Wordless Wednesday: Art Supply Space

My art supply cabinet.  This was a stained dark wood piece used to house books and dvds at the old house.  I painted it, and replaced the glass doors with chicken wire.

 

The whole thing was this dark wood you see on the inside of the cabinet.

Lots of space for lots of stuff.

I added fabric to the backing.

My painting cart, where I can keep the supplies needed for the current project close at hand.

Branching Out

I decided to mix things up a bit by taking a break from lettered signs and moving in the direction of paintings.

  

Like, actual paintings.

But other than high school art, and one drawing class in college, I haven't had much in the way of instruction.  So I was a bit timid  when go-time came a-callin'.  So yes, I painted a picture, but no, I used no color.  Is black a color?  

Still, I found my first attempt none too shabby, so I girded my loins and put some colors in my little plastic palette.  I picked up my paint brush, took a deep breath, and tried again.

Much to my surprise, this goat appeared out of nowhere on this scrap of barn wood.  Like he had been hiding in there.

  




Confidence bolstered, I tried a few more.

I was having fun!  I was finding my fair share of frustration, too, but that's to be expected, I should think.  Being pretty new to this and all.

And so I gathered up my newly minted animal paintings on barn wood and slate and other odds and ends canvasses, and brought them with me to an artisan's market I was signed up for.  They did great.  They flew off the shelves!  I sold just about everything.

I have some custom signs I'm working on right now (lettered pieces), but once they're checked off my to-do list, I will turn my attention to exploring this animal thing a bit more.  I've signed myself up for a beginner's acrylics class this summer, and I'm anxious to learn more about this and looking forward to expanding my abilities.

And I welcome any tips or feedback from any artists!

Thrifting Thursday

Some people are distracted by shiny things.

Not me.

It's the rusty, flaky things that grab my eye.

Peeling paint, nail holes, rusty metal.  It all makes my heart race and my pupils dilate.

Raise your hand if you know what I'm talking about.

So for any of you like-minded individuals out there, I thought I'd take you on a little tour of my thrifting process.  Most weekends I head over to a local antique mart.  They have bigger things in the garage, an assortment of nice-ish pieces in the front of the house, but my favorite is the back of the house, with several aisles of $4 items, 2 for $7.  Squee!

Let's look these things over, shall we?

One of the first things I came across were these burlap sacs.  Not antique, to be sure, but I really liked the look of them.  I'm thinking they belong in glass picture frames as message boards,  a la dry erase.
They were not in the 2 for $7 section, though.  They were $5 each.  I grabbed them up and figured I'd think while I browsed.

I made my way over to the cheap seats, and found this old feed sack.  While I loved the vintage look, it was more stained than I would have liked, and I decided to pass.

Interspersed with the rustic was the repulsive.

Then there was this little gem.  I had seen it the week before and decided against it.  This time I snatched it up.  It won't be a flip piece, though.  My next house will sport a dining room with blue dishes, I've decided, and this hen and her chicks will find a spot there.  You're coming home with me, little ones!

What about these pretty swans?  A quick coat of silver spray paint could modernize these little beauties.  I'll take 'em!

These wooden spools caught my eye.  I thought perhaps they would make nifty little kitchen towel holders.  I could thread twine through the center holes to hang them.

But alas, the other ends were in bad shape.  Pass.

Old metal hooks that made my hands dirty when I picked them up.  Love!

This little double metal bucket caught my eye.  I'm thinking a little paint, a little distressing, some flowers.  Perfect small project.

Oooooh, toooools.  Rusty tools.  I want to pick up everything. But I recently found a fantastic source for FREE old metal parts.  And you know, why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?

What's this I spy?  A copper kettle?  My word.  Come to me, Mama.

Oh.  Sigh.

This here horse is bee-you-tee-ful.  But too pricey for flipping.

Chuckle.

I'm ALWAYS on the look out for wooden boxes, but all I see today is little cigar boxes and the like. Too flimsy for what I'm looking for.

Later I had a chance to stop in to Habitat for Humanity's "Restore".  I almost always get some good deals there, and today was no different.

I love to check out their pictures, because no matter the print or painting, I can get some terrific frames.  Like this one.  Nice size, good shape, ready for repurposing.  Problem is, I have way too many frames stockpiled right now, so I must walk-on by.

I love these fake flowers.  For $1.00, including the vase?  I'll take them, please and thank you.

Here's another vase that looks nice at first pass, but on closer inspection it was poorly painted and the paint was flaking off.  Not in a cool old way but in a shoddy workmanship way.  I'll pass.

Paints!  These were like 50 cents for the little cans.  Perfect for mixing up some DIY chalk paint.  I found a nice grey and a soft yellow to add to my cart.

So that was my thrifting.  I spent in the neighborhood of $25 +/-, and got several project to work on, some supplies, and a little pretty thing for myself.  I ended up keeping the two burlap pieces, but found another at a different shop that when combined with these first two, brought the average price to $4 per piece.  I can live with that.

When I finish the projects, I'll try to remember to show the before and afters.  I even have at least one piece that could use a couple of those hooks, so I'll show that, as well.

Thanks for stopping in, and happy thrifting!