the art of painting textured backgrounds
You can paint a plain background and really show off your painted flower. But what if you wanted more than just that. A client of mine insisted that he wanted all the walls of his house in white or off-white. I thought his entrance needed a little spice so I convinced him to try a deep red as an accent wall. He said, “but I’m a vanilla ice-cream kinda guy. I don’t usually budge from that.” I nudged and he budged… the red was so incredible that he agreed to have the remaining houses splashed with a little bit of color which went well with the dark wood Mediterranean style furniture.
If you are a vanilla ice-cream type person, who won’t budge to other flavors, there is hope for you. You can take each of these techniques and flavor them with your white and beige or you can get really wooly and join us with the colors, shapes and raised design elements. We’ll start with individua backgrounds and move to a fabric demonstration, where several elements are used. The bottom line is, you should enjoy the process.
Basic Background
You might be wondering why anyone would want to paint a basic background when you can really get fancy smancy with a jazzy texture. The truth is, this background is foundational for many of our others. But don’t have an attitude with plain, many designs are perfectly highlighted with a plain backdrop. Then there are clients who would prefer plain rather than busy. So you see, it’s good to have a variety in your toolbox.
Bubble Wrap Background Painting
Bubble wrap come in assorted bubble sizes which make for an interesting day of painting designs or at the least compulsively popping the bubbles. I’ve been guilty of both but I have found that the painting was a lot more productive and attractive. Where do you find the bubble wrap? Usually in packages that were shipped to you for safekeeping. If you really want to go all out you can buy it.
Painting a sponge texture on fabric
Painting a sponge texture on fabric is a really cool way to add texture to your design. You may not want brown, so choose your color palette and create the colors you fancy. You can choose soft blues and greens or beige and pink. Your design, your choice. Just have fun!
Fork textured background
Admittedly, this is my favorite background. Every color gives it a different vibe, yet it still remains rich. I use a simple plastic fork and voila! It looks as though I’ve been slaving for hours. Not all disposable forks are made equal, so be sure to get a solid one. This technique also works better with a generous supply of paint so don’t be chincy. The technique is especially effective when you add burnishing to the mix.
Some students have made entire handbags with just this texture, and you know what? They look awesome!
painting a cross hatch textured background
This cross hatch textured background is somewhat therapeutic and it creates an incredible frame for your floral designs as well. Watch this video and get started on yours today. Don’t you just love painting?
painting with plastic wrap
I can hear some of you now, “What next!” As though this is off the deep end. Well this art has no limits so let’s just enjoy ourselves. Grab some plastic bag or Seran wrap and let’s get to it.
burnishing your painted design
Burnishing is a neat way to tie in your design elements for somewhat of a united look. I especially love to do this on my fork textured designs or when my designs could use a bit of toning down. The most commonly used color for burnishing my designs is black but I do venture into others. I have also toned designs down with white to give it a washed out look which is also quite effective. Watch the video and see what you are inspired to do with your amazing designs.
painting on fabric
Now that you’ve seen some of the individual elements used for painting textured designs on fabric, it’s time to put them together. Join me and let’s have some fun.
I really hope these videos were helpful to you. Be sure to watch my flower painting videos to see how you can add flowers to your backgrounds or backgrounds to your flowers.