Now y’all know that I am not generally a fan of anything crafty. I mean, I’ll happily support other people in their craftiness, and occasionally I get the urge to cross-stitch because I used to cross-stitch when I was a teenager and I seem to experience bouts of cross-stitch nostalgia, which, by the way, is TOTALLY A LEGITIMATE MEDICAL CONDITION. But as a general rule I stay far, far away from the following:
– glue
– specialty scissors
– specialty papers
– beads
– Modge Podge
I just don’t like projects that involve repetitive or detailed steps. I don’t want to open up a craft kit and see 500 sequins. Because if there are 500 sequins inside a craft kit, that means those 500 sequins are supposed to BE USED FOR SOMETHING, and the thought of putting 500 sequins in their proper place makes me want to pull my ear all the way around to the front of my face so that I can then scream in my ear about HOW MUCH I HATE HAVING TO PLACE 500 SEQUINS.
Not that I have particularly strong feelings about really detailed crafts or anything.
But one artsy / crafty thing that I love to do is paint. You know why? It’s not structured. It’s loosey-goosey. It’s devil-may-care-ish. There are no rules, no steps – just colorful, happy fun. There have been MANY times over the last few years when we’ve had company and I’ve pulled out a big ole canvas (I buy them on sale at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby) and a whole bunch of paint and said, “All righty. Let’s visit and paint.” And that is exactly what we do and my walls are very grateful.
Anyway, this past Saturday morning I was in the mood to paint, so I covered the kitchen table with an old sheet and told Alex to pull out the paint and I grabbed a couple of used canvases. I usually have a couple on hand because 1) they are playdate GOLD and 2) inevitably somebody from said playdate will start painting and not finish or have to go home or whatever. Which is why my canvas looked like this on Saturday.
I’ve tried to figure out how many different kids have painted on this particular canvas. I believe the number is three. Maybe four. And in case you’re wondering, my favorite part is where it says “KIKI.”
Here’s my painting partner-in-crime.
I like the way he thinks he has to wear a tool pouch when he paints. And after I took this picture, I said, “Why did you pose like that?” and he said, I KID YOU NOT, “Because this is what Travis does when he sings.”
For the record, he has never in his whole life ever seen Travis sing. And yet he was oddly DEAD-ON.
It made me so happy.
Long story impossibly endless, I poured several different shades of blue and green onto a plastic plate because, well, I love those colors. And then we painted and we painted and we painted (Alex also had a canvas, and he painted a loopy caterpillar that also looks like a rollercoaster, but he’s not finished yet), and after about an hour, I decided that the painting, it was done.
It wasn’t good, mind you, but it was done.
And here’s the best part: there’s been a nail in on particular part of the wall of our living room ever since we moved here, and I’ve never found the right thing to hang there. But after I finished painting some stripes of some colors that I really like on a used canvas with a whole bunch of cheap acrylic paint, I walked in my living room to see if the impromptu stripe-y painting would work.
And lo and behold, it did.
Fun, inexpensive, relaxing – it was a crafty win, internets!
And it didn’t even require any sequins.
You could have titled it “my hidden talent,” because it’s fantastic!
i love it!
beautimus! (-:
Love that!
Your painting is beautiful – I’m inspired! I too have trouble with multiple steps in a craft project. Mainly because I am WAY into instant gratification and because I have the attention span of a gnat. But I may try the canvas thing again. I have several upstairs in the Oh look, something shiny!
SWEET ! ! !
I don’t think there is one single thing you can’t do…you are blessed!
Talent,you got it!
Ps.First time commenting but I am a long time reader and I mean it you have many talents.
Very fun! Wish I lived within a hundred miles of a hobby lobby to get a cheap canvas … ;)
I absolutely love it! I know what I am doing this afternoon!
What a great idea to do with the kids! Your painting is so pretty and goes great with your walls.
That is perfectly beautiful!! Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful. Sorry to say, I didn’t get the crafty gene. :(
Beautiful!
Now I’m an artist and thought it was lovely! And for the record, I’m not a fan of crafty things. People think that I would totally dig scrapbooking, but really I’d rather poke my eye out with a pencil. But, all I could think of when I was reading this was the Van Gogh paint by number that everyone of the girls painted for Julia Roberts in Mona Lisa Smile. See, you could roll with paint by number. It isn’t loosey goosey. It is structured and if you paint outside of the line, it may even yell at you!
:)
Add glitter to that list of craft no-nos, and I’m with you! I also have a love/hate relationship with hot glue…
Your picture turned out great!
Those are my favorite colors!!!
And I want to see you pull your ear around your face and yell in it.
that came out just perfect! i love it, feel inspired by it!
Great job! How fun – and by the way, if you ever do pull your ear around to the front of your face to scream your dislike for sequins, please remember to take a picture and post it. : )
Blessings!
It looks great! You don’t give yourself enough credit. I wish I could just casually paint something like that. Nice work. And I love the artist pose. :)
I don’t know, Boo. I think it’s missing something…something bling-y…sequins, perhaps?
Just kidding! Love it! (I lack the crafty gene too, although I went through a wicked cross-stitch phase in the early 80s – before I had kids!)
Love you to pieces!
Wow. I love it! I just may have to give the paint your own artwork another try. The first adventure resulted in something that accidently looked like the Pepsi logo. My husband saw it and said, “It’s the choice of a new generation!” Not the look I was going for… I’d take a picture and show you except that I covered that canvas with a piece of sari from India, so that I can stand to look at it…
Love the stipes! I’m totally doing that!
I
LOVE
THIS!!
I love the idea for a playdate, I love the toolbelt for painting, I love the visual of you yelling in your own ear, but most of all I love the painting.
I have been thinking about buying a canvas and playing around for a while, but have been too chicken. I am more of a cross stitch and crochet girl. I like the structured, non-messy crafts!
kisses
s
Beautiful paintings! And the Travis like Pose? Priceless!
Who did the painting of the dog faces behind him? It’s precious, too!
I LOVE it!! How can we win one of those? :) I love his Travis impersonation, he’s so dead on!!!
You know what? I go into a slight case of hyperventilation when I even think of anything crafty….and the sequins are the least of my worries. I have, however, toyed with the idea of doing some paintings, but it just scares me. A LOT. You have inspired me though. I just may give it a try. If a fellow craft hater can do it, maybe I can too.
Maybe.
I almost sweat when I go into Hobby Lobby because there are sections of that store that make me crazy. Lets just say that as I read the first 2 paragraphs about sequins and stuff…my heart started beating faster and I almost couldn’t finish the post. I could hardly read about it.
Anyhoo…the artwork is FABULOUS!!!!!!!!
I love you. You make me laugh so hard.
I love the newest painting!! I started painting after I read one of your Works For Me Wednesday (way back when) where you talked about having people over to paint. I have several paintings hanging in my house, now. Thanks for sharing!!!
I’ve long admired your ability to slap some paint on a canvas and make it look like some expensive abstract wall art–I’ve fallen so far off the crafty bandwagon (and have such perfectionist/fearful tendencies) that I’m even afraid to do THAT. I might mess it up, and just the thought of it makes me go all neurotic and have a seizure.
I love it! Like Anne from “Anne of Green Gables,” it would appear you have indeed dusted off your ambitions and brought forth some beauty in the process.
I’m being dead honest. I really like that! How easy and fun!
And I have to admit that I too am not a complicated craft lover. My mother is a WONDERFUL cross-stitcher (like…county fair grand champion wonderful) and when I get a desire to do a cross-stitch project, I kid you not…I look to see how much of one color there is in a row. If I’m looking at 30+ x’es of green for 15 rows, forget it!
I just did this Monday with my boys! We had the best time. I even let them paint their hands and feet and make pictures that way. Love your picture!
How fabulous. I hate the idea of 500 sequins too. I also have the same cross-stitch disorder.
I really love the idea of having your guests paint while you visit. I tried it once, and it was a big FAIL with my family. :-( I’ll try again, though, because it’s such an awesome idea!
And I love this painting! I, too, reuse canvases, but my re-art doesn’t ever look this good!
You’ve got mad skillz, BooMama! :o)
love it – love it – love it
ooo! i like it! :)
LOVELOVELOVE it! And that little boy with his finger in the air is just too much!
That is so funny! I hope Travis somehow sees that!!! ;) What a great idea to let kids paint on canvas’s when they come over! never thought of that!!
Most excellent and perhaps it could have been titled “I hate crafts except when they are fun”? Your painting is a great example of art – it expresses what you feel and what you have to work with (felt like painting and had canvas AND paint). You are a hoot but oh my goodness that boy is a hoot ‘n a holler!
Okay, that is way too cool! I love it! What a great idea…would you mind if I stole, I mean *borrowed* it? =)
P.S. What a GREAT idea for playdates!
I think your painting is Fab-uh-luhs! I wish I could paint, but strangely enough my attempts at painting usually end up looking like a 3rd grader colored a book cover- flowers, sun, feeble attempts at bugs, etc.
I want to add that I really think you should give Mod Podge a shot. I think you’ll LOVE it!! And it can’t get any easier than Mod Podge, I promise. You may even want to Mod Podge your cabinets before it’s all over.
Oh, the ‘stretching of the ear’ line. My word, BUW WA HA HA!!!
More reasons to love you…
You like BLUES AND GREENS and I just LOVE blues and greens because they remind me of the ocean. And of course I LOVVVEE the ocean.
And I can totally relate to your conversational skills. Well, I consider talking really fast nonstop a skill. Not that I know for sure that you talk fast, but that’s the way I read your posts. ;)
I can totally relate.
That is beautiful! Great fun!
That’s lovely! And I’m not just saying that because I’m secretly laughing… it really is! Terrific! :)
I Love It!! You should defiantly paint more and sell them on ebay,or etsy,or the Metropolitan Art Museum….or maybe just a yard sale. But whatever. :)
I love this post so much.
So pretty. I really need to get out the canvases I bought for a “welcome home Empress” project LAST YEAR and have a go at it. I might be too anal-retentive OCD perfectionistic to pull off a project like that, but I bet my compulsive free-spirit kids sure could!
Painting on canvasses(new & used) is one of my favorite things in the world to do! I had a painting party with a friend just this past Wednesday. In fact, your invited to my next one! BYOC!
Hey, that’s pretty! I’ve seen them do paintings like that on HGTV shows, and always think “I could do that!” but I never have. I love the idea of having some canvases around for whenever the mood strikes. Did you ever think you’d inspire your readers to do something crafty??!! Well, you have!
I L-O-V-E it!! It’s just the kind of thing I like. I love abstract yet very geometrical. In fact, I set out a few months ago to see if it was possible to create that sort of artwork myself (I wasn’t sure if I could do it since I don’t have an artistic bone in my body), and I loved it (story here: http://www.graspingforobjectivity.com/2009/01/it-wasnt-as-hard-as-it-looked-like-it.html)
So THEN since I loved it so very much, I went to Michael’s and bought a bunch more supplies, with lofty visions of doing this all the time, covering my walls and giving gifts.
You know how many I’ve painted since then? NONE. I have spent not a single second painting.
So, I have all these painting supplies and none of the time to go with it.
So I think that we need to have a blogger get-together painting party!
You’re growing! Next thing you know I’ll have to send you one of the 84 (yes, 84) pin cushions I have made up and stuck in my craft closet, a fact which only proves that craftiness is not far removed from insanity. ;)
I love, love, love the painting. It could only be better…if it had sequins. ;) Or perhaps rhinestones?
Looks like a Mark Rothko paiting….very cool.