As we move into our 3rd wave and ever closer to the holidays I wanted to share with you a great gift idea {for others &/or yourself} that will provide hours of creative fun in the safety of ones abode. It’s hard to believe that this painting started out as a plain white canvas with just lines and numbers. It was so exciting to be able to transform that canvas into a custom painting of my dogs Arabella and Ezemé.
I have to admit, I had A LOT of help on this. A friend of my gave me this fantastic paint-by-number kit from Pink Picasso because the German Shorthair dogs, Remi and Reese {below}, look so much like mine, though Arabella and Ezemé are their French cousins called Braque du Bourbonnais. But, there are much more than dogs to paint! Scroll down to the bottom for some of the other great paintings. But before you do that, let me show you how the painting progressed.
While “paint~by~number” may not sound very creative, it was actually interesting to follow the guide to comprehend the complexities that go into such a work of art. For instance, there were 7 shades of green that made up the grasses and backgrounds. I started with my favorite shade and began filling in the numbered sections.
After making some progress in the greens, I noticed how big the sky segments were and decided it would be gratifying to get that portion completed using the 3 different shades of white to pale blue paints they sent.
As I filled in more of the greens the complexity of the grasses and mountains unfolded. They provide PLENTY of paint! At first I was painting in the portions sparingly, afraid of running out, but when I saw how much paint they provided, I went back in to filled in the spaces a little more, being sure to conceal the numbers and the lines. So, if you do this, don’t hold back on the paint.
The golden shades brought depth to the landscape and helped to define the outline of the dogs. The deeper shades of green created the indentations of the mountains.
To customize the piece I took shots of the dogs left side, here is Ezemé’s profile.
And here is here she is on the canvas. I actually went back in after this shot and layered more white over the darks spots to make her coat more like hers.
This shot helped me to get their markings and the color layers.
Next it was Arabella’s turn. She actually has the more desired “ticking” for the Braque du Bourbonnais. They breed them so that it looks like someone splashed a glass of Merlot wine over their coat.
Once each step is dry, it is easy to roll up the canvas and pack up the brushes and paints to bring them along with you. Painting helped to make a recent ferry ride go by so quickly.
Once again, there are SO many different, beautiful kits you can buy, all come with nice brushes, canvas and plenty of paint. Click on kits to browse through their beautiful florals, like this Happily Hydrangea and enticing landscapes like this one of the Amalfi Coast.
How is your holiday shopping coming along? Next post will be a gift guide! Do you have any recommendations I should add? Please let me know.
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