Updated Library Art

You may recall that on my last post coming from the library (aka dungeon) I wasn’t happy with how the artwork turned out on the back wall. For one thing, I didn’t paint over what was previously on the canvas so when I stretched the material over it, you could still see the other design. Not good. Also, the design (a stitched design using my sewing machine) didn’t really stand out enough and so you couldn’t tell what was going on.

I was planning on just painting the canvas and then re-stretching it but I got a better idea. Just to remind you, here is the previous picture of the bunk artwork:

And my new inspiration, a rug from West Elm.

I love this rug. I think it’s so cool. I also thought it would be something I might be able to paint. Since, as I have said before, I am not an artist nor am I pretending to be one!

First, I took off the offending fabric and painted the canvas a soft gray color. Once the canvas had dried, I made myself a template from cardboard of a quarter of a circle. Then I smeared paint all over my cardboard and, using it like a stamp, pressed it onto my canvas. I decided on orange paint to bring a pop of color to the wall. After I had my repeating pattern all stamped onto the canvas, I used a paint brush with the same orange color but a little bit brighter and smeared some more paint onto the canvas in the stamped parts. By using a color that was just slightly different, it feels more like artwork and you don’t really notice it unless you look close up. I also used crazy brush strokes to make it feel more like an oil painting (even though I didn’t use oil paint). After it dried, I hung it on the wall!

I like it so much better than the previous one. The whole time I was making it I kept thinking of this poster. How funny :)

So, the library is slowing getting finished up. Plus I found a lamp this weekend to replace the one that is in there. I will do another thrifting post soon and show you my fun finds along with the new (old) lamp. But for now, this is all I’ve got :) Happy Tuesday!!