28 February 2009

Sharpie Art & A Quiet Rainy Saturday


It's a quiet day. The last several days have been sunny & warm, but today is overcast & chilly. There's even a light rain coming down.


It's a good day to stay in & enjoy the peace. Vino fell asleep on the love seat, and there are no sounds except the quiet piano music of Linford Detweiler. It's our favorite relaxing music. I've just been dinking around the kitchen today, making coffee, washing produce.


Taking photos.


Speaking of taking photos, I finally got around to taking some of a project I did almost a year ago. So easy, so cheap! Not as cheap as free, but they can't all be. In the building where we live, there is a commons area just outside our apartment door. We needed some art for the dining area, so I purchased a blank pre-stretched canvas and some tan-ish colored paint. I painted the entire canvas tan & let it dry (which took a long time because it was oil paint, which I don't like very much because it's stinky, inconvenient to clean up...and takes a long time to dry). Next I planned out something to draw on the canvas. I got the idea for the flower style from this image:


I found it online somewhere, but don't rememer where. Anyways, I did a mock-up in Photoshop of how I wanted the flowers to look on the canvas, then printed it out on regular letter size paper. I did some scientific eye-balling to transfer the design from paper to canvas. Basically, I just looked at the paper & drew it freehand with a pencil on the canvas. By the way, pencil doesn't erase well on oil painted canvas, so it's good to get it right the first time! When I was happy with the design, I traced over the pencil with a fabulous artist's tool...the Sharpie. I think Sharpies are underrated. There are a gazillion things you can do with them! I am not ashamed to admit that I have given my hair ghetto "auburn" low-lights with a red Sharpie. It works, and it stays in. It's probably not really good for your hair, though, so I wouldn't recommend trying this at home (although I probably will do it again). Anyways, back to the artwork. Here's the finished product with close up and extreme close up so you can see that it really is a Sharpie drawing and that I didn't do it perfectly:


My intent was to fill it in with white paint, but I never got around to it. Lazy crafter. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. Especially when our friend Noelle, a Nebraska friend who visted us last year, said, "Hey, that looks like something I'd pay a lot of money for at Urban Outfitters."

AND, my day was made.

15 comments:

Shelley said...

I love your art work. Great idea. I really like the bottle in the first picture too. (Maybe you can bring one back for your sister)

Erin said...

I just found that bottle at the store yesterday! I have no idea what makes the water inside special, but I LOVED the bottle. We're going to use it to keep cold tap water in the fridge, after we drink whatever is inside of it. I may have to go back and get a couple more to bring home, but probably empty. I MAY bring one home for my sister.

Adrienne of Noon To Two and Handmade By Ade Etsy Shops said...

AaaHaaaHaaa! Your "auburn" low-lights cracked me up! That's great stuff.

AnNicole@Our Suburban Cottage said...

I love the first photo with the bottle. Your art solution is so great too! I may have to TRY to copy you.

Hey, I got your message. As soon as I get my thoughts together I'll send you an email with ideas.

Have a great day!
AnNicole

Unknown said...

Haha, and I ABSOLUTELY would!!! Will you do all the art for my first house? Please??

ps-miss you guys!

n

Jen said...

It does look like something that would cost so much at Urban Outfitters...very impressive!

Rachel Lundy said...

Wow. Good ideas for the Sharpies! You are so creative!

Maria Killam said...

That is so impressive! Such a great talent to have - what a wonderful piece of art you have now!

Maria Killam said...

That is so impressive! Such a great talent to have - what a wonderful piece of art you have now!

Irene ~ RE~VINTAGED said...

Great Art idea!....and when you have had enough of it you can repaint the canvas and draw something else! Cheers, Irene x

Kim said...

Came across your blog. I'm curious - what type of camera do you use? My last couple of posts have been about my search for a new camera.

Liz Harrell said...

I'm SO impressed! I love this idea! And wow, the idea of using a sharpie on my hair just opened a whole world of possibilities. :)

Irene ~ RE~VINTAGED said...

Hi again Erin, thanks for popping by! Let me know if you want a quick class in making your own Fabric wall Art - very simple :) Irene

Sandy said...

Great job on art! Thanks for visiting me today over at Inspired R - I love that your hubs is in to entertaining :)

angela | the painted house said...

#1 I love that cutting board wood piece thingy on your counter.

#2 I love, love, LOVE your Sharpie art.