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‘A Piece of My Heart’ Easy Abstract Painting

Need a little art for your walls? Tips and Video to make this Easy Abstract Painting.

Remember how I was just chatting about my favorite things to do when it is cold and wet outside? Well…add painting to that list.

Kate needed a painting for her room.  I’m sure you don’t want to hear all the details, well…OK…I’ll tell you…it has something to do with weevils infesting the fantastic paper mache Ram’s Head I made for her 2 years ago… Lessons learned…only use glue and not flour for paper mache.

I added hearts to the painting to remind my daughter that she will always have " A Piece of my Heart"

But I digress…without the Ram Head, Kate’s wall had a big empty spot. So…I did what I do…I painted a new picture for the blank space on her wall…and I called it “A Piece of My Heart” because aren’t all our kiddos a piece of our hearts? 

When I need want something quickly, I find that an easy abstract painting is the way to go.

For this project, I was excited to use DecoArt’s new line of Americana Premium Acrylic Paints.

Deco Art Products used in painting

DecoArt kindly sent these paints to me to use in this project, but all opinions are my own.

Some of these are affiliate links and I will earn a small commission off of the sale of these products, but the price you are charged is not affected. You can see my full disclosure policy here.

I used their Titanium White, Quinacridone Red, Vermillion Hue, Cadmium Red Hue and Primary Magenta in their new Americana Premium Acrylic Line.  I also use a little of their Whispering Turquoise Americana Acrylic Paint that I already had in my inventory.

And while we’re talking supplies, I use Mona Lisa Metal Leaf Adhesive and Gold Leaf.

I also found a wax brush to be the best for applying the paint so that I didn’t get brush strokes.

If you can’t find what you need,  Michaels will have supplies for most every crafting need under the sun. You can order online here and have it shipped or you can pick it up at your convenience. 

I have painted a similar ‘abstract’ painting several years ago and have had several requests for how I did it. I wasn’t blogging back then, so I didn’t document the process. But I did document this easy abstract painting…so you can see the crazy, messy, ‘fly by the seat of her paints pants’ me at work.

Close up of hearts in painting

Now let me back up and say…I am not a professionally trained ‘artist’…I was a finance major for heaven’s sake. But I am a firm believer in just jumping in and learning through trial and error. The wonderful thing about paint is that it can be painted over.

Close up of Gold Leaf in Abstract painting

Which I did several times in this process.

And I also know that abstract is not everyone’s cup of tea…that’s cool…that’s what makes the world go ’round (as my Grandma used to say…well, maybe not the ‘that’s cool’ part…she wasn’t quite that hip)

Painting as a part of the gallery wall in my daughter's room

But, I think we can all agree that Gold Leaf makes everything better. Am I right?

In my experimentation of painting, I have found that there are a couple of guidelines I use that may help you with your EasyAbstract Painting:

  • I like to determine a general and loose ‘design’…in this case, it’s a diagonal through the center.  But it could be a loose cross, or a Z shape, or an S shape, or an irregular triangle, etc…
  • I do keep in mind colors that play well together.  In this case, my pinks, oranges, and blues are ‘triadic’ colors…equally spaced around the color wheel.  My pink is my dominant color and the orange and blue are highlights.  For more information on color harmony, check out this site.
  • I try really hard not to muddy my colors by moving them around too much when they are wet, this is especially true with oils.
  • I like to layer colors…with something ‘peeking’ out from underneath.
  • Once I think I’m done, I put the painting somewhere where I will see it often.  If something isn’t quite right your eye will tell you.
  • And with something like this, that won’t have a piece of glass over it…there is no rule that says that one year later after it has been hanging on your wall, you still can’t go back and add a dab or two in an area that still needs something.
  • Unless you are wanting fine detail, keep your wrist loose and hold your brush by the very end of the handle.  This will keep your strokes loose.
  • I ALWAYS paint an undercoat on my canvas.  Sometimes it blends well, like this pink. Other times it doesn’t necessarily, but just having a peek of something in some places provides interest.

Now, let’s talk about the frame.  More to the point, let’s talk about how expensive it is to get something professionally framed! Because I like to dabble in paint, we’d be living on the streets if I professionally framed everything I painted. So, there are a couple of alternatives:

  • You could make your own.  I have done this and you do need a good miter saw.  Here’s a great video if you want to go that route.
  • Especially if you have a thick canvas..like this one…wrap the paint around the side, like this. This one is 3″ thick…

Truth time…I started this painting probably 17 years ago and have never finished it…and it’s been hanging up in my den for 16.5 years.  Who knows, I may get to it someday. But then again, I may not.

But in the case of an abstract, just extend the painting around the side in the same way, even the gold leaf if you are using it.

  • Using already put together canvas frames (as opposed to photo frames) from Michaels or another frame store.  In this case, my canvas was a wonky size (note…if you are going to go the premade route…check to see what frame sizes the carry and then chose your canvas accordingly) so there weren’t any premade canvas frames.

So, I took the one black photo frame that they had in my size, grabbed some Ook Offset Clips (they come in a variety of sizes, the size you need depends on the difference between the canvas edge and the frame edge) and went home to hack my frame. I removed the glass and everything else, spray painted it gold and then attached my canvas to the frame with the offset clips.

And TADA!

Now, I promised the ‘how to’ for this Easy Abstract Painting…but can we all agree that taking photos for every stroke of paint could be…well…difficult. So, instead, I recorded the process for you.  I did speed it up to 6 times but think you can easily get a sense of what I did. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. Once again, I am not an authority, but I know what works for me.

So, if you think you’d like to dive in and give an easy abstract painting a whirl someday down the road, make sure you bookmark this page or pin the following image.

Pink and Gold Abstract Art

If you like the way that this painting looks, I have another one that is similar, my DIY Watercolor Painting with Gold Leaf.

Thanks for spending a few minutes of your precious time with me today.

Please know that you are appreciated and that I welcome each and every comment that comes my way. If you want to make sure you don’t miss future content, pop your email in the beige box up on the right or click here.  I usually send out 2-3 emails a week, so I won’t inundate your inbox…believe me, I’m sensitive to an overflowing email inbox!

Printables and knit patterns are available to all of my subscribers in the Subscriber Benefits Library.  I will continue to add patterns and printables to this page as we go along.

You can also access all the products I referred to in this post on my brand new Nourish and Nestle page on Amazon. You can access it here.

So, if you’d like to get in on the ‘subscriber benefit’ action, simply subscribe to Nourish and Nestle here or using the form on the right sidebar. It’s towards the top a bit. I have sent all my subscribers the link to the Subscriber Benefits Library, but if you missed it or misplaced it, drop me a line.

Many of my designs are available in many forms such as a phone case, a framed print or canvas or as gift cards at my Society 6 shop – please stop by and browse my work – click here to visit!

Lynn's Society 6 Shop

 

Until next time…

Hugs,

Thanks for making my day by SHARING!!

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22 Comments

    1. Aw, thanks so much my friend. I’m pretty pleased with it and thinking I have another wall space that needs something fun!

      Thanks for swinging by.

      Hugs, Lynn

  1. Thank you for this post Lynn. I have a closet full of paints and supplies that terrify me every time I get close to them. I’ve no idea why I bought it all except I love art (especially abstracts), and thought I’d one day get brave enough to dabble. This is a great post with a beautiful outcome. Thanks again for sharing.

    1. Oh Sue, I do hope you’ll pull those paints out of your closet, open them up, squirt them on a tray and start playing. What’s the worse that can happen? If you just really don’t like it, then paint right over it! Sometimes when I’m lacking ideas I’ll copy something that I really love just to get some paint on canvas and to see how that artist works with strokes and color.

      Wishing you a lovely day of painting in the near future my friend.

      Hugs, Lynn

    1. Thanks for swinging by my friend and living your kind comments. And that sweet kitty…she’s just a year old and has wrapped her little paw around all of our hearts.

    1. Hey Robin…Thanks so much for swinging by. Please do dive in…once again, the worst that could happen is that you need to paint over it.

      And that cat…can’t tell you how much she is loved. She is such a sweetie.

      Many hugs my friend.

  2. Lynn that is such a beautiful painting. Love that gold intertwined with the pink. I think it looks fantastic on Kate’s wall. And thanks for the tip about the weevils.

    1. Thanks so much for swinging by my friend. Gold and Pink were truly meant to go together…don’t you think? Such a great combination.

      Wishing you a lovely day my friend.

      Hugs, Lynn

  3. Painting is my one and only hobby. Recently I am trying abstract painting and was searching for the best tips. I go yours and already applied. That was outstanding and great.
    Thanks for the tips!

    1. Hey there Rebekah

      You just made my day!!! I absolutely love it when I put something out that might help someone. I appreciate it more than you can ever know that you took a minute to tell me that! You truly ROCK!!!

      I wish I had time to do more painting…it’s a good and bad problem I guess…there are so many things I love to do and not enough hours in the day to do them all.

      Wishing you a lovely week my friend.

      Hugs, Lynn

    1. Aw thanks Janet! It was fun to do…bright and cheery…just what I needed on a dreary and cold winter day.

      Hope it’s helpful to you.

      Have a great week.

      Lynn

  4. Lynn, that is so pretty. I love pink and I especially love how you got the texture in the painting. Love the colors for a girl’s room and I’m sure your daughter will treasure it. Pinned.

    1. Thanks so much Florence…it was fun to do and looks so great in my daughter’s room.

      I so appreciate you stopping by with your kind comments.

      Hugs, Lynn

    1. Hi sweet friend…After seeing all of your projects, there is no doubt you have some crazy skills. I’d love to see your watercolor paintings.

      Glad you are on the road to recovery.

      Hugs, Lynn

    1. Thanks so much Rebecca! I do love it…as does my daughter.

      I so appreciate you taking a minute to write your kind comments.

      Have a fantastic weekend, my friend.

      Hugs, Lynn

  5. Thank you for sharing this–I LOVED it! And a great intro to the use of gold leaf–YAY, so excited to try using this in my art!!

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