Monday, May 14, 2012

Words to live by...

 It really isn't crooked, it's my lame photography...
      Sometimes I see something I really like and want to duplicate it, only with my special twist on it. This is one of those projects. I've come across a lot of quotes and scriptures that I'd like to have as visible reminders, but I don't want them all over the house, mixed in with other art. I finally found an idea I liked and got started. I'm really happy with the results, even if it did take a lot more time than I had originally anticipated. I chose my quotes and scriptures, then decided how large I wanted each one. I used 1" x 5", 1" x 8", 1" x 10", and 1" x 12" boards. I painted most of them black and a few of them antique white for contrast. Of course the lettering took a while. I like the hand painted look for most things, so I did almost all of it by hand, rather than using vinyl lettering. Vinyl is great for some things, but I didn't want these to look manufactured, I wanted a less than perfect appearance. The white boards have the lettering applied using the Mod Podge reverse transfer technique (tutorial here: http://matsutakeblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-to-transfer-inkjet-images-to-wood.html), rather than hand lettering, but all the black ones are painted. I love that it covers a large space on a large wall (approx 45" x 45"), but it also adds a nice graphic touch that doesn't look too shabby or too impersonal. Now what can I paint next?