Here you will find a couple of different options to paint birds on a rail, from a drawing that I did.
I made the drawing from a photo that I took of a group of sparrows that had gathered on my back deck rail. I was amazed to see so many in a group. One bird was sitting on the post and looked to be talking to the birds sitting on the rail; so cute.
This first painting option is printed on faux canvas. It comes flat, with indented creases to be folded to make a box like shape. A notch is already cut out for hanging. It is lightweight. I recommend this option for beginners, and or kids. The paint seems to dry quicker on this material, which can be helpful if there are hands and arms that might end up resting on the paint. However, it does wash off of skin easily with soap and water.
This next option is printed on wrapped canvas. It is heavier and sturdier than the faux canvas, and is meant to last long term. I recommend this option for more serious painters. With this surface, there is more blending time when using acrylic paint, as compared to the faux canvas.
The drawing is the same on both canvases.
Here is the finished painting that I did on the wrapped canvas; I decided to make the sparrows colorful!
I used two types of acrylic paint on this painting. I used bottled acrylics (liquid acrylic paint) for the background. I used acrylic paint in tubes (full bodied acrylic paint) for the birds. The full bodied acrylic paint has better coverage, and was also much brighter than the liquid acrylics. I don't know if that was just a brand difference though. I did use Americana paint for the liquid paint, and Liquitex for the full bodied paint.
If you paint this picture, let me know what kind of paint you use, and your thoughts in the comment section below.
Happy painting!
Cheryl Paton
So much time goes into the drawing, that there may be little time to really get into the painting. With a pre-printed drawing, the painting can begin, sooner, rather than later. That means more time can go into shading, color mixing, adding extra elements, etc.
The first options that I am going to show is drawings on faux wrapped canvas. I ordered my own drawing from my CherylsArt store on Zazzle, so that I could give you a first hand experience of how it went.
I used acrylic paints, from both bottles and tube paints, so that I could see how well each performed on the faux wrapped canvas. The bottle paints dried much quicker than the tube paints, so that did mean there wasn't as much time to blend colors on the canvas. The tube paints, being a thicker paint, took a bit longer to dry, which did allow more ease in blending the paint right on the canvas.
Both types of paints, overall had good coverage. Some colors are more translucent than other colors, so for instance the orange on the pumpkin took at least two coats even though that was from the thicker tube paint.
For this particular painting, I used the bottle acrylic paints on the background of grass and sky, and the yellow on the pumpkin's face. I used the thicker tube acrylic paint on the pumpkin, leaves, stem, and tree stump.
Overall, I would estimate that I had put about two hours of painting time into the painting. This time will vary upon the painter, and how detailed or not that they want to be. But overall, I would allow at least two hours for the painting time, should this be done as a birthday or other group painting activity. The good thing about this activity, is that the finished painting should be pretty dry to take home unless the painter puts the paint on really thick.
As far as other supplies, two to three brushes per painter should be sufficient, i.e. a more detail brush and a bit of a wider brush. A cup of water for rinsing the brush between colors, and paper towels for dabbing off the brush after the rinsing. And a vinyl or plastic table cloth to protect the table.
Click on the link to see the drawings that are currently available. The $20.00 range prices are for the faux wrapped canvas options. Faux wrapped canvas is a sturdy foam board option that is pre-cut with channels to aid in folding the canvas. Sticky, double sided tabs come with the board for sticking the sides together, which is done on the inside of the back. A pre-cut triangle is already cut out for hanging. The unit is lightweight, and was easy for me to maneuver while painting.
The $80.00 and up canvases are regular wrapped canvas, with actual canvas stretched, wrapped, and stabled around boards, with hanging teeth already attached.
Once I do the other painting on the regular wrapped canvas, I will update this page with my painting experience on that.
If you have any drawing requests that you would like me to design, leave a comment below, and which type of canvas you would like it on.
Happy painting!
Cheryl Paton
Here you will find some coloring, painting options for kids, including tshirts and wrapped canvas.
If your kids want to do more than color, for their art to have some kind of purpose, consider outlines on tshirts that can be colored in with paint markers. They then get to wear their art or gift it to someone.
This parrot is ready for some color. What colors would your child make this parrot?
I have found that acrylic paint pens work the best for this activity. With paint pens, there is a lot less chance for paint spills. Do keep the lids on though when shaking the markers to mix the paint. The tip has been known to fly across the room when I forgot to put the lid back on. You can check out the paint pens that are rated for fabric on Amazon. Overall, there is less mess with paint pens than bottled paints.
The painting, coloring can also be done with acrylic fabric paint and paint brushes. Either way, remember to place a flat sheet of cardboard between the two layers of fabric before the painting begins. Also be sure that your table surface is protected before the painting begins. If you use brushes, I recommend a variety. It's nice having some flat edge brushes as well as ones with small tips.
Want a different outline design on tshirts? Check out more outline tshirts in my CherylsArt store on Zazzle.
For something that can be hung afterwards, there are outline drawings on wrapped canvas. Those that are feeling more creative, they can also add their own additional details; such as grass and trees for this camel, zebra, and elephant drawing. The kids can make it be their own version of a safari!
Let the creativity begin.
Want a different design? Check out more Paint It Canvases in my CherylsArt store on Zazzle.
Cheryl Paton
