Tag Archives: flowers

Working with the Non-Dominant Hand

Standard

My Crafts and Cocktails group loves to play with different crafts together. One member of the group recently broke her right thumb and is in a cast. In a nod to Karen’s dilemma, we decided to each bring an inspiration photo of flowers in a vase and replicate it in acrylics using only our non-dominant hand. I had a few slips, resorting back to my dominant hand, but the effort loosened me up and made me laugh. Here’s mine — inspiration photo and replication.

Red Flower Mixed Media

Standard

 

This project was the epitome of crapsmanship — working, reworking, and reworking until I get something pleasing. My original intent was to do something abstract in black, white and gold. Strangely enough, I started with a baby blue background on an 18X24 canvas. I had read that starting with an unexpected color can add interest. The picture below isn’t my canvas, but it does show you the color I began with.

Read the rest of this entry

Spring Flowers

Standard

Sometimes, you crap something up so irretrievably, you’ve just got to start over.

The pic below was my beginning. The more I added embellishments, the crappier it got.

I just didn’t like it. So out came the black gesso. I painted the canvas completely and then added colored marks with stencils and acrylic paint.

Using a palette knife, I added white flower petals and green leaves. I painted on stems and some centers to the flowers. Once I was happy with the look, I placed the picture in a white frame with a white mat. Now it looks cheerful and spring-y, and I’m happy I didn’t settle on the crap I first started with!

Mardi Gras Centerpiece

Standard

img_6482Being a Louisiana girl, I wanted to switch out my dining room centerpiece to a Mardi Gras-themed floral arrangement. I already had the gold pot, and Hobby Lobby was having a sale on floral greenery.

img_6464Twenty dollars later, I had a green silk plant, some yellow and purple flowers, and a few Mardi-Gras-colored stems. With a piece of syrofoam in the bottom of the pot, wire cutters to disassemble all the plants and flowers, and 15 minutes of work, I had this beauty.
img_6463The photos aren’t flattering, but the centerpiece looks great in my dining room!