abstract art, take two

On my list of things to do in the master bedroom is find art for over the dresser.  

Since the vaulted wall is nearly sixteen feet high, I was looking for a large piece of art.  Unfortunately, large pieces of original art that I like generally run thousands of dollars. Even mass produced art that size is still upwards of $500.  

I thought perhaps the kids and I could try our hand at an abstract piece of art.  I bought a 48 x 48 inch canvas at Michaels with a 40% off coupon, and some acrylic paints.  I painted the canvas with two coats of gesso first.  Gesso is just a thick white paint that puts down a protective base so that the canvas doesn't soak up the paint.  On top of that I painted the entire canvas Valspar's Wink Pink.  

You can see the first attempt here.  I let the kids go to town with foam sponge brushes.  It looked like I had let the kids go to town with foam sponge brushes.  It wasn't quite what I wanted, and the colors weren't quite right.

For the second attempt, I painted the canvas Wink Pink again. I bought some ketchup-type squeeze bottles, put about a teaspoon of paint inside, thinned it out with water, and squeezed the paint over the canvas a la Jackson Pollack. 

For this painting I focused on pinks and corals and oranges, with a wee bit of green and blue.  At the end I thinned out some shiny gold craft paint and dripped that over it, then misted a slight coat of gold spraypaint over it.

The best part of this art is the cost.  I bought the canvas with a thick edge, although you can get a canvas with the thin edge for about a third less.  I used a 40% off coupon, so the canvas was about $50, and I bought about $20 worth of acrylic paint, a $13 quart of Wink Pink, and six squeeze bottles for $10.  So the cost of this piece of art was about $93.  If you used a thinner canvas and craft paint, you could do it for under $50. 

I also spraypainted my formerly navy blue jewelry box the same green as the lamps.

I know what you're thinking--these curtains would look perfect with this room, right?  Funny, I was thinking the same thing! 

Master bedroom to-do list

White upholstered headboard

White night stands (one and two)

Pictures over night stands

Small mirror over night stands

Paint gourd lamps

New lamp shades

Patterned pillow shams

Art or mirror over dresser

Larger lamp for dresser

Art next to window

Pictures in hallway

New bedskirt