I was challenged today to make a cake for a customer with "THE SCREAM" painting on it. Of course they don't want fondant so I'll be decorating solely in buttercream. I'm thinking of "painting" the scene on to the top of the cake, which will be covered in BC. I drew a sketch on paper and will probably draw a couple more for practice and then start practicing painting on actual BC tomrorow night (this is due on Wednesday next week). I was wondering if anyone has done this method and if you have any tips that might be useful. I was going to use lusterdust dissolved in vodka or lemon extract. Is a specific type brush better to use than another? Or does it not really matter since I'll be painting larger areas with one color and using a fine tip for the smaller more detailed areas.

Do you think painting will be my best bet to do this? Or do you think a different method would work better. Oh, the cake will be 11 x 15 sheet cake.

Thansk in advance!
Here is the sketch and I plan to try to match the colors to the original painting as close as possible. This is to celebrate a 50th birthday. I'm not sure of the saying they want...but I'm thinking something like "OH NO, MIKE HIT THE BIG 5-0" on a plague that will sit on the cake board in front of the cake.

You can try coloring piping gel and painting with that. This works well on buttercream.

Hi,

There is a cake called Autumn Pumpkin Scene by Talmas that has painted buttercream and in the comments they talk about their method.
It's http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_15246.html

HTH

I've done a couple cakes that I've painted on BC. Never very detailed, usually background, but I've found that gel coloring mixed with vodka and a VERY chilled cake works best. My margartia cake, my two tier jungle cake and my Finding Nemo all have background painting on them. I'd attached the direct links to those cakes in my gallery, but I'm not that talented

HTH!

you could also do an edible image. This way you could get more details in the drawing. But painting would be nice too.
Jen...

What about doing and FBCT?

Sugarplumfaries! OMG! You are my hero!! Thanks for posting that pic. In one of her other "paintings" she mentions a thread (back from 2006) where they tell "how" to do it. There were a lot of "painting on cake" threads when I did my initial search, but none of them really explained how to do it. So when I saw her comment in response to someone elses comment, I ended up finding the thread where she explains how to paint with buttercream by going into her profile and searching her posts. I am sooooo soooo happy. So, I am posting the link incase I can't find it again.

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-176754-.html#176754. I was worried about painting with the powders since it would be the whole top of the cake and I was afraid of the "after taste" it would leave in people's mouths. I think Talmas' method is what I was hoping to find...I feel more confident doing it that way than painting on the cake with luster dusts. Thanks again.

CC comes to my aid and rescue every single time. I'm gonna start practincing painting with BC tomorrow night. Thanks again!

WOW, you all snuck in there on me. Thanks for all your replies and suggestions. I really want to try "painting" so I'm gonna practice with Talmas' method and if it sucks (not the method, my painting ), then I'll look at doing a FBCT and if that fails too, then I'll resort to an edible image. Thanks again everyone for your comments and suggestions.

One last suggestion: how I did my Easter cake. Read the blurb underneath the photo, it might be something you're interested in trying.

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1202909

hehehehe -

Grace - I totally remember that cake....and I even commented on it. Simply beautiful. What is icing paper? What did you use to sketch your drawing on it? Did you use a brush and then pipe your lines? Now you have peaked my curiosity. I am very intrigued. Thanks for showing that....

Pish - your cakes are GREAT! You did all that painting with just gel? So did you color your gel and then mix in some vodka and then paint your background on to the cake with a brush? Were you able to taste the vodka? Just wondering how that will affect the taste of the cake and does it leave an after taste in your mouth?

Hey, Vicki.

Icing paper, or frosting paper is the edible paper used in the printers onto which edible images are printed and placed onto cakes.

Instead of printing on that one, I drew and painted. Mostly I just used an edible marker for the drawing, but for some parts that I thought I might mess up and didn't want to 'take a chance' with, I used a pencil first, then went over it with the edible marker. I mostly did the pencil first for the Lord's face and areas of His flowing robe. Otherwise it was just freehanding with the edible marker. You could also trace a picture if you hold it above a light box or a piece of plexiglass or even against a window during daylight hours.

Oh, just because the topic is so similar........I've never tried it myself, but I was told that it's possible to paint on BC when using cocoa, too. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

And thank you so much for your compliments to my work. I'm very surprised, humbled and appreciative. Thanks!

Grace - thanks again! When you say cocoa, do you have to dissolve it like you do food coloring powders or luster dust?

You guys are wonderful!!! Thanks for helping me and providing me with too many options to choose from... Seriously, I want to try all of them...painting with gels, luster dust, and BC. I'm no artist. I just think I got lucky sketching out Edvard Munch's "THE SCREAM" and the few other cake sketches that I've done freehand. Let's just hope I can do it again....that's why I have to practice drawing it a few more times and then with BC or Gels or Luster Dust...heck, maybe I'll throw in cocoa too....

Cocoa powder is mixed with melted cocoa butter in different concentrations to give different shades and tones of sepia and used to paint upon buttercream, chocolate, gumpaste plaques and a few other surfaces that I can't recall at the moment.

HTH

BTW, I neglected to tell you how well you did on that sketch. (Sorry.)
Nice work!

Cocoa painting threads:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-57121-.html

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-8252-.html

HTH

Thanks Grace and Jan...I'll be sure to show you what I end up doing. I can't wait to start practicing tonight.

Thanks for the compliments! Actually I was talking about gel food coloring (Americolor etc.) I just thin it with the vodka and then paint-almost like watercoloring. You can't really taste the vodka it evaporates rather quickly.

HTH

I must say this is all impressive! I received my Sylvia weinstock book yesterday and she speaks about painting on buttercream but she doesn't explain how to do it. Everything in her book is beautiful but no explanations of how to do anything. i would love to learn these techniques.

Pish - WOW, okay! So you used gel coloring diluted in vodka and you did this directly onto your buttercream? What type of brushes did you use? What recipe do you use for your buttercream...is it all crisco based or is it like half butter, half crisco based? I'm no delicate flower so how light of a touch did you use when "painting" on your BC?

Taresa - don't you hate books like that where they don't explain "HOW TO"? Drives me crazy! I don't have that book...honestly, I don't have any books about cake decorating (other than the Wilton books from C1 and C2). Maybe this thread will help you to learn how to do it. On page 1 in one of my posts, I included a link to another thread. In that thread (way back from 2006 or 2005), this one decorator (Talmas) explains how to paint with buttercream. Check it out.

YAY! I bought a cake dummie to practice on tonight. I can't wait to see how this turns out. Just had to share...heheheh

Well, last night was a bust to practice this technique so I got up early this morning to try my hand at it. I iced the bak of a square pan then just started painting. I used whatever leftover BC I had in their current colors (black, purple, yellow, light blue, green and orange) so the colors aren't correct, but I think you can tell what this is supposed to be. Overall, I'm pleased, but know I need lots of work and practice. I was rushed b/c I have to get ready for work and can't be late for this 9 am meeting. To do this on an 8" square took me about 40 minutes. I would love critiques on this so that when I come home tonight, I can practice some more and learn from you guys....

Click on the picture to enlarge

I like it. Aside from the colors like you said once you get the fine tuning of the details down it'll be pretty nifty! Be sure that you really catch the horizon as it is a defining point in the painting. I found this picture and used it to critique yours. Take a peek at it- see what I mean by the horizon?

http://www.poster.net/munch-edvard/munch-edvard-the-scream-3600210.jpg

I can't wait to see the finished cake!