Small Paintings Triptych Part 2 of 2

Yesterday I published the first of two blogs on how to turn some discarded wood off-cuts into decorative works of art. This follow-up blog will give you the final steps in the process.

We prepared the three mini paintings to go on top in yesterday's blog. We also painted the background blog with Universal Undercoat to prepare the wood. This was then left to dry overnight.

To kick off today's painting, we start by painting the whole background block acrylic Yellow Ochre, using a large flat brush. Take care to paint the sides of the board as well. Leave it to dry.

I use a stencil (that I found in the plumbing section of a hardware store years ago) and use two of the colours I used in the mini paintings to ensure unity in the project. The colours I am going to repeat are Buff Titanium and Raw Umber. This will be applied with a stencil brush.

Lay the stencil on top of the background wood.

Because this is not a big project, I don't bother with a palette, but use the lid of the water bowl instead. I squeeze a dollop of each colour onto the lid/palette.

Working with a dry brush, I dip the brush in the Buff Titanium and tamp the excess paint off on the lid. Never overload a brush when stenciling, but use as little paint as possible. You can rather go over the stencil a few more times, than to overload. Overloading will cause the paint to leak under the stencil and make smudges.  I stencil the top third and the bottom third with the Buff Titanium.

The middle third is stenciled with Raw Umber. Remove the stencil carefully when done and clean the stencil and brush immediately to prolong their lives.

Use wood glue to stick the mini paintings to the background.

Time to think of hanging the artwork. There are lots of items on the market, but I find that Eureka has the widest range. This is again a matter of personal preference.

Turn the painting over and measure 1/4 from the top. Hooks for paintings are always inserted 1/4 from the top according to museum standards. Make sure you measure the same distance in from the sides for both hooks. As always, I use my trusted metal ruler.

Time for the hardware. Hammer the nails in, making sure to line the hooks up with your markings.

When done, you can simply attach a string and hang your project on a peg on the wall.

For more crafty ideas and great products, visit APrettyTalent.com.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making PRETTY things.
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