HOME DECOR DIY: Wood Rainbow Love USA
I made this wood rainbow love USA art piece back in March, but keep forgetting to share it here. I forget what was going on newswise that inspired me to make it, but it was likely a LGBT related event. Anywho, our house is very supportive of human rights, so I wanted to make an art piece that symbolized unity. I figured with all the crazy political stuff happening now, that this would be a grand time to share a statement of love. DecoArt has these cool Media Misters that are a bit like spray dye and paint combined. They are fabulous for blending colors. This is a good project for working on blending skills. A little blending goes a long way, so don't get too crazy, or you won't have defined colors. I have to remind my art students about this, because often there's muddy colors, tears, frustrations, and starting over. But hey don't cry on this project, or your colors will get diluted...hehe.
SUPPLIES:
DecoArt provided me with their products for this project. Some of these supplies are Amazon Affiliate links. Any purchases made through these links will result in Amazon paying me a small commision. This money goes to pay for projects.
1) Lay a plastic tablecloth on your work surface. Pour a little water into each of the bowls. Add a foam brush to each bowl. Wet the wood with a foam brush, to make the mister spread easier.
2) I worked right to left...light to dark colors. Spray the mister onto the wet wood. Work in and blend the color with the wet foam brush. The bright green along New England is a mix of Yellow Green and Turquoise. The orange is a mix of Yellow Green and Magenta. The dark purple is a mix of Violet and Cyan. I mixed the colors on the wood by blending them together. Let the wood dry completely.
3) Pour a little of each 6 rainbow acrylic paint colors onto the paper plate. Add a little water to each paint blob. Dip the stiff paintbrush into a paint color. Hold the brush in one hand. Using your other hand, rub a finger along the bristle end, flicking paint at the wood. Add more water to your paint if the paint isn't flicking well. Too much water makes the paint too sheer, so find a good paint to water ratio. Clean your brush after each paint color. I tried to flick contrasting colors onto the color sections, so the splatter would show well.
4) With the white pencil, write "Love" in cursive. I had mine end in a heart at Richmond, VA, where I live. Draw a heart wherever you live.
5) With the liner paintbrush and honey brown paint, go over the white pencil. I also painted the state of Virginia. You are probably thinking, "I could just skip this step and go straight to gold." Nope. To get an opaque gold, a brown undercoating it needed. Trust me, I've tried to just gold route, with endless coats that are still patchy and sheer. Save yourself tears, and do the brown undercoat. If you're doing silver, you need a grey undercoat. Slate Grey is great with Platinum Silver.
6) With the liner paintbrush and Champagne Gold paint, go over the brown paint.
7) Once the paint is dry, hammer two evenly spaced sawtooth hangers onto the back, along the bracer slat. Lay the piece on a wall and gentle rub it a little against the wall. This will mark where the sawtooth hangers are located. Hammer in a nail under each sawtooth hanger mark. I hung this up in the foyer of my home, with various paintings that my family and I have made. The lighting isn't good there for me to photograph the display.
That's all for this tutorial. Normally I'd say "Pick whatever colors you want", but this project is actually color specific for unity symbolism. Still you know, do what you want. You can pick WHERE you place colors, and what color you paint "Love". With all of this being said, you could alter the text and colors for a different meaning. For our house, we're very inclusive and full of love. Whatever you're making, have fun with it. Happy Makery!
SUPPLIES:
DecoArt provided me with their products for this project. Some of these supplies are Amazon Affiliate links. Any purchases made through these links will result in Amazon paying me a small commision. This money goes to pay for projects.
- Rustic Wood USA Map
- DecoArt Media Misters in Primary Magenta
- DecoArt Media Misters in Primary Yellow Green
- DecoArt Media Misters in Primary Cyan
- DecoArt Media Misters in Shimmer Violet
- DecoArt Media Misters in Shimmer Turquoise
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic paint in Carousel
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic paint in Bright Orange
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic paint in Primary Yellow
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic paint in Festive Green
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic paint in Calypso Blue
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic paint in Lavender
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic paint in Honey Brown
- DecoArt Dazzling Metallics paint in Champagne Gold
- 2 Sawtooth hanger and 4 small nails - Buying sawtooth hangers in bulk online, is actually MUCH cheaper than a set of two in a store. Been there, done that.
- 2 - 1 1/2" - 2" nails - For hanging the art
- 5 Foam brushes
- 5 Bowls
- Pitcher of water
- Plastic tablecloth
- Paper plate
- Paper towels - For cleaning brushes and surfaces
- White pencil
- Thin liner paintbrush
- Stiff paintbrush - The cheap stenciling brushes work great
- Hammer
1) Lay a plastic tablecloth on your work surface. Pour a little water into each of the bowls. Add a foam brush to each bowl. Wet the wood with a foam brush, to make the mister spread easier.
2) I worked right to left...light to dark colors. Spray the mister onto the wet wood. Work in and blend the color with the wet foam brush. The bright green along New England is a mix of Yellow Green and Turquoise. The orange is a mix of Yellow Green and Magenta. The dark purple is a mix of Violet and Cyan. I mixed the colors on the wood by blending them together. Let the wood dry completely.
3) Pour a little of each 6 rainbow acrylic paint colors onto the paper plate. Add a little water to each paint blob. Dip the stiff paintbrush into a paint color. Hold the brush in one hand. Using your other hand, rub a finger along the bristle end, flicking paint at the wood. Add more water to your paint if the paint isn't flicking well. Too much water makes the paint too sheer, so find a good paint to water ratio. Clean your brush after each paint color. I tried to flick contrasting colors onto the color sections, so the splatter would show well.
4) With the white pencil, write "Love" in cursive. I had mine end in a heart at Richmond, VA, where I live. Draw a heart wherever you live.
5) With the liner paintbrush and honey brown paint, go over the white pencil. I also painted the state of Virginia. You are probably thinking, "I could just skip this step and go straight to gold." Nope. To get an opaque gold, a brown undercoating it needed. Trust me, I've tried to just gold route, with endless coats that are still patchy and sheer. Save yourself tears, and do the brown undercoat. If you're doing silver, you need a grey undercoat. Slate Grey is great with Platinum Silver.
6) With the liner paintbrush and Champagne Gold paint, go over the brown paint.
7) Once the paint is dry, hammer two evenly spaced sawtooth hangers onto the back, along the bracer slat. Lay the piece on a wall and gentle rub it a little against the wall. This will mark where the sawtooth hangers are located. Hammer in a nail under each sawtooth hanger mark. I hung this up in the foyer of my home, with various paintings that my family and I have made. The lighting isn't good there for me to photograph the display.
That's all for this tutorial. Normally I'd say "Pick whatever colors you want", but this project is actually color specific for unity symbolism. Still you know, do what you want. You can pick WHERE you place colors, and what color you paint "Love". With all of this being said, you could alter the text and colors for a different meaning. For our house, we're very inclusive and full of love. Whatever you're making, have fun with it. Happy Makery!
Comments
Post a Comment