When In Doubt, Call It Abstract

I love abstract art. Because anyone can do it. Sometimes I think “abstract art” was invented to help minimize awkward situations of unidentifiable subject matter. “Oh, it’s abstract!” seems to cover a multitude of sins. Which is totally cool by me because it means that more of us can consider ourselves artists! Haha, just kidding all you real artists out there- I know abstract is totally a legit thing. But thanks for giving all of us rookies a chance to be in the club too. 🙂

My mom is an art teacher, so by law I should be able to whip up a masterpiece at the drop of a dime. While I can be creative and crafty, I think my drawing skills leave something to be desired. Just take a gander at this lovely self portrait I constructed back in the day (circa ’03).

Maybe portraits don’t tickle your fancy. In that case, can I interest you in this depiction of a vase of flowers?

And if that is not the granola to your yogurt (which is crucial, especially if you’re on a no- sweets kick like us), how about this snapshot of paradise?

Or if that doesn’t spin your globe, maybe this montage of prints and patterns will…

Please note: The title that my childhood self chose for that last one was “Concentration”. If nothing else, my art had a little sass to it. 🙂 So, what do you think? Was I a budding Picasso? Yep, it’s nice to have some room to grow in my craft… oh, the luxury.

So my painting skills can use some practice. And what better way to give them some than to create a piece to hang smack dab in the middle of our Family Room Gallery Wall for all who pass through to see? Not to mention the WorldWideWeb. If you remember (from this post), we hung a collection of frames in the family room and then proceeded to do nothing more with them for MONTHS. Not to worry, though. We had an abundance of fake family members, all cheery and smiling to keep us company. Oh, and some swans. With the thrift store price tags still on them. #classy

As stunning a display as that was, eventually it came time to do something about ridding the frames of generic placeholders and random people in exchange for some more personalized options. And thus, my adventure into painting a little ditty for the wall. I just wanted something with color, movement, and texture. Something simple, but happy. Carefree and fun.

All I used for this project was a canvas from the craft store, a small (flat) brush, and some craft paint. I had everything on hand so this one was a freebie (yay!), but even if you had to buy all of your supplies, you could do this for under $10.

To start, I squirted a bit of each color on my palette plate and then just went to town dabbing my brush in various colors and making small vertical strokes on the canvas.

There’s really no rhyme or reason to this… I was just going with the flow and seeing where I ended up. Eventually, a turquoise and coral theme emerged (shocker), with a touch of oh, every other color of the rainbow. 🙂

After I experimented with all of the colors, things began to streamline into a pink side and a blue side with a touch of crossover on either end. The finished product turned out pretty cool, I think!

Happy? Check. Movement? Check. Carefree? Check. Colorful? Check, check. Fun? You bet! I’d say this little project was largely successful by those measurements!

The only thing left to do was wait for it to dry, pop it in a frame, and hang ‘er up! This was the first of a few fun projects to fill our gallery wall (can’t wait to show you some of the others!) and it definitely happys up the place a bit. Smiles abound.

As you can see, there are still quite a few frames that need a fillin’, so keep your eyes open for more installments of Frame Art, brought to you by yours truly. And no, this one probably won’t make the cut… as flattering as it is. 🙂