Uhh, time kind of got away from me here. I’ve been on a mini vacation the last week so this month has been totally thrown off.
My main goals for the month were to:
- Start and finish my two RCL minis I committed to.
- Get some small paintings done.
- Figure out how to make frames for said paintings.
I have done most of these things already. My two RCL minis were for the duo and trio categories.
Crab Man and Ape
Now my second goal has two parts listed but it’s definitely more complicated than that.
I painted a total of twelve (12) complete paintings, two of them being triptychs. So if you count those as separate paintings I’ve done sixteen (16) of them.
I’ve managed to do about six (6) in two days each. So less than 48 hours per six (6).
The first six (6) I did about a week and a half ago:
These came out much better than I’d anticipated. I’m still getting used to tube paints and how they behave. I will get back to the frames shortly.
These are the second set of four (4) single paintings. I did these plus the two (2) triptychs in about 36 hours. The pink tree and the island triptych are done on 2.75-inch by 3-inch canvases.
The two triptychs:
Now for the second part of my second goal. Frames.
I decided I would make my own frames. I took craft sticks (i.e. Popsicle sticks) and cut them down to fit. This is more or less working. However, I did not do the best job at this. I am looking into some tools to make them more even cuts so, hopefully, it will fit together more snugly.
Those are the two I finished. I simply used a ruler and heavy duty Xacto knife to make the cuts. You can see the gaps at the corners don’t fit together very well. I had to trim them down small amounts after I’d made the initial cuts and this just did not work. On the first one I attempted to shove pieces of discarded craft sticks to fill the gap. Again, not working. I have some small tools on order that should make this much easier or, at least, more uniform.
As for the canvas pieces. I have not figured framing out yet. I’ve watched a few video tutorials on how to do it but I currently can’t find the materials to make it cost effective for myself or the customer.
The other thing that I’ve done that you can’t see is on the backs of the framed pictures. I added small magnets to them. Frames and magnets will be add-ons once I get set up to sell them. The ones on canvas paper will be mounted onto the same canvas paper that has not been painted. I hope to be able to use actual photo mats, or something similar, soon. I also have ideas for some slightly fancier frames but have not tested this out yet. That is next on my to-do list.
That is what I’ve been up to. I’ve been very busy, even on my mini vacation, but I am getting things done. I hope to have July goals up in a timely manner.
Happy Painting,
~S
sparrowmarieminis.art 