Can anyone guess my new favorite pattern?
At the beginning of March, I resolved to paint one of the pieces of canvas that I was given for Christmas. Since I've never painted before, I figured I would start with something simple. This tri-colored chevron pattern was just the trick - using tape allowed me to play with my design without committing to anything too early.. tape is much less permanent than paint!
Supplies Needed:
Canvas or some sort of surface
Masking Tape
Scissors
Pencil
Exacto Knife
Not pictured: Paint (three colors of your choice), a paintbrush or foam roller (unless you use spray paint), and a drop cloth.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
1. First, you need to draw your guide lines. I don't have a picture of this step but it's pretty self-explanatory: Just pencil in some lines to represent where the "points" of the chevron pattern will meet.
2. I wanted my lines to be thinner than the roll of painter's tape I had, so I used an exacto knife to cut the tape in half on the roll. You can skip this step if you want chunkier lines.
3. Place the tape. Cut it to size.
a. Place the strip of tape where you want it, being sure to line it up with the corners of the strips around it
b. Use a pencil to mark where the line is
c. Use scissors to cut on the penciled line
d. Make sure the cut piece of tape lines up with the pre-drawn line (I wasn't super strict about this step, but in hindsight, I wish I had been)
4. Tuck the tape around the back when you get to the edges, like so:
5. Paint in blocks, using about a third of your canvas for each color.
6. After your paint is dry, remove the tape. The exacto knife comes in handy to lift up the corners of the tape so you can peel it off.
 |
| Ta-da! |
Lessons Learned:
I was a little bummed that so much bleeding occurred around the edges of the tape (especially with the red paint). I'd envisioned a much crisper final product. I found that the brushing motion brought up the tape in some areas, and in others I think the paint pooled up around the tape and seeped under. I think next time I would use spray paint or a foam roller to ensure thinner, more even coats of paint. I also would have done a second coat on the lighter colors. The tan in the middle is especially splotchy.
So even though it didn't turn out as crisp as I would have liked, I'm pleased with the final product. It's very obviously home made, but in a charming way. At any rate, it looks good in our living room!
What about you guys - any recent painting/crafting projects? Have you ever made anything that didn't quite turn out how you'd envisioned, but in the end you still liked? Tell me about it!
I love this! I may have to to this to put on my *blah* empty wall in my room:)! Thanks!:)
ReplyDelete~Kelsie @Bella Ragazza
http://december23rd-kelsie.blogspot.com/
This is really cute! I have a few canvases that I've never used, and this is definitely giving me some ideas!
ReplyDeleteI like this. It's quaint and simple but in a good way. I want to try it.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing a craft thing that you may like - it's a daily journal thing where you write one sentence or so about how each day went. I can't describe it well but you could check it out if you want to. I call mine Days to Celebrate because of the box I used - http://i-makebelieve.blogspot.com/2012/01/days-to-celebrate.html
Have a great day/night/whatever it is when you see this. [=
Recently, aside from all the cooking I've been doing, I've been sewing. I made a rice bag for a friend of mine who's been having some back problems out of a pair of work pants that ripped. I'm thinking I'm going to take it and some of the other pants I have that I like less and turn them into skirts. It's finally getting warm here, so I can justify doing it!
ReplyDeleteHey Kelli - I found your blog because my son loves Messy Mondays. :) Anyway, wanted to pass along a tip that might work for your art next time... When we paint two adjacent walls different colors, we use the blue painter's tape to mask off wall A before painting wall B (imagine the tape completely covering wall A side and right against the corner where wall A meets wall B). Then we paint a thin strip of wall A color on the wall B side, right up against and even slightly over the tape. Yes, it bleeds under, but it's bleeding into the area that's already painted that color. We allow that thin strip to dry completely, then paint all of wall B the intended color. Peel off the painter's tape and "ta-da!" no bleeding!
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, I've never worked with canvas, but I'd think you could do something similar - an all-white (or base) color before taping, then another thin layer over the tape to account for any bleed-through, and let it dry. Then do your actual colors, and peel the tape.
Just an idea for you.
I'm so glad to have found your blog. Sounds like we have lots in common in our pursuits.
What a great tip! Thank you for sharing it.
DeleteA tip for your project if you decide to tackle it again: I am a Visual Arts student and we had to do a project similar to this as a technical exercise about optical illusions, and so a lot of us struggled with the weeping of the paint between the tape lines. Be sure you are using real Painters tape (it looks like you are, but I find the green ones work better than the blue ones) Also, make sure your paint is acrylic from a tube, like the Golden brand, which is quite thick rather than the more liquid consistency craft acrylics. Another thing you might want to consider, is instead of cutting the strips to the exact length you want and doing the whole thing at once, try keeping the strips longer so the tape overlaps and provides more coverage, and just doing small sections at a time. Jennifer's tip about masking over what you have already painted after it is dry is also good and something our teacher suggested to us. The board you are using should be fine, but make sure you give it a couple of coats of gesso first. When you buy the boards from the store they are rough and so the surface is not smooth and the paint will seep through the little grooves the tape is not able to adhere to. 3 or so coats of gesso should make a smooth surface for you and so the tape will bond to a flat surface and will prevent bleeding. Oh, and make sure to lightly sand in between coats of gesso. I hope you find this helpful (and that it is not too pretentious sounding), the project is great and the colour you chose are super cute! I love your blog, I too found you because of Messy Mondays which I absolutely adore, tell the boys I said "Hi" and that you are all doing a great job! <3
ReplyDeleteWow, thank you for all the wonderful tips. You didn't sound pretentious at all! I'm glad for the perspective of an art student. I always wanted to take a painting class in college but I was so intimidated by the people in the painting department at my school that I just never did it. NOW I see how foolish that is, but back then it seemed like a good reason to steer clear, haha. I am glad you like Messy Mondays and I'll pass along your greetings! :)
DeleteI love this idea!!! I'm a huge art person, and this is an AWESOME idea!! Thanks Kelli! :D
ReplyDeleteI think the bleeding colors looks cool :)
ReplyDeleteTHATS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I soooooooo wanna try this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI think thats so pretty! Definitely going to have to try that:D
ReplyDeleteI drew a humming bird earlier in April. I'm not very good at drawing, but it turned out great! Practice makes perfect. No matter how bad you think you are, as long as you enjoy it, keep doing it no matter what anyboby else says. You will get better as you continue. Love Blimey Cow too. Keep it up( the videos, and the crafts)!
ReplyDelete