Barn painting tips from a non-artist

Barn painting tips from a non-artist using memories from my 13-year-old self.  But I believe there’s a bit of artist in us all.

First, you’ll need a picture of a barn.  My picture is on my phone.  It was the old barn on my grandparent’s farm.  It almost fell in when I took this picture at 13 years old.  So the barn is long gone.  But not the memories.

I’m going to try recreating the barn and memories on canvas with plaster and a bit of paint.

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Please do remember, I’m not an artist.  If you’re not an artist either, go ahead and give it a try. Think about the art we did as kids.  Of course, we all know kids with amazing art skills.

The supplies I used

A bowl for mixing
Spoon for stirring
Plaster of Paris {this is my wrong product, but it adds texture and lumpiness when you’re not an artist}
Water
1 inch Artist Brush
Mod Podge
Water
Paper towels
Craft Paints in your favorite colors
Drop cloth to protect your tabletop
11 by 14 canvas or any size you wish
A piece of Aluminum to mix and hold paint

The Mixture

I used 1/3 cup of Mod Podge and mixed with 1/3 cup of water.  Then stirred well.  Next, sprinkled Plaster of Paris about 1/2 cup over the glue mixture.  Then stir, stir, stir.  The mix should be the thickness of pudding.  You may add more water or plaster to get the right thickness.

 

Next using the spoon, add dollops of plaster on the canvas.  Spread around with the back of the spoon.

Then, for a quick way to add texture, lay paper towels over the mix…

then lift.

Painting the barn

Next, I added white paint to the leftover glue and plaster mix.  Then painted the textured canvas.

Now, using the edge of the inch artist brush, I made an outline of the barn.  I have to admit…

I was lost on outlining & painting the barn where it fell in.

Mixing the colors on foil & sprinkling plaster over the paint.  More lumpiness!

This is what I ended up with after 20 minutes…ugh!  I liked everything but the falling in part.  So…

I changed it!  More lumpiness and rebuilt.

Back to the memories when I was 7!