Modern Shades

Bubbles and Bangles

These shades round up attention with whimsical circles — each drawn freehand — in blue, brown, and green. Painted using the same technique described for the geometric shades, the design goes on effortlessly — no measuring, no mistakes.

For the bubbles design, draw the largest circles first to keep the design’s weight balanced, then scatter medium and smaller circles among them. Though the circles follow no noticeable pattern, each different size is painted its own color: Small dots are green, medium are brown, and large are blue. Or try painting primary colors, ideal for a children’s room or game room.

The bangles design follows the vertical lines of the shade: Every four rows is a string of large blue “beads,” with intermittent rows of smaller green beads. Connecting “strings” are freehand squiggly lines that give the shade a painterly feel.

Once you master these transparent painting techniques, you’ll see how adaptable they are to many projects. Experiment by using different color paint pens, drawing thicker or darker lines (cartoon-style), blending different water-thinned paints, and extending the look to lamp bases and embellishments. Whatever combinations you imagine, the results are bound to shine.

Gather Your Supplies

• Hard-back, fine-weave lampshade
• Extra-fine DecoColor opaque paint marker (140-S Black) or comparable paint pen such as Krylon (not a permanent marking pen)
• Brushes: Royal Soft Grip SG 250 #6 and #10 round-tip nylon head and SG 157 #10 shader square (or any brush suited for acrylic paints)
• Delta Ceramcoat acrylic crafts paint: Village Green (VG), Coastline Blue (CB), and Periwinkle Blue (PB)
• Plaid Apple Barrel acrylic crafts paint: Sage Green (SG), Antique White (AW) (only for Bubbles), and Country Tan (CT) (only for Bubbles)

Bubbles
START TO FINISH
Starting at the seam with the black opaque paint marker, draw all large circles randomly around the shade, leaving space between them. Fill in the spaces with medium and small circles.

Using the same technique as in Geometrics, apply the lighter color paints first (on a dry shade). Paint the large circles CB, the medium circles AW, and the small circles VG. Come back with the darker colors (PB, CT, and SG) to deepen the tones.

Bangles
START TO FINISH
Starting at the seam with the black opaque paint marker, draw evenly spaced vertical lines of different numbers and sizes of circles. Every fifth row, draw a series of single circles. Connect the circles with loose, squiggly lines.

Using the same technique as in Geometrics, apply the lighter color paints first (on a dry shade). Paint the single circles in every fourth row PB, then randomly alternate VG and SG on the remaining beads.