Birch Tree Painting

I found a tutorial on how to make a beautiful painting with perfect birch trees.  I've been feeling really inspired to paint recently, and this looked like a pretty easy project, so I decided to give it a try.  The original used an 18" x 24" canvas.  I used a much smaller one, because I already had it on hand.

Materials needed:

Canvas (any size works)

Black acrylic paint (for the trees)

Blue acrylic paint (or another color for the background)

Red acrylic paint (or another color for the accent)

Painter's tape/masking tape

Paint brushes of various sizes

Step 1: Decide where your trees are

With the painter's tape, mark off the space that will be the trees.  They need to be completely covered with tape.

I liked the idea of one larger tree, and the rest smaller.  I also tried to mimic the way they were slanted slightly, instead of being completely parallel.

I also decided to paint the sides of the canvas, so I set my painting on a box to access all of the sides.

Step 2: Paint the background

I used a blue called "cobalt blue."  I think a lighter color might have been nicer, but this was the lightest I had.  Using a regular brush, I painted in all the white of the canvas.

My paint must be cheap, because it turned out very streaked. I bought a sample pack at Michael's that included a lot of different colors.  Now that I'm exploring this medium more, I might buy better paints.

Step 3: Paint the trees

The original method calls for using a credit card to line the edges of the tree and drag the color towards the center.  Since mine was much smaller, I used one of the reward cards designed for your keychain.

This was actually very easy.  I practiced a few times on a piece of wax paper.

Once I was confident enough, I removed the left-most piece of tape and scraped the black paint along the edge, dragging it slightly inward.

The more I used the reward card, the more comfortable I became with the action.  It was very simple to accomplish, if a bit nerve-wracking.  

Continue to remove the tape one at a time and repeat.

With overlapping trees, pay attention to which one is in the back and which one is in the front.

Step 4: Adding the embellishment

On the large tree, I added a painted heart.  The original instructions used gold leaf, which would give it a lovely finish.  But I didn't have any of that on hand, so I stuck with plain red paint.  Then I added my husband's and my initials.

I loved this project!  It was so easy and really fun.  I would have liked the trees to be a bit thicker, but now I know for next time.


~Buttons

Raidal Symmetry Painting

I LOVE working at an elementary school!  It's the best job in the world!  Not only are my kids super sweet, but I get to go with them to all their specials classes ("specials" is how our districts terms classes like art, band, P.E., etc.).  I always have so much fun learning new notes in band, learning new songs in music, and learning new crafts in art!

Plus, our art teacher this year is amazing!  She recognizes me as another art lover.  So, when the sixth graders began a project on radial symmetry, she gave me the necessary supplies to make my own!  It was a really neat project, and can be easily duplicated at home.

Materials needed:
Ruler
12x12 inch paper (fancy painting paper works best, but any paper will get the job done)
A pencil
Various acrylic paints
Paint brush


Step 1: Design your painting

The teacher handed out sheets of paper with pie slices, 1/8 of a picture.  At home, I drew a couple ideas down--including a Wheel of Time one I'd like to do sometime soon.



I wound up doing the more abstract one, because I wanted it to be simple.

Step 2: Cut out the slice



Step 3: Color the back



This will let you easily trace the pattern onto the paper.

Step 4: Set up your paper

With your 12x12 inch paper, mark the six inch distance on all four sides.  With a ruler, connect the marks up and down, and left to right.  Then connect right-top corner to left-bottom corner, and left-top corner to right-bottom corner.  This will give you nice, even eight-slice pie.

Step 5: Trace

With your cut out paper, place it inside one of the outlined slices.



Trace over the lines, which will trace the graphite on the back onto the paper on the bottom.  Repeat in all eight slices.  I also traced the curve at the bottom to finish off the circle.



Step 6: Decide on your colors

For the kids' assignment, they had specific color guidelines to follow.  Naturally, as adults, we aren't hampered by that same constraint.  One of the perks of being a grown-up.  :P

Their requirements were to use two or three colors only, and they had to be all: primary colors, secondary colors, analogous colors, or complimentary colors.  They were allowed to alternate the colors, or the arrangement of colors in each slice, as long as it kept its radial symmetry.

I followed these guidelines a bit.  I chose three colors (analogous colors), but only used two in each slice.  I used red and purple in the even slices, and purple and blue in the odd.

Step 7: Paint

I put my blue and red paint on a plate and started my project.  I didn't have any purple at the time, so I just did those two colors first.



I used a thin brush, so I could make my lines as nice and neat as possible.





I did try mixing the red and blue together to get purple, but the color turned out really ugly.  I had to run out to the store to get actual violet paint.





And you're done!

One thing I realized is that I suck at painting.  It turned out really streaky.  I have very little experience with that medium, and I hope to get better at it soon!  But it was a fun project.  And I would love to try it again.  If I do a WoT related one, I'd use all the colors of the Ajahs (including Black).  *LOL*


~Buttons

Painted Canvases with Dots and Hearts!

Pockets here!  I've been a bit AWOL lately due to my insane sudden reading obsession.  *chagrined face*  Life has been so busy for poor Buttons also, that we haven't really had a chance to get together and craft.  But lucky for you this evening the desire to put my art supplies to good use hit me.

I bought some canvas, paint, and circular sponges a while back intending to make some art for my guest bathroom.  I've seen all kinds of dot art on pinterest but wanted to put my own twist on it.  I LOVE hearts.  So I also bought some cardstock hearts.  The plan being to put the hearts on the canvas, paint dots around it, and remove the heart for a negative space piece.  Here's the supplies I used.


Acrylic paint - any color combinations/amount of colors that you want.
Brushes - I bought these Martha Stewart circular sponges because I have no idea how else to get perfectly round shapes, didn't want to make a bunch of circles by hand.
Canvases
Cardstock in any shape - There were a few options I debated, like tulips and stars
Paper plates and paper bag for paint pallet and floor protection.

I didn't adhere the hearts to the canvas in any way.  Obviously I couldn't tape it because it would block the paint.  I also wanted it flush against the canvas itself so that too much paint wouldn't leak under.  So I just was very careful and held the heart in place as I sponged.  Once you get one or two on the canvas and the heart it pretty much holds itself.

I learned on my second canvas (which I think turned out better) to start with the largest circle and work my way down in size.  I also only used four out of the six sponges.

That's pretty much it.  Remove the hearts once it's reasonably dry.  They came up pretty easy and Porp the BF made me feel better by saying he could totally tell it was a heart outline.  This project was not difficult at all and totally satisfied my crafting craving.  Dot placement was very creatively satisfying!!

Now I just have to hang them and hope they match my green bathroom walls!  Any other ideas for dot art?  We'd love to hear about them!!

~Pockets