Apple Canvas

Speaking of wallpaper scraps, I wish I had had some for this canvas project. As you will see, there was much trial, error and mishap with mod podge. So, here's the scene: my dining room wall. It was bare. It needed something. I've had Sarah Jessica Parker's red apple picture (above) in my head for years and decided it was time to make an apple picture of my own. While that apple would be a perfect fit in my kitchen, which has a lot of red in it, I wanted texture and pattern and a different color altogether. My dining room walls are pale yellow (all wall coloring pre-determined by my landlady) and I wasn't feeling like having an only red and yellow kitchen.

Here's my excellently priced 22x28 canvas:

 

I have another canvas project I'd been working on (which I'll post later) and was having the worst time covering it completely with acrylic paint. I know nothing about painting and being an artist, so maybe I was doing it all wrong, but I decided to ditch acrylics and the art store and head to Home Depot for some $4 spray paint. The colors were limited and this wasn't my first choice of green (I wanted a sour green apple color), but I didn't want to go home empty handed, so this kelly green is what I ended up using.

This is my kind of paint project! Quick spray, quick dry, lots of rich color.

I sketched this apple for reference.

And I started with what I had: mod podge and Ikea wrapping paper from last Christmas. Nice idea. Didn't work. The paper was too thin and turned out warped and crinkled.

Off it came before the glue dried. 

Let's see, what else do I have to work with? I was kind of liking the grey, so I mixed black and white acrylic paint and painted a grey/black apple. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture but that thing was FUGLY so maybe it's best I didn't. A black apple! Who wants a black apple on their kitchen wall? It was so depressing and rotten looking. Just bad, bad, bad all around.

I went to a paper store the next day and nabbed this big piece of thick, grey damask paper. 

I cut out an apple pattern in the wrapping paper.

I used the back of an old Sarah Pinto notebook (love her stuff) to cut out a pink stem.

And tah-dah!

(Gotta love that  electrical outlet right in the middle of the wall! I've always wanted to live in an old house and now that I am, I'm appreciating all the normal things about updated places.) 

Love and logic (not the book),

Martha