Basic Pointillism

I was browsing Pinterest and came across this tutorial for making a string chandelier, but it wasn't the chandelier that caught my eye, but the painting in the background. I knew I had to recreate it, because let's face it, the apartment is pretty bland right now.

  I tried to track down the owner, but the URL 

 couldn't be found. If anyone knows the blog,

let me know so I can properly site them.

 

What you'll need:

- Canvas
- Paints
- Brushes
- Paper
- Pencil
- Pallet

 

Prep Work

To start, you'll need to paint your canvas with whatever background color you've chosen. Green is my favorite, plus it goes with the spring like theme I'm trying to create. You really only need three colors for this work: white, black, and your main color (green). The main color can be changed based on your shape. Even the leaves I could see as red or orange for fall. Maybe a blue background with white leaves, if you want a more winter look.

While you wait for the background to dry, go ahead and grab your paper. With a pen or pencil, draw out the shape that you're going for. I chose leaves, creating two sizes for variation. For symmetry's sake, fold the paper in half to create a mirror image, rather than free handing the whole thing.

Stars would be another cool idea. Maybe elephants!

Once the canvas is dry and you have your shape of choice, take a pencil and trace your stencil onto the canvas. Go crazy! It doesn't have to be perfect. I wanted mine to look like a tree, so I made sure there was a certain flow to the leaves.

Don't worry about the pencil lines, they should be covered up by your paint.

Painting

Now the fun, yet tedious part, painting your shapes!

Mix your colors on your pallet. I just used a plate and mason jars, because that's just how I roll. Dip the eraser end of your pencil into the paint and go to town. 

 This is what the finished product will look like, ish. It really depends on your color choice, shapes, spacing...etc. 

Unity Painting

I've only been to a few weddings in my lifetime, but I was never a fan on the Unity Sand ceremony. It just seems like a bad idea to me. What if the cork comes out or you knock it off the shelf while cleaning sometime in the future? As a klutz, I can't trust myself with glass figurines, especially something that would become so priceless. Which brings me to the Unity Painting, same thought process, but its art work for your new home! 

What you'll need:

• Canvas, any size you like
• Stand
• 2 acrylic paints of your choice (remember they're going to be combined)
• Jars
• Paint tray
• Water

If you want to get fancy with it:

• wax paper
• painters tape
• printer
• paper
• scissors 

So what do I mean by "get fancy with it?" Rather than just the plain paint, the fiancee and I decided to place tape cut outs on the canvas to peel off after the paint had dried. If you don't want to do this, skip ahead to the next section.

To do this, you'll need to take a sheet of wax paper and cover the waxy side with the painters tape, overlapping the strips to prevent gaps. I made mine about the size of an 8" x 11" piece of computer paper.

You can skip this part if you like, but to make it easier to shape the lettering I created a Word document with the text I wanted. The bolder the font, the better!

Its easier to leave the longest, straightest line on each one for last

Now for the back/neck aching portion, lay the printed sheet over the wax paper and cut out the lettering. I decided to leave the middle parts of numbers and letters, like "6" or "e," but that's totally up to you.

Artistic Preference

Before you peel off the wax backing, place your lettering where you think its best. Go ahead and use a ruler to mark a base line in pencil. It might take a while, but peel off the wax backing and place the letters/numbers as you like. Try not to touch the sticky side of the tape too much.

Now that the hard part is done, run your finger over the lettering to make sure its good and secure. Can't have the paint running under it.

 I used tweezers

Tah-dah! Your unity painting is now prepped for your big day: wedding or art project, either way!

 

Core of the Project

Set your canvas up on its stand with a paint tray (cardboard box) underneath. Make sure the canvas isn't touching the prongs, as it will create weird lines at the base of your art.

Mix your paint with an appropriate amount of water in their respective glass jars. You'll want the paint to be very runny for this, so just experiment till you find the consistency you like. We ended up doing a 50/50 mix to get the acrylic to not clump.

With someone holding the canvas steady, pour the paint at the top of the canvas, overlapping the colors so they mix. Now all that's left is to let your masterpiece dry, which could take a few days, depending on how thick your paints are.

Once its dry, peel off the tape! I used tweezers for this.

Voila! New art work!

This one is our test run before the big day. We figured why not create a matched set. The one from our wedding will have our last initial on it. 

Update: 

So, I didn't really like the original colors that I had used and decided to redo this project.

Rather than use a blank canvas, I placed the lettering as described above, but then I painted the canvas a nice chocolate brown. This insured that the lettering would show up better once the tape was peeled off.

 The best part is, no one will see the tape this way!