My Self-Guided Canvas Experience

My Self-Guided Canvas Experience

“Deryl, you got to try painting a self-guided canvas”. I was spending an afternoon with family and friends at Pinspiration North Orlando. What? Who me? When was the last time I painted? Well, we had just recently repainted my son’s bedroom wall. I know, that does not count. Wait! I did take an oil painting class back in high school. How many years ago was that? Believe me, it was a long time ago. Would I remember anything?

This craft uses acrylic paints. Okay – about the only thing I knew about tempera paints is they are water based and therefore easy to clean up. (spoken like a true mom) Not exactly a ringing endorsement for a new medium for an art project. What the heck, let’s try it.

I selected a beautiful poinsettia design – since red is my favorite color and I love flowers. The first step is to trace the design onto your canvas using the non-brush end of my paint brush. Would this be the highlight of my brush technique? Let’s hope not.

So far so good. If I had one of those easy buttons, I would be hitting it now. Next came painting the contrasting background. In my case it was a bright phthalo blue with a sort of haphazard brush pattern. Next, I was supposed to go over that blue with random brushes of red. Really? I read that twice and referred to the picture and yes – that was correct.

Next step was to paint the green leaves framing the flower. That’s when I discovered my mistake. Oh no! I had mistakenly painted one of the leaves of the flower bright red like a petal instead of a leaf. Now what? I was too far into it to start over. I had laid down too much red paint to attempt to paint over it.

That’s when I remembered my son’s motto from the Marines. Improvise, adapt, and overcome. So, I continued, finishing the painting, adding the colors and textures from the instructions as best I could. Sadly, I kept looking back at the original. Did mine look as good? No way. Especially with the missing green leaf. I was bummed.

We left the painting overnight to dry. The next day, my husband brought it home. Hey – that’s not so bad after all. Without the original painting to compare it to, it looked pretty good. Now, where was that missing leaf? I did not even miss it. I think I will frame this! It is colorful, red and has a giant flower. I find it absolutely joyful.

Sorry, I am not including in this blog in the photo of the original picture to compare it to. But if you want to see the original, go to Pinspiration North Orlando and ask them to show it to you. And, while you’re there, why not paint it or one of their many self-guided canvases. I would love to see your creation – and I don’t care what it was “supposed to” look like. Just reply to this email with your picture.

Thanks for including me in your day!

Sincerely,

Crafting Queen,

Deryl