Canvas Heart Painting
I had seen these beautiful paintings of a heart that took up a whole canvas, and the paint dripped down the heart. They are gorgeous! I knew it was just what I wanted for Georgia’s Nursery. The only downside was they were original works of art going for $1,000 plus. That was a little out of my budget (who am I kidding a lot out of my budget). So I moved on and kept looking for something else. But I kept coming back to the heart. So in true Honey Housewife fashion, I decided to see if I could recreate the art on my own (cue hair flip). This was so easy and cost me under $40. I mean, you can’t beat that. The icing on the cake is that Georgia is now the proud owner of an original heart painting signed by the artist herself, moi. Lucky Girl.
What you need:
Canvas 20x20 was the size I used
Wall Putty
Flat scraper (putty knife)
Paint in 2 colors White and your color of choice. I used pink
Brushes. Medium and small
Wood trim to frame out the canvas
Small tack nails
This process takes a few day because each layer needs to dry before you can move on to the next step
I started out by taking a big scoop of the putty out of the canister with my putty knife and run it along the canvas. Im trying to add texture to the print so its not flat.
I go over it until the entire canvas is covered. I want it to look bumpy, so I leave bits of excess in some spots.
Let this dry for a few hours or overnight.
Next, place some white paint on a plate and use the larger brush to paint over the entire canvas. This is going to give you an excellent blank slate to start with, and it will also help if you make a mistake with your color so you can clean it up.
Let this dry for a few hours or overnight.
On to the fun part.
Start by drawing out with pencil the heart shape on the canvas. If you don’t like the shape, you can erase it and try again. I made my heart so that the top two bows were cut off a bit.
Next, mix the color you want onto a plate (I mixed a lot of white with a little pink). Get a small cup of water to help dilute the paint as you go.
Use the small paintbrush dipped in a little water and the paint to trace out the heart.
If you want it lighter, dip the brush in a little more water, dab on a towel, and go back over the outline until it looks how you like.
If you are not happy with anything in this step, use a wet paper towel or baby wipe to remove the paint and you can start over. I did this a few different times to get just the look I wanted.
Then fill in the rest of the heart. I wanted mine to have some dimension, so in some spots, my paint is more concentrated (i used less water), and some spots are less concentrated (I used more water)
Now onto the drip. I held my painting upright for this part so the water would naturally drip down. I filled my brush with a little paint and water and pressed it against the canvas where I wanted a drip to be. I let the water run down the canvas to create the drip look. If I press lighter, it will make a smaller drip. If I press harder, it makes a bigger one. This helps create a less unified look.
Like I said before. Because we started with the white layer, if you are not happy with a drip, use a damp paper towel to wipe off and start over.
Once I was happy with the heart, I let it dry.
Next, I went to my local hardware store and purchased trim to frame out my canvas.
If you are not handy with tools, you can have the hardware store cut the wood into straight pieces. So two of the sides overlap, and the underside fits into it.
If you are more comfortable or know someone who can use a saw, cut 45 degree angles so the corners of the frame meet at a point.
Using small nails, attach the frame to the canvas.
Use the same putty to cover the nail hole. Once it’s dry, rub a damp papper towel over the hole to make sure the excess putty comes off. You may also need a little putty at the joint of the frame.
Paint the frame whatever color you like. I went with white.
Hang it up and enjoy your craftiness. And ALL THAT EXTRA MONEY IN YOUR POCKET!! Gahhhh its so cute!!
Cheers Babes
XOXO
