Last December I started painting gift bags and I liked it so much that I was sad when January rolled around and I had nothing left to paint! This is my problem. I have some weird emotional baggage when it comes to comes to painting for the sake of painting, so somehow, sticking to familiar/functional/inexpensive objects allows me to free up my creative mojo, which is exactly what I want right now. The dreariness of winter has a way of squashing my creative spirit, so a simple project like painting old thrift store purses is exactly what I need. Also, cute purses. Look!
There really isn’t any design or method involved here, just a series of slaps and dashes and color. Lots and lots of color.
Thrift stores are fantastic for finding pocketbooks for a dollar or two. Many of them appear to be new or nearly-new, and lot of them are made from leather, silks and satins. I almost feel bad painting them!
The key ingredient here is an all-purpose paint that will stick to fabric or vinyl, and great flat brushes. Mark-making is such an easy way to create simple patterns, but if you don’t have a couple of great brushes, it’s much more difficult to get the paint to lay down just right. Double-tip brushes are especially handy for building up leopard-like patterns in a hurry.
Apparently Lolabelle does not approve of this method and decided to knock everything over.
Thanks, Lola.
Heads up: you might see some more painting projects around here the next few weeks. I’m not sure if it’s a phase or the stirrings of winterish cabin fever, but I’m on a painting binge and I hope you’ll ride it out with me!