DIY Quote Painting

I’ll start this post by saying 1. I needed a picture above my bed. Blank walls make me sad. 2. I have some blank canvases laying around. 3. My favorite book in the world is Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. I decided to do a simple painting of one of my favorite quotes from the book to fill a space on the wall.

I typed the quote into Word processor to make sure it would fit on a rectangular canvas, and so I would know where to put the words.

Once I had the words printed, I folded the page in half, and in half again, and again the other way. That way I knew where to place the words on the canvas. I measured the canvas for it’s halfway point and wrote the words onto it.

 

The last few lines were crooked when I was writing, so I made sure when I painted the words to straighten it out.

Here’s my finished work. I painted the black words, then I painted in white around it. Sure it took a long time, but It was worth the finished look. I like how the white isn’t even in the background.

 

I also took some old sconces that I found at a garage sale for $6 and spray painted them black to match and go on the sides for a finished look.

Looks better black!

 

I love the finished look! Plus, I get to re-read one of my favorite quotes as often as I want to.

Price of canvas: $8 for a 2 pack. Sconces: $6. I had the candles and the paint, so this project cost me $10. Happy decorating!

Live Art Night

So last night I did something I’ve never done before. Paint in front of people. The local cafe, Black Cat White Dog has “Live Art” on Thursday nights where artists can come and do their art, in the company of other artists. What a great idea, and a great way to stay motivated! I was nervous at first, but once I started setting up my paints and easel I thought, wait… I’ve been doing this for over 2 decades. I know what I’m doing. This should be fun! So I got me a cocktail and set up my supplies. I had found a picture while googleing night street scenes that had to do with snow (my inspiration for the night) and I was ready to start. With the help of my boyfriend, the eveing was documented.

My Inspiration

Sketching it all out

Starting the sky, and choosing a technique, which I made up on the spot

Putting snow in the street.

The wall was hard to do. The sky was easy to poke paint at and make it look like snow, but the wall was brick. A little harder to be messy at in my opinion.

Almost done. All I needed to do now was the Umbrella.

Done! I would like to re-do the woman. I think she looks more feminine in the real photo, but all in all, I like the results. Especially for only spending 5 hours on it.

I snapped this with my phone after re-doing the woman’s legs, and a bit of detail on the street.

I encourage everyone to try live art sometime! What fun it was. Happy painting!