impregnated with drying oil several times at intervals, heated in ovens at a temperature of 80-90 degrees. Done in a day.

The next stage is called puddles e, in which the product with an oil film was wiped with tin powder, and then wiped again with drying oil, then a “golden” color was obtained.

In our time, mass production of wooden products under Khokhloma as souvenirs continues and it is known that in most developed countries.

Motives and types

In modern art schools, this type of art is required to be studied. Of course, they don’t use the type of production itself, but they learn the basics of drawing.

Recently, there has been a tendency in society to turn to national traditions - this is manifested in the return of popularity of folk literature, rituals, and clothing. For example, many designers have Khokhloma painting in their collections, which attracts with its bright, almost fairy-tale pattern.

Khokhloma painting - the history of creativity

Khokhloma painting- a special type of drawing that appeared around the 17th century in the Nizhny Novgorod region. This work received its name thanks to the town of Khokhloma - a large center at that time, which attracted merchants from all over the area.

There are two versions of the origin of this type of painting: the first attributes the idea of ​​​​creation to the Old Believers - adherents of the so-called “old” Christian faith before the adoption of various religious reforms at the beginning of the 17th century.

Many of them, fleeing persecution for their beliefs, moved to the Nizhny Novgorod lands, bringing with them the skill of icon painting, book miniatures, a huge baggage of symbolism and patterns for painting. At the same time, tableware masters lived here, creating magnificent kitchen utensils from wood.

Having united, both human skills gave rise to the most beautiful tableware painting.

Supporters of the second version argue that the Nizhny Novgorod people used the method of imparting gold to kitchen utensils and then painting them even before the appearance of the Old Believers. In the large artisan settlements of Murashkovo, Semenovskoye and Lyskovo, they created wooden utensils that were painted “to look like tin” - that is, they used technologies that predated the appearance of Khokhloma, which became on par with the favorite decoration techniques: carving and wood burning.

Khokhloma painting - technology

The basic technology for creating products to which Khokhloma painting is applied consists of several stages. Initially, the master does his best - prepares rough wooden blocks of approximately the same size as the product should be.

The next stage is planing on a special machine the object itself: plates, spoons, bowls, ladle, etc. This is how the master receives linen - a wooden blank for painting, which must be primed with liquid purified clay and left to dry for about 7-8 hours.

The key point in the work process is coating the item with drying oil or special linseed oil. The strength of the dishes and the durability of the painting on it depend on the quality of the coating. Using a special sheep's wool swab turned inside out, the master scoops drying oil from a bowl and begins to quickly rub it into the wooden surface - in total, the procedure is performed about three to four times during the day.

The last layer of drying oil is dried to such a state when the master’s finger sticks slightly to the coating, but no longer gets dirty. This technology prepares the item for the next stage - tinning, which involves rubbing aluminum powder into the item. The process is also performed using an inverted sheep's wool swab.

Only after these preparatory stages is Khokhloma done - painting a picture in a floral or animal pattern. The main colors used are red, black, yellow, but sometimes craftsmen also use green and brown. Drawings are made with oil paints using the technique of overhead painting or “under the background.”

Horse letter

The principle of top writing is very simple - a red, yellow or black pattern is applied to the processed workpiece.

Usually, Khokhloma painting This technique uses a “gingerbread” pattern - a large pattern in the center, which is surrounded by circles of smaller ornaments.

Drawings for the background

Masters of painting “under the background” use the “curl” pattern - gold and red patterns on a black background.

They are obtained as follows: initially, large colored ornaments are drawn, after which the free space is filled with a black background. When the dark paint dries, a “grass” pattern is applied on top - patterns of long and short blades of grass.

Finished works are coated approximately 5 times with a translucent fixative varnish with a yellowish tint, after drying each layer. Dry products are sent to an oven heated to 150 degrees and kept there for about 3-4 hours, until the main element of Khokhloma is formed - a golden-bronze film.

Khokhloma painting templates

Khokhloma painting uses mainly pictures of plant origin - meaning blades of grass, berries, twigs, stems of climbing plants and flowers. Drawings of roses, rose hips, rowan, and grass are especially common.

However, masters often resort to animal ornaments, depicting fabulous birds, animals and insects in motion, forming simple scenes.

Despite the fact that the theme of the painting is clearly defined, masters must approach the process creatively, each time inventing unique drawings. Beginners, due to lack of experience, can use stencils to make Khokhloma painting look beautiful.

You can practice not only by redrawing ready-made drawings. Use these simple diagrams to help you draw simple floral designs.

By repeating the pattern several times, you will get the hang of it and creating interesting drawings with oil paints will be as easy for you as learning to draw with a pencil.

The diagrams show that when drawing, not only brushes of different sizes and shapes are used - some drawings can be made with stamps. Seals can be easily made from available materials: a round grater on a simple pencil, a vegetable or fruit cut in half.

The main use of the technique is to decorate dishes, but recently the beautiful pattern has become so popular that it has been used almost everywhere. For example, dresses, T-shirts, and jewelry with Khokhloma painting have come into fashion.

In addition, cars, bicycles, key rings, boxes, furniture are decorated in this way - it all depends on the imagination of the master.

Step-by-step drawing - painting Khokhloma on a board

In fact, you can decorate items with Khokhloma even at home without using the complex basic technique described above. It is enough to paint the board with gold paint, draw patterns and fix it with a special varnish. Such a product can hardly be used for its intended purpose, but you will get an excellent souvenir for decorating the kitchen.

Prepare a wooden cutting board of the shape you like, PVA glue, gouache paints, wood varnish, painting brushes, and a paint brush.

• On A4 sheet of paper, draw the selected sketch of the image with a simple pencil - come up with it yourself or borrow an image from our article.

• Prime the board with egg white - just coat it with the substance and leave until completely dry.

• Apply an even coat of gold paint to the piece and let dry again.

• Using carbon paper, transfer the design onto the workpiece.

• First, color the berries and flowers red.

• Next, paint the veins and stems with thin black strokes.

• Using the brush that is most comfortable for you, draw a thin line around the outline of the design.

• Paint the background black.

• After the background has dried, paint the grass in a bright color.

• Leave the product in a dry, ventilated area until completely dry.

• Apply a clear sealer over the entire surface of the board.

Your souvenir is ready! You can decorate your apartment with it or give it to a close friend for some holiday. In the same way it is done Khokhloma painting souvenir plate, spoons or any other product.

You can learn another simple technique for painting Khokhloma products at home from the following video tutorial.

History of Golden Khokhloma. Golden Khokhloma is one of the ancient, original Russian folk crafts, which for centuries has shaped the way of life of entire generations and is an integral part of Russian culture. A special feature of Khokhloma craft is the production of gilded wooden utensils without the use of precious metal and a unique herbal painting.

The symbol of Khokhloma painting was the fiery firebird, decorated with bright flowers. The capital of Golden Khokhloma is rightfully considered the city of Semenov, located 80 kilometers from Nizhny Novgorod.

Khokhloma fishing dates back more than three centuries. It originated in the Nizhny Novgorod Trans-Volga region and came from icon painting. This was a time of extensive settlement of the Nizhny Novgorod lands by various people, among whom were “Old Believers” - opponents of the church reforms of Patriarch Nikon. They knew the secret of gilding icons using silver metal and linseed oil - drying oil. Wooden icons were covered with a layer of silver, ground into powder, after which they were oiled and then placed in the oven. After hardening, the icon acquired a new golden color. Subsequently, with the advent of cheaper tin, this method was also used for dishes. Thus, starting from the 17th century, painted wooden dishes from Trans-Volga masters were famous throughout Russia. “Great” dishes were made to special orders in small batches from different types of wood, different shapes and artistic finishes, and were intended to be given as gifts to distinguished guests and foreign ambassadors.

Khokhloma dishes.

On the territory of the enterprise there is a monument to the legendary Semyon the Spooner. The sculptural image is a tribute to all the working people of the Volga region, those who worked tirelessly, developing their craft. Nizhny Novgorod dishes were traded at the great marketplace - the Makaryevskaya Fair, later the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, in Moscow and other parts of Russia. Since the 60s of the 19th century, Khokhloma dishes and furniture have been constantly exhibited at domestic and foreign exhibitions. After the 1889 World Exhibition in Paris, the export of Khokhloma products increased sharply. Skillfully carved and painted dishes appeared on the markets of Western Europe, Central Asia, Persia, and India.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Russian Khokhloma products penetrated into remote cities of America, Australia and even Africa. The assortment was very diverse. They made various dishes: spoons, dishes, plates, barrels, supplies and salt shakers, mugs, glasses, boxes, canes, snuff boxes and even furniture in the Russian style - tables with baluster legs, tower cabinets. Buyers have always appreciated the lightness and strength of Khokhloma products and the beauty of painting. In the 19th century, its motifs were quite simple: cups were decorated with belts of geometric figures, but by the end of the century the painting became more complex. Curly ornaments with golden flowers and leaves of rounded shapes were created on large items to order; items for sale in the city were painted with patterns in the spirit of chintz scarves, antique prints or ornaments of handwritten books. The most common and favorite was the “herbal” letter. Already in the 30s of the 20th century, a new Khokhloma ornament was created based on the best traditions of painting. Modern painting has been enriched with NEW motifs, has become thinner and more complex in color and composition, and the technique of execution has also become more complex.

Khokhloma spoon.

Over the centuries-old history of the Khokhloma craft, it has undergone many ups and downs, which affected the fate of its craftsmen. The high cost of timber, competition between metal and earthenware, dependence on buyers - all this did not contribute to the growth of the well-being of the spoon makers and artists themselves. The situation changed when in 1916, with the support of the Nizhny Novgorod Zemstvo, the School of Artistic Woodworking was opened in Semenov. It was headed by the talented artist G.P. Matveev. On the basis of this school, the cooperative artel “Handicraft Artist” was organized, which later grew into the large production association “Khokhloma Painting”. Grateful descendants remember Matveev’s merits; a monument was erected to him on the territory of the enterprise and the mentoring traditions established by Matveev were preserved. “Khokhloma Painting” patronizes the Semyonov Art Lyceum No. 30, where future masters of painting and woodworking are trained. In 1931, the artel received the name “Export”, since 70% of the products were sold abroad. In 1961, the artel received the status of a factory, and in 1971 - a production and artistic association. Currently, the largest folk arts and crafts enterprise in Russia, Khokhloma Painting, continues the centuries-old tradition of producing products with Khokhloma painting. The assortment includes more than 1000 items of products for utilitarian and decorative souvenir purposes. These are multi-item sets for fish soup and dessert, including: sets of services, carved ladles, bratins (ladles for wine), candlesticks, vases, supplies, barrels, damasks, panels, music boxes. All manufactured products have certificates of conformity and hygiene certificates, which means that you can drink and eat from Khokhloma dishes without fear for your health. Products with heraldry, emblems, and portraits are made to order.

Watch with Khokhloma pattern.

The company employs more than one and a half thousand people, including 400 artists. Many of them are truly gifted and talented craftsmen. And everyone has their own understanding of the rich creative heritage, their own vision of the drawing and their own special handwriting. A number of artists have the honorary title: “Honored Artist of the Russian Federation”, are members of the Union of Artists of Russia, and have been awarded state prizes. Since 1964, the company has operated a creative laboratory, where new assortments and unique highly artistic products are born. Promising young masters pass through the laboratory. The artists M. Ivanova, E. Zaitseva, O. Razumova, N. Voronina are called real virtuosos of painting. Specialists at many Russian and international exhibitions pay attention to their work. According to a sketch by Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Taisiya Belyantseva, for the 40th anniversary of flights from London to Moscow, the fuselages of eight British Airways airliners were decorated with the Khokhloma pattern.

The art of Khokhloma is not only a beautifully executed painting, but also the ability to create an expressive form of a product, knowledge of complex wood processing technology. And few people know how much work and patience, dexterity and true inspiration this complex process requires from people of different specialties. Based on the Traditional method of manufacturing Khokhloma products, a modern technological process was developed and improved, allowing to achieve a high technical level of products.

Various types of wood are used in production, mainly linden. The wood is first kept outdoors for at least a year. Then it is sawn into ridges, blanks are made, from which cups, supplies, barrels, vases, matryoshka dolls are turned, spoons and ladles are cut out. Unpainted dishes are called “white” or “linen” in the industry. First of all, it must be dried so that the product does not crack. Therefore, in the pre-processing rooms the temperature is constantly maintained at about 30 degrees, and in the drying chambers, where white turned products are dried on wide “grid-iron” shelves, up to 100 degrees. Then, the unpainted cups are coated with a special reddish-brown oil primer, making them all look like clay. After priming, the products are dried for 2-3 hours in an electric oven at a temperature of 120-130 degrees. Next - grind, putty, drying oil. The last preparatory operation is tinning. It is performed in the same way as all previous operations, manually. Until the top layer of drying oil has completely dried and the soil has not lost its viscosity, the products are rubbed with aluminum powder. Tinned cups become matte shiny, reminiscent of silver, and in this form they are sent to the painting workshop.

Golden Khokhloma in Semenov.

Painted items are varnished two or three times with intermediate hardening at a temperature of 120-130 degrees. To get the desired effect from hardening, you need to accurately calculate its time, which depends on the type of wood and the dimensions of the product. Thus, silver turns into “gold”, and painted wooden bowls and vases become like precious gilded dishes, distinguished by their special beauty and uniqueness. In modern Khokhloma painting, the style and color of the traditional ornament, “top” and “background”, is preserved, but the color range is expanded. In addition to black, red and gold - the traditional tricolor that came from icon painting - green and yellow, orange and brown colors are used. Artists have the opportunity to experiment. This is how new directions in Khokhloma art appear. These are miniature Khokhloma paintings, Khokhloma panels with paintings, and icons. In 1993, in continuation of traditions in the technique of icon painting using Khokhloma “gold,” an icon-painting workshop was created at the factory and the production of icons began. The artists studied the canons of icon painting at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and received a blessing to paint icons from Metropolitan Nicholas of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas. In 1999, the icon-painting workshop of the Khokhloma Painting JSC enterprise was awarded the high honor of becoming part of the Patriarchal Workshops under the omophorion of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexei II. Many churches in the Nizhny Novgorod region are decorated with Khokhloma icons.

Relatively recently, in 2004, the Khokhloma Painting enterprise began producing conceptually new products - panels with paintings. These are original works that combine two types of art: painting and decorative and applied art - Khokhloma painting. In 1992, a workshop for the production of Semyonovskaya matryoshka dolls was opened.

The company produces not only decorative items and dishes, but also furniture with Khokhloma painting. Children's tables, chairs and benches, interior, serving and coffee tables. Children's furniture meets the requirements of GOST and is indispensable when arranging groups of kindergartens and children's living rooms. They also produce carpentry furniture: various types of soft and hard chairs for the home, office or cafe, as well as dining groups, tables and beds. Carpentry furniture is designed for a wide range of customers. Golden Khokhloma icons

Currently, Khokhloma Painting CJSC is working and developing steadily, increasing production and sales volumes. Using our own capital investments, new types of products are introduced into production, equipment is purchased, workshops are expanded, and new jobs are created. More than 1000 companies from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad are partners of the enterprise. Products are exported to near and far abroad countries: Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, USA, Canada, France, Germany, England, Japan, Spain and others. Fascinating excursions are organized for tourists at the factory, introducing guests to the history of the craft and the technological process at all stages of the birth of Khokhloma products. Here you can meet the best masters and take part in an exciting master class on painting matryoshka dolls. You can also order lunch from an individual menu. At your service is a spacious dining room or banquet hall, the interior of which is decorated in Khokhloma style, and dishes are served in “royal dishes”. The factory has an assortment room where samples of unique products have been stored since 1972, including a huge Khokhloma spoon - 2 meters 67 cm and a one and a half meter bowl. And also a store where you can buy everything that is produced at the factory at affordable prices. Another achievement of the Khokhlomichi people is the annual all-Russian festival “Golden Khokhloma”, to which everyone can come to the city of Semyonov in June.

General Director of the Order of the Badge of Honor of Khokhloma Painting CJSC Nikolai Vasilyevich Korotkoe, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation. Awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree. In 2003, the Russian Union of Commodity Producers awarded him the highest economic prize named after. A. N. Kosygina.

If you love crafts and want to learn a new artistic technique, read our article on how to learn how to draw Khokhloma. Try to make the simplest option - a cutting board. It is not difficult to make, since the entire drawing is done on one flat surface. Step-by-step drawing tips will allow you to make a beautiful gift in hand-made style.

Types of folk crafts and paintings

Russian regions are rich and diverse both in their landscapes and in their customs and traditions. Many places even have their own dialect. All this shaped the culture of every corner of our country. For a long time, different traditions of folk crafts have developed. The most famous include the following:

• Dymkovo, Filimonovskaya, Bogorodskaya toy;
• Gzhel ceramics;
• Vologda and Vyatka lace;
• Tula samovars;
• Rostov enamel;
• Msterskaya, Fedoskino, ;
• Zhostovo trays;
• Gorodets, Khokhloma painting.

Each of them is very original and unique, but they all reflect the culture and spirituality of the Russian people.

What to choose

If you do handicrafts and decide to do something based on folk motifs, Khokhloma painting is best suited. Step-by-step drawing will greatly facilitate the process of creating a souvenir. The choice of this particular technique is due to the fact that in this case it is easy to find a wooden base for decoration, no complex equipment is required, all materials are available and inexpensive.

What objects are decorated with Khokhloma painting

Traditionally, any household items made of wood were made in this style:

• spoons;
• nesting dolls;
• trays;
• dishes;
• caskets;
• chests;
• barrels;
• boxes;
• spinning wheels;
• handles and handles;
• vases;
• cutting and decorative boards.

In its modern version, when interest in Russian folk motifs is quite high, Khokhloma painting sometimes appears on very exotic surfaces:

• fabric (for bed linen, for example);
• nails;
• keychains;
• lighters;
• screen and panels of a smartphone or laptop;
• body (tattoo and body art);
• cars (airbrushing);
• bags (paper and plastic).

Thus, almost any object can now be decorated with Khokhloma painting.

Samples on paper

If you are new to this business and are just starting to master the basics of drawing Khokhloma painting, it is better to practice on ordinary Whatman paper. As exercises for positioning your hand, choose simple elements: berries, leaves.

All of them are based on certain movements of the brush. Even if you later work on the finished pencil outline, the circles and curls should be even. It is better to do them in one go.

If you want to learn for a child, it is best to master this technique with him, also on paper. The same type of exercise in the form of leaves and berries quickly gets boring for children, so suggest depicting a round tray, plate, spoon or vase. Make the shape of the object yourself, and give your child the opportunity to decorate the object.

Learn to draw Khokhloma

Trial tasks on paper will take a different amount of time for everyone. It depends on your level of preparation. If you have some initial skills, you can quickly learn how to do circles, berries and curls. When you have mastered drawing elements of Khokhloma painting, you can begin to design specific objects. At first, choose things that are simple in shape, preferably with a flat surface. These are the following objects:

• tray;
• table;
• chair;
• textile;
• phone or laptop panel;
• cutting board.

The last option is suitable for those who do not feel confident in their abilities. will take a lot of time. Non-standard application surfaces, such as silk, plastic, body for temporary tattoos, require special paints. A cutting board is a great gift option, beautiful and functional. It's quite simple to do.

Painting a cutting board step by step

To ensure that your first pancake doesn’t turn out lumpy, you need to think through everything in advance. Let's consider the preparatory activities.

Purchasing materials

Choose the right base. The shape can be round, rectangular, square, or complex carved. It is better if the board has a hole to hang it on a nail or hook. Avoid using plywood or untreated wood. The surface for applying the pattern must be smooth, without depressions, notches and burrs. The easiest way is to buy a high-quality base at a craft store. If this is not possible, but there is a board ready to size, properly treat the surface with sandpaper. If this is not done, all the unevenness will remain after applying the paint. They can interfere with the perception of the drawing and will interfere with drawing.

Pattern selection

Choose a suitable ornament motif. It doesn’t matter whether your Khokhloma painting will be simple or complex. Step-by-step drawing of each element will help you depict any object from a combination of twigs, leaves and berries to an exclusive bird of paradise. You just need to do everything piece by piece from simple to complex. Given the availability of computer technology, anyone can find the necessary image on the Internet, print it, for example, on film, and transfer the contours to a wooden base. It is more difficult to draw lines on a round surface. However, in this case, you can simplify your task by making several stencils of repeating elements.

Which color to choose?

You will need paints that are suitable for wood surfaces. The simplest and cheapest option is gouache. However, it does not form a waterproof surface once dry. It is necessary to add PVA glue to it, about a quarter of the volume of pigment, but not every color will respond well to this combination. It’s better not to take risks, but simply coat the finished product with transparent wood varnish. This will protect the drawing from moisture and other adverse factors. Another option is to use acrylic paints. They are waterproof and suitable for wood. Moreover, after such a layer has dried, you can even apply gouache on top. This means that the black background can be done with acrylic, and the pattern itself can be done with gouache.

Buy several brushes with fine tips. Squirrel, kolinsky and synthetic numbers from the first and above are suitable. The quantity and size depend on your design. You will need a thin brush in any case, and you can determine the maximum size visually depending on the planned design.

Let's get started

1. First, cover the surface of the selected pattern - black or gold acrylic, for example. If the drawing occupies almost the entire surface, and there is almost no background, you can paint in one layer, without first applying the background. Alternatively, you can pre-prime the wood with egg white.

2. After the background has dried, apply the lines of the ornament using a stencil or by hand. If you are confident in your abilities and have a paper sample in front of you, you don’t have to draw the contours, but do everything at once with a brush.

3. The next step is to complete the pattern. Here it is appropriate to propose several work schemes. The first option is to draw the ornament by compositional parts, for example, from the main element to the secondary ones. Another way is to paint by color: first all the red objects, then the golden ones, then the green ones. You can also choose the sequence of using brushes of different thicknesses, that is, first you paint large details with a large one, then medium ones, and finally, with a thin one, you draw small decor.

4. After drying, coat with clear varnish if necessary. A wonderful souvenir is ready.

You learned in more detail what Khokhloma painting is. Step-by-step drawing on the surface of any object will help turn it into a real masterpiece. Study, train, delight yourself, relatives and friends with wonderful handmade gifts.