I had a few days off when we got back from Barcelona on Tuesday night (still trying to sort out pictures! my phone is simply not cooperating) and I’ve thrown myself into a couple little projects which has been lovely. As much as I love my job, I could so get used to staying home ;)
Anyway, I’ve made some progress in the bedroom and I’m looking forward to sharing everything with you (including the IKEA Rast hack which is very very near completion now) but I thought the first one I’d show is the new painting I did. I really wanted something a bit larger, brighter and bolder than the framed print that was there (seen here) and I picked up the largest canvas from Dunelm Mill that would fit in my car – a whopping 1 Meter x 1 Meter (about 3 ft 4in square) It’s difficult to show the scale of it in these pictures but suffice it to say, it’s big.
So some closeups first… I used a lot of Yellow Ochre in this one to tie in the colour of the yellow velvet headboard but also tried to pick up some of the other colours in the room too.
I actually went through three stages of thinking it was done and then going back and adding more to it. I think the more layers it had, the more depth it had and so the better it looked.
Here’s a slightly wider shot…
And here’s the whole thing. I decided to call it Confetti, Rising because to me, it looks a bit like a celebration as the confetti gets thrown into the air.
People have asked how I create my paintings but to be honest, it’s such an organic process, it’s kind of hard to give a step by step. I start with a layer of white paint over the whole thing just to prime the canvas and then layer on top of that with colour in short brush strokes – adding white and black to create varying shades of colour and also mixing colours as I go, making sure there is a good contrast of light/white and dark/black. I also used three different paint brushes on this one – one for my golds, one for my blues and one for my reds but to be fair, they all get mixed up anyway with each brushstroke so after a while, I clean the brush with a bit of paper towel and continue on my way. That probably doesn’t help does it? Hmm. I told you it was hard to explain.
I do rather enjoy the process though, however haphazard it may seem, so I guess that’s all that counts, right? And I’ve discovered that I prefer working with much larger canvases than the smaller ones.
Anyway, come back soon and I’ll share how it looks in the whole room along with the other bits I’ve changed in there! And hopefully my camera will allow me to download the bl**dy pictures so I can share those too.
If you want to see some of my other paintings, you can see them here and here.
love love love<br />the painting<br /><br />well done<br />for getting out your brushes<br />and dusting off your creative side!<br /><br />{alison}
Looks fab! Love all the colours against the dark background. I haven't painted anything large-scale in ages, but this might just inspire me to start again… :-) xo
It's beautiful! I love the colors you selected, so deep yet bright. I really like the cluster of oxblood in the bottom corner and how it carefully shows up later in the painting. Great Job!
dude. sell these. for realz.
Fun! Great way to bring all the colors of the room together. And I can imagine that this size canvas works much better on the wall than the former print.<br /><br />I love abstracts, and have been intending to paint one myself for some time now. Recently I took down a canvas mass-produced painting that is of substantial size. I just wasn't feeling it any more. Maybe I need to re-use the
Another jaw dropping painting!! Love the name too, seems very apt. You have inspired me to have a go Kimberly – I'm possibly the world's worst artist (which is a shame given my chosen career…) but I will try!!
beautiful, red!<br /><br />i created some wall art this week, and it felt so good to be back in the saddle. there is nothing quite like living the creative life.<br /><br />smiles and hugs to your talented cute self.<br /><br />michele
Love it – confetti rising is brilliant.<br />Happy day to you sweets, hope the sun shines, here it's grey:)<br />Axxx
Another lovely painting, you talented lady! Beautiful colours; they work so well in your bedroom. And a perfect name for the painting! xx
I'm gonna say it again – you need to sell these girlfriend!
Hey girly, I adore your paintings! Video tutorial, video tutorial! I still have yet to attempt one, with my move, life has been crazy and I've kind of given up on my blog for now. I've been focusing more on my jewelry, so once that gets going, I will probably have a new site! Even though I'm not commenting as much anymore, you're still my favorite blogger, xoxoxo.