"This is for you to paint when you feel up to it," my friends said, as I unwrapped an acrylic paint by number kit.
For a year, it sat in my closet, until this month, when my symptoms finally lessened enough to allow me to pick up my brush. The painting took about 20 hours to complete, but I loved every minute of it. I had found something I could do even when I was too foggy to read, my throat hurt, and my body ached.
For a year, it sat in my closet, until this month, when my symptoms finally lessened enough to allow me to pick up my brush. The painting took about 20 hours to complete, but I loved every minute of it. I had found something I could do even when I was too foggy to read, my throat hurt, and my body ached.
Once I was finished with the painting, I knew it was only the beginning of my journey of painting with acrylics. They dried fast. They weren't very messy. They didn't require much clean-up or set-up. I could easily put them away when I needed to rest.
A few days after I finished my paint by number, my dad came home from Walmart. "I bought some mini 2"x2" canvases," he said. "I'd like you to paint 5 for each day of the work week to display by the employee coffee pot. I'll put out a new canvas out each day--that's how they'll know the coffee is fresh."
A few days after I finished my paint by number, my dad came home from Walmart. "I bought some mini 2"x2" canvases," he said. "I'd like you to paint 5 for each day of the work week to display by the employee coffee pot. I'll put out a new canvas out each day--that's how they'll know the coffee is fresh."
We brainstormed what I should paint. Eventually, we decided on a sailboat for Monday, a kite for Tuesday, hot air balloons for Wednesday, a plane for Thursday, and a rocket for Friday. Our logic for the order of the paintings? You start at ground level and "sail into the week," then you go higher and higher into the sky until Friday, when, boom, the rocket takes off.
I used a pencil to lightly sketch an outline onto each canvas and then painted the pictures. These mini canvases are sold with magnetic backings, so I plan on making some as gifts that people can put on their refrigerators.
I used a pencil to lightly sketch an outline onto each canvas and then painted the pictures. These mini canvases are sold with magnetic backings, so I plan on making some as gifts that people can put on their refrigerators.
Here are a few more paintings I've done this month. I copied the snowmen from a Christmas gift bag and the sunset from an oil painting I'd done years ago. If you're looking to learn to paint and live in Westmoreland County PA, I highly recommend the Norwin Art League, where I learned to paint with oils years ago.
Do you paint with acrylics? What tips can you share? Where do find inspiration for your art?
Do you paint with acrylics? What tips can you share? Where do find inspiration for your art?