bek came back!

yea! today bek came over and we started painting! it was so nice to see her and to paint a little. i have really missed her! it is such good therapy to paint but also just to spend that time talking. so thanks for spending the afternoon with me! we had quite the time :) i laugh because the painting looks so simple and abstract...but when you start trying to get it down on canvas things get a little more difficult. from the beginning, i knew i wanted the verses to be the background of the painting. i want you to be able to see them and read bits and pieces of them, but i didn't want the verses to be the art work. i really wanted a piece i could hang just about anywhere and not get tired of. i also didn't want it it to look crafty. lots of requirements, huh?! i'm not real into abstract art, but i do love aspects of it at times....usually the colors and the ways they blend together. so when i saw this painting on the internet i thought it would be the perfect painting....it looks like a piece of art and you would still be able to see the verses without them being the focus....perfect. if only i could paint like this :)

i was a little nervous to start the loops on it. i had practiced, but let's just say ryan was FAR from impressed and thought it might be better to let bek do her thing. i'll admit, i agreed! however, bek just wouldn't do it :) i don't think she wanted to be held responsible. ha! so, with a little encouragement and a pep talk, i got started. i'm almost embarrassed to post a picture so close to the one i was attempting to imitate :)....

my version is not quite a as busy as the true artists but i was afraid i would totally over do it and liked the big loops. one thing we really wanted on this canvas was lots of texture. it is hard to see from the pictures, but we're getting there. one way to add texture was to cover the canvas in wax. well...that turned into an adventure. we started putting the wax on and i noticed that the painting was turning a little yellow. hmmm....not really what we had in mind. so we tried painting a little varnish on to see if that would clear things up....nope. so off it came. we got most of the wax off with butter knives :) needless to say, we touched it up a little and stopped there for the day. i think my arm may be sore tomorrow. i still LOVE the idea of coating it in wax so i'm going to find some clear wax and coat it with that. we'll see! i may be scraping again, but hey at least you can't really mess anything up. i'll be sure to post some more pictures when it is totally complete! and bek thanks again for all your help!!!