April 12, 2012

seeing spots

We don't have a lot of art in our house.

Correction.

We have a lot of the crayon/marker/glue and dried pasta variety. However, we don't have a lot of grown-up art. Tons of pictures, a few prints and one etching (fancy I know) but not much art to speak of.

So I find it funny that I have a whole board on Pinterest dedicated to that very thing. Lots of paintings - abstract, landscapes etc. A whole bunch of things I absolutely love but would never in a million years be able to create not to mention the fact that they aren't very budget friendly.

But what good is Pinterest if it doesn't inspire you to get off your arse once in a while and try something new. Can I get an amen?

So with a perfect blank slate just waiting to be 'arted' (I don't think that is a word but I am here by declaring it a verb. I'll alert Webster's.) I decided to give it a shot.

I've always loved this painting by Damien Hirst (Opium). So with the ignorance confidence of a novice I uttered those famous 5 words, "how hard could it be?"

Luis Bustamante via Pinterest
I went to Michael's with my coupons and a list of colors I wanted to use. First big break, the canvas was on sale. I went with a 16x20 so as not to overwhelm myself with a big vast white board screaming 'ok, so make me beautiful ms. know-it-all.'

Picking out the paint colors was a huge time suck. Apparently I don't craft enough as I had no idea how many shades of every color in the rainbow there was in the world of craft paint. Luckily at $.60 a bottle, I stayed within my meager budget. Two packs of small round stencil sponge brushes to create my circles and I was armed and read to create.

Maybe it was the fumes from all of the craft paint but I was psyched. I couldn't wait for nap time so I could get to work.


In order to keep those perfect lines I figured a grid pattern would do the trick. With the very thin painters tape left over from my tray, I first made all of my horizontal lines using a piece of tape as my spacer. Then, I repeated the same process vertically.


Although it made a lovely gingham pattern, the squares were just a bit too small for my spongy circle things. Big bummer.

Attempt number two. I used my wide painters tape for my spacer...and that was a total bust. That tape was too wide and I only got a few rows in.

Third time is a charm. I put two pieces of the thin painters tape together, overlapping them slightly and used that for my spacer. Just right. Do I sound like goldilocks?


With some old cardboard I made myself a little painters palet and got to work. At first I thought about trying to follow the colors in the original painting dot for dot. But that would have driven me bonkers. So I went random.


Starting with one color, I would fill in 3 random squares. (I don't know why I picked 3). Then, move to the next color. I went thru the whole rainbow, doing 3 squares of each color before starting over again with the first color. Repeating this over and over until I got to the last few empty squares. At that point it became a bit of a chess game but turned out pretty well.


Some of the circles got a little wonky and aren't exactly uniform, but I kind of like that actually. Because really, what in my house isn't a little wonky and not exactly uniform?


The whole project only took about an hour (would have been shorter if I didn't have to tape and retape) and was under $20. A great deal I would say.

Have you attempted to recreate a piece you've seen on Pinterest?

20 comments:

  1. I like that it has the organization of the grid, but the uneven edges of the circles. A nice juxtaposition - perhaps better than the Hirst. Great job, Elizabeth!

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  2. That canvas turned out so cute! And I give you a huge thumbs up for having the confidence to actually "give it a shot". I have several items on my pinterest boards that I am sure I can make...yet, have not taken the leap to attempt.
    Great Job!!

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  3. I'm not much of an art girl either...and I'm not rich so that's another reason I don't own any...I've been thinking about going the DIY route too...yours turned out really good! And I think I have that same clear glass lamp your paint bottles are in front of...

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  4. When I first saw you starting, I thought "too childish". But now that it is done and styled (that probably took longer than the art)...I love it. It feels like a fresh take on abstract.

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    1. LOL. You're totally right Linda - they styling was a killer! I still am not really happy with it but just had to stop as it was driving me nuts.

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  5. I love it! Way to try something new! Thanks for the mention on twitter... I have just been crazy and was not able to even pick up my phone until now!

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  6. You are so awesome for doing this! Art is so expensive and I can't buy what I'd like. I've had the same thought -- why not try to make some myself? I know I can't do the type I tend to pin, but maybe something like this would work. Yours turned out wonderfully!

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  7. What a fun and fantastic idea! It turned out lovely.

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  8. Very cute! You can probably frame that cardboard palet too!

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  9. Great job! I'm so impressed that you had the patience to map out that grid - more than once :)

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  10. Super cute and colorful! I so agree that the wonky circles are just the thing to make it look hand-painted and artsy!

    Camille

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  11. Your artwork looks wonderful, love the colors!

    Have a fun weekend!

    Jessie
    www.mixandchic.com

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  12. Love it! What a great job girl and a cute vignette!

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  13. FANTASTIC! and great styled vignette. This should give you confidence to keep up with the art projects!
    Nancy
    Powellbrowerhome.com

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  14. ooo - I love the way it turned out. Congrats on a great project.

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  15. Very nice! Love the bright, happy colors. Your glossy black door with glass panels is a favorite. Is it custom? I want one.

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