Porches should be pretty! Mine is a happy place for us to gather, enjoy the sunshine, and relax. I always like to use art in unexpected places, so the porch is no exception. I had a painting that I repurposed from another location out there- it was fine- a red bird on a limb, but seemed tired and lifeless. After a fun excursion to the Salado Art Show on Saturday, I was inspired to brighten it up!
I wasn’t sure where I would go, thought some flowers would be good and a little sunshiny yellow. I painted over the whole thing in yellow first. The ”old” design showed through a bit. At first I thought I would just go with that for a layered look. I added some flowers, played with color and stepped back. Next I add some details to the flowers, but it was still not right. Suddenly I knew that the old bird on the limb needed to be part of the new painting. I painted over the design using green for the branches this time. The bird got a new coat of red paint, and I made him a little bit fatter, then added a bright blue eye.
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By now it was starting to come together, but I’d really like a bit of turquoise to go with my turquoise garden stool. So the swirls came next- the project already reminded me of Create Whimsy, so why not use Lynn’s design in my Sunday afternoon creation? Lastly I added some bold turquoise polka dots, and I think it is finished! I hung it on the porch and admired my work. It is bright and happy and makes me smile! Mission accomplished!
After doing the picture, the plain blue and white bird pillow on the glider looked tired too. It has been out there a few years and has faded. I wondered if I could paint it too. I really have nothing to lose. If I don’t like it, it was looking worn out already and is easy to replace. So using the same color palette, I fist colored the stem green and the bird red, but it was too plain to go with my whimsical painting, So the flowers were added, but it still called for more- the leaves came last and I think it is done. Opps, the bird needed a bright blue eye too!
And, my finished look on my new pretty patio!
So now, my porch art has been refreshed.
But, as I looked at it more, it was time to evolve! Here is the evolution of a porch painting….
So I reused an old canvas and painted a bright and happy porch painting. But it wasn’t quite right. Inspired by Expressive Flower Painting by Lynn Whipple, and by Lynn Woll’s Hurricane Flowers and Life in a Fish Bowl, I decided to work on it some more. I added charcoal to provide more definition and pastels to deepen the color and give more texture. Here it is now. There might be another iteration coming!
Try a porch painting! You really can’t mess up. If it is happy and makes you smile, it is good. If you find you don’t like it or just want a change, add to it or start over. With canvases on sale at Michaels for half off and a collection of art supplies you can feed you inner artist! It isn’t a big investment and is so much fun. You might find your mind solving other issues in your life as you free yourself to just create! I hope you join me on this adventure!
The bright painting and pillow join my flock of pink flamingos and metal pig in making my garden a happy place! And best of all, I had a fun afternoon repurposing some tired accessories and feeling the joy of creating! What are you going to do?
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