Happy Hour : Nothing Like a Blank Canvas
Every been in a restaurant when it turns "Happy Hour?" You notice the mood instantly changes as everyone is ready for fun. Whenever I'm having a Bad Hair Day, my cure is always a personal Happy Hour. Of course, I'm hopeless addicted to interiors; so for me, this hour is all about decorating. In this series, we'll look at some quick and happy mood changers for our very own Happy Hour. Each should take about an hour - a mere 60 minutes - to perk up our minds and our rooms. Let's get the party started.
I'm not a fan of a TV backed into a bare corner. Years ago, I bought a 36" x 72" stretched canvas at Blick Art Supplies in Oakland, took it home via P's van, painted it with leftover kitchen cabinet paint and gold paint, hung it behind the TV in the living room and called it a day. Easy Peasy. Who knew it would be so much difficult this time around?
Now that the gigantic stereo speakers are gone, the wall opposite the TV is begging for attention. So a few weeks ago (in March, 2023), I called Blick's to see if they had the same size canvas in stock. It was and on sale ($105). Unfortunately, they do not offer delivery. The van is long sold, it wouldn't fit in my car and I was soon wondering if I could get an Uber van to pick it up.
The very next morning, this message magically appeared on NextDoor. Turns out, Max lived in the neighborhood. He picked up and delivered it to my garage the very next day.
I brought out various paint samples I had. What to do?
@jeremiahbrent
I had a couple of inspirations. This painting was on Jeremiah Brent's Instagram account. A 6-year old could paint this. Even, me!
1stdibs.com
Another idea was a take on the paintings of artist, Hunt Slonem. "In the early 1980s, Slonem began working on a new series of so-called "Rabbit paintings." The idea for this critically acclaimed series[14] came to him after he had discovered that the year of his birth, 1951, was the year of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac calendar."~ Wikipedia.
Gosh, I'm also a Year of the Rabbit baby and have a few statuary rabbits around the house. By the way, the little rabbit (15"x20") above is for sale for $9,250 (antique frame included). The record for a larger piece is $78,000.
Hunt Slonem is also famous for paintings of exotic birds and butterflies. I had saved photos of two of his butterfly paintings. Maybe a happy butterfly painting would be nice.
I painted the canvas the same color as the kitchen cabinets and the edges with some leftover gold paint. Then I cut out two butterfly patterns and traced on the canvas.
After I drew on the butterflies, I dry-brushed acrylic white and gray paints and used black chalk to create a muted butterflies.
Guessing I'll add some background but I need a bit of time to figure that out.
Here's the painting leaning on the wall. If I decide I don't like it, I'll just start over. Hope this gives you some inspiration that ANYone can do this. Just wish I had a six-year-old in the house. For right now, I'm happy I'm not looking at a blank wall. Have yourself a great Sunday!
Well, that painting was a bit too boring. I added acid yellow stripes for a pop of fun. Looking forward to sunny days.
Update - 10/2023. Everything was rosy until the fall weather came along. Butterflies just didn't seem right so I used my kitchen cabinet paint and brushed it on. I left shadows of the butterflies on the canvas.
Just in time for Portland visitors, Ellin and Fletcher. Loved that, after looking around, Fletcher said he liked the two panels. Me, too!
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