art

work in progress :: rose painting

4 October 2014 by Andrea 2 Comments

So, I’ve had a project on my mind for a while, curing. It’s to take this pic that I received as a thank you…

…and paint it on a large canvas.

Oh, you didn’t know that I could paint? Neither did I, until I took an oil painting class about 10 years ago. In fact, the teacher was visibly irritated with me because she thought that I had certainly painted before, which I had not. Which is weird, because shouldn’t one be happy to discover someone with talent? Well, whatever. She has since passed away, so I’ll not speak ill of the dead, lest they haunt me or something.

So anyway, I discovered that I can take a picture of something, like this orange rose, and paint it. If I’d been born in another place and time, I probably could have made a fortune as a forger, but with science and all, that’s just another dashed hope.

But I digress…back to my work in progress.

After caffeinating excessively in an attempt to inspire myself to do yardwork – a successful venture, I might add – I decided that it was high time to begin this painting project. I had already purchased a large canvas (36″ x 36″) several months ago in anticipation of curing for a while and eventually beginning this project.

First step was to add some picture hanging wire to the back. This time there were no injuries, like last time when I was contemplating a tetanus shot.

Next step was to do some sketching, which you can sort of see here…

The painting will hang on my giant one and a half story stair wall, as you can see it hanging here as a work in progress…

It will have to hang there to dry as well, since a) I don’t have a big, giant easel, and b) I have a cat who will walk on my painting and ruin my life…

Hopefully having a blank painting on a main wall in my house will inspire me to do more painting and less curing!

I will post updates throughout the painting process, so you can see my work in progress.

almost instant art

27 January 2013 by Andrea Leave a Comment

If you’re short on art around your place there are ways to create almost instant (and cheap) art.

I work in advertising, so we frequently get giant catalogs of different types of royalty-free images that places like ad agencies purchase. Like this one…

These catalogs frequently land in the trash or recycling so I snagged this one and found this awesomeness…

…which I decided definitely needs to be hanging on my wall, so I cut it out of the book and framed it in a $4 floating poster frame and got this…

Sorry about the glare…I have lots of windows.

Isn’t she awesome? For this kind of project an inexpensive floating poster frame is usually your best bet because a) it’s cheap, and b) the art likely won’t be standard size. This was 7 1/2″ x 9″ so a floating frame was ideal. Plus the paper very likely isn’t acid-free, so it probably won’t last forever, but then you can feel good about changing things up when you get bored, because you only spent $4!

Doesn’t she look fabulous here on the small wall between my linen closet door and my bedroom door?

Accompanied by some other whimsical pieces…this folk art snake I created on a scrap of wood, using paint, buttons, and decoupaged ransom note letters cut out from a magazine…

And this multi-media, silk-screened and quilted art piece by Janice Taylor…

But don’t worry if you don’t have access to books of royalty-free art. If you have a graphic designer friend, ask them if they ever get them and would be willing to pass them on to you. Or buy a cheap second-hand coffee table book to cut up and frame. (And don’t feel guilty about cutting up a book! I know how these things go, and we need to get over that. Think of giving it new life that you can enjoy every day!)

Another inexpensive option is to clip magazine ads. There are some beautiful ones and again, they may not last forever, but for now they’d make great little art pieces. Here are a couple that I’ve saved over the years with the intent to frame…

Or you could even frame an interesting piece of wrapping paper like this…

…or a sheet of artsy scrapbook paper…

So there’s no excuse for you to not have any gorgeous art on your walls! Now go frame something!

Showing off at Funky Junk Interiors.

C39PFCJYH6S5

affirmation art

31 December 2012 by Andrea 6 Comments

Recently I found an awesome and inspiring pin on Pinterest…

While the room and colors are great, I was really moved by the inspirational art work. And of course I thought, “Hey, I can do that!”

In the spirit of daily affirmations and getting my single ladies groove on, I decided to create a similar art piece to hang next to my bathroom mirror, so I can read it and feel the love every day.

My tools were simple. An 8″ x 24″ canvas and a black Sharpie. But you could use any color Sharpie. And you could paint your canvas if you’re not into the black & white scene.

Then I started writing “I love you” repeatedly, being careful to space my wording so that the words didn’t line up perfectly line after line. You can use any phrase or affirmation that’s meaningful to you.

Here’s the awesome result…

This was a super-quick project…it only took about 15 minutes, including hanging the canvas. About halfway down the canvas I threw in an all caps “I love you” just for extra emphasis…

Looks super-cute, and the best part is that every time I step into the bathroom I’m reminded that I’m loved, which makes this single girl feel great.

What are you gonna write on your canvas?