Paint Up that Old Chair

 Let's face it. Everything can be a canvas. I especially like painting on things. It's a challenge to see what you can fit in the space allowed and putting your special touch on an object. 

Chairs are a perfect space to get creative on.  

These chairs were kind of beat when I first got them. One was found on the side of the road, two were found at a local thrift store. Most thrift stores sell that odd chair cheap. A set of four might sell for more but one? Grab that deal! 

These three chairs got the beachy treatment. First I did a coat of spray paint to give them an even white coat of paint. (Sorry! I didn't take before photos) I also had to reinforce the dog beach one because a leg was loose but that was an easy fix - I got my husband to do it. 😁

Next I started with the basic beach scene. Pick your horizon line. This cannot be in the exact center. It's always good to go a little below or above that center mark.

I think beaches are easy because it's basically horizontal lines of color. Blend the sky and sea and put on a beach. Ripple of water foam, maybe a palm tree or palm leaves. Done. 

After the painting is dry I seal the chair with a waterproof acrylic sealer. Be sure to spray all sides of that chair to ensure good protection.

This is my foster failure Maggie Mittens admiring her silhouette on the Dog Beach chair. This chair will be donated to a dog rescue to sell in their thrift shop. 

Woof! Good dog! 

Faded Garden Table Redo

A while a go I did this table with stain. It was a technique I saw in several sites on the internet and it was surprisingly easy to do.
My fail? I left the tables out year round and in Jersey, winter can do nasty things to art work. Did I not seal them good enough? Was it an especially harsh winter? Probably yes to all of the above. :(

So, I've been wanting to update it and didn't think the stain would work again so I dragged out my acrylic paint and a can of clear sealer and went to work.

First I sanded the top to have a smooth canvas. Then painted the top black so I'd have a good base and maybe the paint would help seal the wood a bit so I could work on it.

Next I filled in the peacock body in with a couple of shades of blue to give it some texture.
The green feather-like area was put in with strokes of green, yellow, and purple. After the wavy lines were in place and still wet, I dipped a paper towel in water and dragged it from center to the outer edges to get a blurry streaked effect.

Next the eyes of the peacock feathers were painted with a blend of orange/yellow, a heart shaped blue, and purple dot.  After that dried, long wavy lines were shadowed in to create that feathery look.

On the blue body, the eye was painted in yellow for the iris and outlined with white. The beak is an off white. The hair like spikes on top of the head were outlined in black and highlighted with a blend of yellow/orange (heavy on the yellow) Dots were placed on top of the spikes in white, purple and yellow. 

For the body lines of purple were placed just to give it a little feathery effect (without actually painting feathers.)

Three coats of sealer were sprayed over the top and sides to (hopefully) give it some protection from the elements.

Unfinished bench Gets the Painted Message

 Another sketch, burn, paint project.
I found this cute little bench at an Amish shop in Pennsylvania. I think I paid like $35 for it. A real steal for such a well made piece.

First the whole bench was sanded. Wiping down with a damp cloth afterwards removes any dust left by sanding.

Then I just sketched some pictures on it. This time I went right to the wood and started drawing without pre-sketching it on paper first. I had the designs in my head, but I recommend doing a paper sketch first. Saves some erasing and maybe damaging the wood.

Then I burned the pictures in. I like burning the lines in because, up close, it gives the piece some texture. A quick wipe down with a damp cloth will make sure any little pieces of wood that flicked off during the burning process are gone.

Then I just painted in the pictures. For the day to night look on the top I started with the light blue on one side and the dark purple black on the other and just worked toward the center until it blended. Everything else was just filled in. Kind of like coloring in a coloring book. I never out grew coloring books! I just do it on a different level now.  :)

On one side of the bench there's a family tree filled in with family names for the customer. The other side has two silhouettes sitting before a moon and the names of the couple underneath.

Once everything was painted, I sprayed it with three coats of acrylic sealer.

Pile of Wood = Artsy Desk

It starts with a basic sketch

"Let passion fuel your purpose"

 Some wood and a hubby skilled with saws and stuff..

A compass to always find my way & sunshine for happiness. 

Transferred the pictures from the sketch to the wood. 

 Burned the pictures into the wood. It's called Pyrography. I'm not that good at it but I just went over the lines transferred to the wood. Then got out the paint and colored in the lines,

Each leg had a different flower. 

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams." 

Compass side goes to the inside (belly side?)of the desk.

Front of desk- Moon to Sun

 Stained the unpainted areas with a warm walnut then comes three coats of Polycrylic. (Sand and wipe down between coats) I used four coats on the desk top because I figure it will get the most wear.

 Sides of the desk get a heart design and carry over the leaves from the top of the desk.

Sketched, burned, painted, stained Polycrylic 

Finished Desk! 

T

Jazz to Giraffe & Saying Goodbye

 When leaving a job I loved I wanted to give my boss something special. Her husband loved Jazz and she loved Giraffes. And they had a nice front porch. I found a couple of unfinished Adirondack chairs and got to work.

First I painted the chairs an off white to give me a plain "canvas" to work on. A quick chalk sketch and I filled the picture in with acrylic craft paint.  Behind the Jazz man I used greens and yellows to set off the blues in the sax and jacket. On the giraffe I used blue for the sky.

Once everything was painted I used polyurethane to give it a good protective coat. Three layers, sanding between coats.  For the record? It was smelly and hard to get smooth. I now use Polycrylic on projects. It doesn't smell as bad and goes on smoother.

Looking at these photos now I can see problems with Jazz man. The perspective in his face is off and I don't like the angle of the sax. Why do I always see these things after the fact???

My boss was happy with the gift and that's all that really counts, right?

Hand Painted Family Tree

 My daughter asked me to paint a family tree on a her future mom-in-law's wall. She had just moved in and had seen the family tree idea on the internet. I'd done murals in my own home and painted scenes on my big bay window during the holidays or Superbowl so I figured I'd give the tree a try.

As soon as I walked in I wanted this wall. It was the first thing I saw walking in and thought it might be give some dramatic flare to the entrance. It's a hall going from the kitchen to the living room but visible from the front door and to me it looked like a perfect canvas. Lucky for me the owner agreed.

This is plain black paint. Branches and trunk went up first. Then leaves everywhere! Both were painted with a flat brush. To give the tree a more finished look I finished off this family tree by painting some thin wispy branches throughout. (Liner brush) I think they gave the tree a finished look.


 Time from start to finish was four hours. A good meal was the perfect payment. Yum! And she bought my favorite gluten free cookies!

 Finished tree ..................................... ~~~~~~>

Laying out the frames! 

At Halloween the tree got a little batty!
(removable vinyl stickers)

Painted Tables for the Patio

When my daughter bought her own house we got her a few housewarming presents, but I also wanted to get her tables for her screened in patio. I went shopping everywhere but all I could find were super expensive tables that really didn't look like they were worth what was being charged. I don't mind spending a buck when the item is worth the price, but none of the tables we found added up to what I was looking for
.
So the wheels in my brain started turning...we could make the tables! Hello Home Depot!

I purchased two plastic flower pots, two round pre-cut wood tops and a can of blue spray paint. A quick visit to Michaels (My fav store!) to pick up some craft paint for the flowers (red, yellow, and white) and a can of gloss acrylic sealer.

Placing the wood disks right side down on the floor, I lined up the pots in the center, and screwed the pots to the tops. Use a short screw. Just long enough to secure the top without going through it.

Once it was all together I gave it a quick, light sand and wiped it down with a damp cloth. After giving it an hour to dry, I spray painted everything blue. It took two coats to cover. Then let dry over night.

I used chalk to trace out the flowers and just started painting. Blending the dark red with white to get some texture, I used a one inch flat brush for the whole thing.

Dry 24 hours (some people think acrylic should dry longer but I never had a problem waiting just one day) and then spray with acrylic sealer. I sprayed three times letting each coat dry for a few hours in between. Take extra care to coat the top because it will get the most wear and tear.

Now there's a cute set of Hibiscus tables on the patio for a fraction of the cost and I had some fun painting!

Confession; Hibiscus have five petals....oops! It's okay, the cat likes it.