I’m back and playing catch-up on this 7 day Make to Create challenge. I have been creating daily, but haven’t been able to post my results here on the blog.

Let’s do this, shall we? On with the challenge!

Day 3’s project theme was a painting project.

I had always wanted to create an abstract painting. Using some acrylic paint, basic painting brushes, and an 8.5×11 canvas from my local craft store, I created this abstract painting playing with color. Below are the paints I used and the setup I created on our dining table.

Simple right? Ok newbie painter here…did you know that to get the teal-ish color you mix blue, yellow, and green with a little white? Seriously, mind blown! I thought it was just blue and white (Yes, I now know that just makes light blue). Anyway, I was so excited to find that out. hahaha!

And for the final painting reveal! To be honest guys, this left me feeling so proud that I am considering it good enough to display in my home. Seriously…

Things that worked:

• Just start. Let me tell you, it took a long time for me to just start and once I did, the creativity flowed.
• Have fun! I let expectations go on this one. I have seen different inspirational abstract arts all over the web I wanted to copy so I decided to choose colors I liked and then dropped globs of it around my canvas. Then I smeared it with a paintbrush and a plastic knife (as an alternative to a paint spatula).
• Be ok with imperfection. A big one for me because I wanted it to look perfect and yet, there is no perfection when playing with art. This painting challenge really helped me get out of my creative block and perfection.
• Play with color. Mix them up and see what you make! Other than professional artists who know their paint colors and mixes, just playing made it twice as fun to create!

Things that didn’t work:

• Second guessing. I noticed when I felt like adding more to my painting, it didn’t look like abstract painting anymore because I was trying too hard.
• Poor paintbrushes. I noticed my paintbrush bristles were falling out and bristles started getting onto my painting. Probably my fault as I don’t know how to properly care for them, but it wasn’t fun trying to pick them off my painting.

Overall, this painting challenge was fun and it taught me a lot about trying something new while teaching myself to accept myself for being a beginner. A great and important reminder indeed. 

Hope this post inspired you to just start and create. Comment below on what you would like to see in the future.

Happy Creating!