{the pinterest challenge: fine art edition}

So, having finished the background yesterday, I started the painting of the dandelions. Did I wait twenty-four hours? Most definitely not. A scant five hours after painting the background, I found the paint brush back in my hand.

I unstuck the paper towel templates as I painted each dandelion head, but kept them nearby as a guide. With the dandelion seeds, I was going for not too hearty, nor too blobby. I know, all very technical.

In case you're wondering about paints, for the flowers I used Burnt Umber brown acrylic and black fabric paint (I'd run out of black acrylic). I'm not sure that's ideal -- they seemed a little shy at first, and took a good deal of stirring to get comfortable enough to mix with each other.

And, of course, there's the obligatory red. Seeing as the painting's beauty came from its complete lack of colour, the red had to be very subtle. Just five small dots, next to the far right stem. Just enough to make sure my granddad, who always says that every work of art needs a dot of red, is happy.



And before we have the final reveal, I just thought I'd remind you of the inspiration (a painting spotted on Pinterest):

Here is our version (I don't know when Mr Dala Horse crept in there... perhaps, subconsciously, I'm putting a spot of red in all my photos now, too):

What do you think? Passable as something to hang on the wall? Justin's kind reaction was "It could be a tracing!" (a la Michael Scott at Pam's art show) I had to laugh at myself as I was trying to copy the little imperfections from the original -- notice the seeds slightly out of place above the second and fourth dandelions?

It turns out there's a whole movement now of people recreating things they've pinned. To see some of the amazing creations, pop over to YHL's Pinterest Challenge.

{inspiration: that's a stretch}

Thanks for all your input on the ideas for giant art! I'm happy to say that an artistic friend has offered to guide me through the painting of those four thin dandelions -- so cross your fingers, hold your horses, we might have our own version of that beauty one day soon.

As many of you suggested, we are also considering simply stretching a large, bold-printed piece of fabric over canvas stretchers, and hanging that as art. Here are a few ideas for how that might look:

Stretched Marimekko Fabric by City Refugee. One of my favourite prints of all time, I'm thinking that this could be even more affordable and personal if I stenciled my own version of the famous UNIKKO print. Large shapes, simple colours -- me and my freezer paper can handle that.

This ELLE Decor set-up, via Room Interior Design, has a much softer feel in warmer colours, and shows that a medium-sized print will work nicely, too.

Stretched Stems via Real Simple. The grey seems like a perfect balance of neutral and interesting.

Button Art by Little Green Notebook. I'm picturing it on a white background, for a slightly fresher look, but the loosely-matched colours of the rows of buttons are perfect just as they are.

Stretched IKEA Fabric by Jenn and Romy. Recognise this fabric? I snagged three yards of it on clearance a year or so ago, sewed up a table runner, and declared it to be my favourite fabric ever. Admittedly, it might be a little busy for the wall, but as we have a yard still lying around, it might be worth a try.

Have you had any success with fabric stretching? And prints or patterns that you think are totally art-worthy? Or have you ever tried to rip-off an expensive designer print with freezer paper?

{inspiration: large art for cheap}

Over the years, we've collected several pieces of art that we really love. As we've had to move every year, and have been on a small budget, almost everything has been 8x10" or smaller.

Now, looking for a way to fill our ginormous living room wall, our pint-size frames simply aren't cutting it. Still on a budget, though, and with giant paintings not coming cheap, I've decided to create the art myself. These are a few ideas, none of which I've committed to yet, which all look beautiful and make-it-yourself-able.

Colour Blocks via Apartment Therapy. Modern art, simply by framing layered pieces of paper. 

Striped Panels by 4 Men 1 Lady. Though the colours here aren't my cup of tea (a little too green tea), I'm imagining that in red, yellow and orange this would look rather Kate Spade.

Tandem Canvas via Apartment Therapy. What's cheaper than one giant canvas? Four small canvases hung next to each other. 

Abstract Tutorial by Oh Happy Day. I do love these, but I'm a little afraid it might look as if Tilly got hold of some oil pastels. Maybe I should give her some oil pastels (in a well-covered and confined area) and see what happens... 

Potato Print Dots by Oh Happy Day. This idea can actually be done with the kiddos -- potato prints and dots. Plus, she shares her secret of cheap framing.

Golden Mesa I by Sean Jacobs. This one isn't really a DIY-- it's an actual piece of art from World Market. But it looks easy, doesn't it. Deceptively easy? Probably.

Sun Shower by Today's Nest. A collage of droplets, which could be made it any colour scheme. I love the idea of using a bunch of different papers -- anything from birthday cards to junk mail could lend itself to this.

Four flowers via Decorno. This is my favourite right now, but again, not really a DIY, just art that I'm wondering if I could knock off. What is it -- framed paper? Canvas? I can't tell. But I love it, nonetheless.

Giant Portrait via Pinterest. Can I please live here, please? That giant portrait peeking through the doorway is just so clever. Can I make it? No. But look closer -- can you see the painting of a dog with a fish bowl for a head? It totally reminds me of Justin's birthday card to Tilly -- her head on a dog's body! We could paint that one, I think.

So, what do you think -- do any of these ideas seem do-able? Or perhaps you've got other ways of filling up giant walls that you'd like to share -- please do, we're all ears!