Just Paint It: Abstract “Watercolor”, A Thrift Store Light, & Eggs

I’ve never painted abstract. In fact, the one and only art class I ever took was in college – a long, long time ago – and I frustrated the teacher because all I could paint were realistic paintings. He wanted all different styles and technique, but everything I painted wound up looking too real.

I didn’t get a good grade in Art.

I quit painting after that class for about 20 years. I figured if I couldn’t pass a basic college art class, I must not have any talent.

About the only abstracts I ever ‘painted’ were Easter eggs with my big sister when I was a little girl. We’d take watercolor paint, drop some on an egg and blow the paint while twisting and turning the egg around. It was a kick to see how the paint moved, blended with other colors, and we had absolutely no control over what it did.

No, this isn’t a picture of our ‘abstract’ eggs. These ‘beauties’ were cooling in the sink today after we received our latest gadget – a Krups egg cooker, which hard boils, poaches and soft boils eggs simply. In fact, it’s ‘goof-proof’. Or so they said.

Apparently they hadn’t met us goofs.

But that’s another story for another day. I just figured it was definitely an abstract egg pic. And it was just part of a nutso day.

You know the days when you’re really, really good at starting projects? But not so good at finishing anything?

This afternoon – in no particular order – I started these projects:

painted 3 out of 6 drawers in Mom’s bedroom
primed 2 thrift store trays
painted the frame of a chalkboard, not the chalkboard paint
painted part of a little light for my nightstand

This one here that I got for a buck at the thrift store -

Since I have been on a Turquoise mission for about a week now, I knew part of it would be turquoise. Beyond that, I had no plan.

But there was no way this guy was gonna stay white with an unfinished wood frame.

Except for the weird little wire thing in the middle. That can stay white. I have no idea what it’s for, but for a buck, I didn’t care either.

I started off by wetting the paper – it is some kind of paper, btw – with water, then adding some purple, turquoise and lime green. But the colors were too washed out. Ick.

Hey! Four sides means four tries. Side #2 I wetted the paper again and then got a little bolder with the turquoise.

Hmm . . . still not feelin’ it.

Closer, but not there yet.

Then I thought about Easter back when I was a kid. When you’re 8 years old and your big sister comes home from college to decorate eggs with you, it’s a pretty big deal. And when you do something better then just dip eggs in boxed dye – like blowing paint around on an egg, it’s a pretty big deal.

The kind of deal that you remember years later, like when you’re painting a thrift store nightlight.

Only instead of blowing paint around, I just dripped water on the painted shade.

Now we’re getting somewhere.

I held it up to the window to make sure light passed thru, which it did, but it won’t be that bright at night, which is fine. It’s really more of a nightlight than a bedside light.