Create a Family Painting!

 I find that I get so caught up in "working" that I forget to have fun.  Been there?  And then I look at Pinterest and I think, "Sure, if I had time I could do that, too!"  So this fine Sunday afternoon, I took my family up to the studio and forced them to hang out with me while I made a Christmas present.  A month late?  Yes, but we were blessed with Plum District Deals a few days before Christmas, so family had to understand that, and thank goods they did. 


My Mother-in-Law (Maria) said that all she wanted for Christmas this year from us was a painting by me.  Pressure?  Nah... "Anything specific?" I asked.  "I can't think of a thing - just something by you," she said lovingly.  This is both an artist's dream and worst nightmare.  For me, personally, if you look at my other works, you become familiar with my style - it varies!  From time to time, from person to person, it seems different.  But today, I was inspired.  I decided to paint something for Maria that was super personal.  Her 3 children are all accomplished and moved out.  Her grand-kids are growing - she is, once again, defining herself as "Maria" and not as "Mom" or "RiRi."  And I wanted my painting to reflect that. 

I used the following to create this piece:

• 16x20 canvas

• Sponge brush, big flat brush, small flat brush, round brush

• Gesso

• Acrylic paints

• Acrylic medium

• Scrapbook paper/stencils/stick-on letters (either/or)

• Scissors

• Exacto knife (or stencils)

• Tweezers (interesting, huh?)

• Mod Podge (you know you love it)

I started with a store bought 16x20 canvas.  I used a sponge brush to add an extra coat of gesso.   I always do this - it provides a smoother canvas and doesn't absorb your paint as quickly.  Using a roller would've been quicker, but I couldn't find it.

Then I began with the background color - I mixed the color with the medium so that it would spread easier.  I knew where my main image would be so I was lighter in the middle with my gray color.  Now add your tree outline with your darkest brown.  I don't have any formal training in drawing, painting or art, so one who does will likely argue with me (I'd love your input).

Use the little brush and just make light strokes and add lots of little branches to fill the tree out.

Now I'm using a hard bristled round brush and dabbing the green for the leaves onto the branches.  I started with a Kelly green.  Since I wasn't going for a "realistic" look with my tree, I wasn't concerned about making my leaves perfect or just right on the branches.  I just wanted to fill the tree in for my background.

After you fill in your green on the tree, choose an angle for the light to hit it.  Shadowing & Lighting:  There are whole courses on this.  Basically, if the sun comes down from the top right corner, shade the bottom left of stuff.  Just go outside and look around at how things are shaded.  It's a beautiful thing to see.

Ok, so you can 3 shades of green on the tree now.  I went over the tops and on the right side with a lime green.  I did this because I wanted the tree to be brighter off of my gray background.  Same as with the other 2 greens, I just dabbed it on with my brush.  Dab, dab, dab....  Now our background is done.  Time to prepare your words while your paint dries.  Acrylics dry quickly, which is one reason I love working with them!

I had to make my own stencil because I only have 2 cartridges for my old fashioned Cricut.  However, this was the MOST tedious part of the whole thing - cutting out the stencil and then each little letter.  Had I planned ahead, I probably would've splurged on the new cartridges.  

You only need to flip it backwards if you want to draw on the back side of your paper choice.  Mine was textured and I did.  So I printed on a plain white piece of paper.  Cut out with an exacto knife, traced onto my textured paper and then cut out the word "Family."  

There are tons of glues but one of my faves and go-to (especially for thin papers) is Mod Podge.  It's a crazy love I've had for it since college years.  

I printed the rest of the words onto sheet music (my Maria was a music major).  I printed them with only the letters outlined so you could see the pattern of the sheet music.  You could also print them in reverse on the back side of your paper.

Once they were laid out where I wanted them, I used tweezers (they were tough to handle!) to pick them up, put the Mod Podge on them with my fingers, and place them back onto my canvas.  Jett took this photo for me.  He's pretty handy as a 4 year old photographer.  

I could've stopped here, and according to my husband, I should have.  But I didn't want to because it was so much fun.  I found photos of the 2 hometowns of my parents-in-law.  I printed them on 3M Transparency Film.  I painted a little white into both of the bottom corners so the images would show up a little better.  Then I used some E6000 glue (awesome stuff) to put a tiny dot in each corner and put on the canvas.  

I used purple to outline "Family" and around the edge of the painting to give it a little bit more color.

You can do this, too!  Paint a pretty background of anything and then either use a stencil, a cricut, or stick on letters and put a saying on there.  It's a fun way to get creative with you kiddos and to create something that will last a long time! 

What do you think?  Be sure to sign up for our newsletter while you're here.  Our creative side lets us continue to grow Kidzies with new products and designs - you can be the first to know!   Happy creating.  Leave any comments or questions!