As a kid, I loved to paint; pictures, walls, you name it, I loved to paint it. Most kids love to paint, especially when they're painting something that is either theirs and/or that they can give as a gift.
For a while, I was the hostess for birthday parties at a local arts and craft store. One of the most popular activities was painting something. Each kid was intrigued with designing their own creation, and everyone looked forward to taking their masterpiece home, whether it was a picture frame, a wooden box, a tee shirt, their painting on a canvas, etc.
Another thing about kids, is that they also love to wear their creations, if it's clothing of some sort. So I invite you to consider Outline Drawings on Aprons as the canvas for their next creativity session.
Why aprons? The material that aprons are made of isn't stretchy like tshirts, making them easy to control as the coloring process proceeds.
There are many aprons that can be ordered with outlines already printed on them. Kids can paint them in, add to the design, and then get to wear them! They can wear their aprons when they help out in the kitchen, do a messy project, and/or for more painting. It's a win win.
I ordered aprons from Zazzle, with pre-printed outlines on them, to test them out. They are made of sturdy cotton, and lay nice when painting on them. A piece of solid cardboard placed under them is best to keep the paint from bleeding through to the underneath surface. The cardboard can also be taped to the back of the apron, to help keep it in place, while painting.
Here's one of the samples of designs that you can find at my CherylsArt store on Zazzle:
You can use acrylic fabric paint, acrylic paint with fabric medium already mixed in, and or acrylic paint markers. The acrylic paints do a great job for painting on fabric; and there are lots of colors to choose from. You may need to heat set the painting once it is dry, so check the labels on the medium that you choose for the recommended method.
Do test the paint markers on a scrap fabric piece or at least some scrap cardboard to make sure that the paint flow is working. If it isn't coming out yet, press the paint tip down on the scrap material a few times, and then try drawing with it on the scrap material first before painting on the apron.
Check out more outline aprons in my CherylsArt store on Zazzle:
Happy Creating.
Cheryl Paton
CherylsArt writes reviews on a variety of products that she has purchased and/or owns.
Showing posts with label art supplies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art supplies. Show all posts
Friday, March 4, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Use watercolor pencils for a color drawing, before painting with acrylic paint
Watercolor pencils work great for making a base drawing, for when you want to paint it in with acrylics and/or watercolors. A big plus is that you can now have your base drawing be in color, making the drawing so much easier to paint in. This comes in especially handy when making a rather large and/or intricate drawing.
The watercolor pencil markings will blend right in with the acrylic and watercolor paint. Any exposed watercolor pencils markings, can be wiped off with a damp paper towel after the paint has dried (when painting on a canvas or such surface with acrylic paint,) giving your painting a nice clean and blended look when finished. No more dark pencil marks showing through or smearing in with the paint!
I've used black drawing pencils before, and it had blended in the dark of the pencil with the acrylic paint, which I then had to go back over again and touch up. Using the watercolor pencils alleviated that extra step.
If you're looking for a watercolor pencil with a good grip, I recommend The Ergosoft watercolor pencils, by Staedtler; this link goes to Amazon. These watercolor pencils have a thin rubber type coating on the outer layer of the pencil. The body of these pencils have a rounded triangular shape, which I also find pretty comfortable to hold.
I just use a regular sized pencil sharpener to sharpen them.
Cheryl Paton
The watercolor pencil markings will blend right in with the acrylic and watercolor paint. Any exposed watercolor pencils markings, can be wiped off with a damp paper towel after the paint has dried (when painting on a canvas or such surface with acrylic paint,) giving your painting a nice clean and blended look when finished. No more dark pencil marks showing through or smearing in with the paint!
I've used black drawing pencils before, and it had blended in the dark of the pencil with the acrylic paint, which I then had to go back over again and touch up. Using the watercolor pencils alleviated that extra step.
If you're looking for a watercolor pencil with a good grip, I recommend The Ergosoft watercolor pencils, by Staedtler; this link goes to Amazon. These watercolor pencils have a thin rubber type coating on the outer layer of the pencil. The body of these pencils have a rounded triangular shape, which I also find pretty comfortable to hold.
I just use a regular sized pencil sharpener to sharpen them.
Cheryl Paton
Friday, August 27, 2010
Painting People in Acrylic with Lee Hammond
When I first started painting people in acrylic, I looked at the photo and made my best guess with the skin paint colors that I had on hand. Once I got the book, Painting People in Acrylic with Lee Hammond, I opened up to more color possibilities. I added orange, blue and red; not the normal colors I had normally added when painting skin tones.
With the practice exercises of painting spheres, my blending techniques also improved.
This is the first face painting I did after practicing some skills that I learned in Hammond's book.
There are some things I would do differently now, were I to paint this boy again; however I am pleased with my first attempt with the skills I learned then.
If you're looking to take your skin painting skills in acrylic to the next level, I recommend this informative book by Lee Hammond, Paint People in Acrylic. It covers tips for painting skin as well as fur, brush maintenance, blending techniques, and more.
Paint People in Acrylic on Amazon
Cheryl Paton
With the practice exercises of painting spheres, my blending techniques also improved.
This is the first face painting I did after practicing some skills that I learned in Hammond's book.
There are some things I would do differently now, were I to paint this boy again; however I am pleased with my first attempt with the skills I learned then.
If you're looking to take your skin painting skills in acrylic to the next level, I recommend this informative book by Lee Hammond, Paint People in Acrylic. It covers tips for painting skin as well as fur, brush maintenance, blending techniques, and more.
Cheryl Paton
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Plastic Artist Palette Can be Good for the Environment
I use a variety of artist palettes when I paint, i.e. a clear one if I want to do color matching, a closed lid one for longer term projects, and a plastic well one for most of my acrylic painting projects.
I use the plastic well one the most, as it is small; that works well for my space. I usually paint on canvas sizes that are around 8-1/2 x 11 inches, so it also holds pretty much the amount of paint that I need.
The other thing I like about the plastic wells, is that once I'm finished painting, I set the palette aside and let the paint air dry. (I actually have several of these in case I'm working on multiple projects and/or at different times.) Once the paint is dry I peel the dried paint out of the wells. Most of the paint peels off pretty easily, and the rest I do a few scrapings with my finger nails, or quickly wash it out with soap and water. That might seem a little time consuming; however, I'm keeping less paint from being washed down the drain. Then it's only what is coming off of my brushes that goes down the drain, so I see that as an environmentally friendly thing to do.
Plastic Artist Palette on Amazon
Cheryl Paton
I use the plastic well one the most, as it is small; that works well for my space. I usually paint on canvas sizes that are around 8-1/2 x 11 inches, so it also holds pretty much the amount of paint that I need.
The other thing I like about the plastic wells, is that once I'm finished painting, I set the palette aside and let the paint air dry. (I actually have several of these in case I'm working on multiple projects and/or at different times.) Once the paint is dry I peel the dried paint out of the wells. Most of the paint peels off pretty easily, and the rest I do a few scrapings with my finger nails, or quickly wash it out with soap and water. That might seem a little time consuming; however, I'm keeping less paint from being washed down the drain. Then it's only what is coming off of my brushes that goes down the drain, so I see that as an environmentally friendly thing to do.
Cheryl Paton
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