A winner and art in progress

The other day, at Cost Plus, I saw a piece of art (image no longer on the site) that I liked, which was not really art. It was a low quality, unsaturated print of a piece of art onto flimsy canvas. And for something that wasn't the greatest quality, it was $129.

And while I'm not an artist, meaning I couldn't paint a picture worth hanging up, this piece was a geometric design. I'm glad I took a second look, because after taking a couple pictures with my phone, I decided to COPY it. And make it better.

This project is not for the faint of heart, by the way. If you don't have the patience for careful measuring, then don't bother. I'm not very creative on my own, but I am close friends with precision. I guess you know that already.

Canvases were half price at the craft store. And I bought this T-square with a coupon.





And dude. I got excited butterflies in my stomach just at the chance to buy one of these.





Where hast thou been, sweet compass from Freshman Geometry? You are so much fun.

{Of course, my kids begged me to use it as soon as I opened it. I said No. Not until mommy is done with her masterpiece. Then I'm okay with someone ruining it within five seconds.}

Just so you know, my craft store total for the tools, paint and canvas came out to $40.00. Yes! $90 LESS than the store version. Happy happiness.

My canvas was 24" x 36". I purposefully bought one with sides divisible by 4, since I knew it would be easiest to measure and mark off a grid of 4" squares.

Then over the my pencil-lined grid, I brushed the whole canvas and sides with a mixture of neutral paints, grey and parchment colors. I left one area unfinished, on purpose. I liked how on the Cost Plus art the pattern sort of faded into an unfinished section on one side.

Then came time for the compass. Did I mention how fun a compass is? I set the radius to 2", and then began swinging my circles over the dried paint, following the grid that still faintly showed through. I drew circles in most every square, and circles centered on the intersections, where 4 squares meet in one corner.

The intersecting circles form these petal-like shapes. And this is where my pretty paints come in.




I'm still in the process of filling the petals in. It is taking longer than I expected (big surprise). But the colors look so amazing. So much better than the Cost Plus version, and fully customized to my house.

I can't wait to find time to finish it this week! I'll for sure post a picture. But it's been a good lesson to learn - you don't know if you can do a project unless you try. It may take more time, but it takes a LOT less money and you get such an incredible sense of accomplishment. I realized I didn't simply copy the Cost Plus art. They gave me an idea, and I made it my own. The result is something I'd much rather hang in my house.


And as for the "i heart summer" giveaway, Erin Woodgate was the winner! Erin, please email me at Lnp0202 at aol dot com and I can mail you your prize!! Aren't you glad you came over from Wildflowers? ;) Yay for you!!