Butterflies and Fingerpaints.......

You would be so proud!!.....I'm slowly reaching out of my comfort zone and exploring the world of painting!! Do you remember this little beauty??    

source

If not, go HERE!!  I found this guy floating around on Pinterest a few weeks ago, and I've been dying to attempt a knockoff!

My goal was to create this look by using only my fingers!  No brushes allowed!!  There's nothing better than a good messy project!!!   As I began, I tried to get all technical and figure out how the colors were layered, and how each "finger" stroke was made.....HA...that lasted about 30 seconds!!!  So then I decided to just "play"!!  I've learned you benefit more from experimenting and making "mistakes" rather than trying to be soooo perfect and duplicating something exactly!  As I've said a MILLION times before....my motto is Imperfection equals Beauty.  Now, with that fresh on our minds lets get started!!

First grab a sheet of scrapbook paper!  I chose this one because it's very neutral and will not take away from the butterfly!

Next, trace out your shape!  Remember, you will not see the pencil lines after you paint, so sketch away!  (I always like to have some sort of guideline before I begin)

Grab some basic acrylic paints!  I found these in the depths of my craft closet!

Start mixing and experimenting with colors!!  It's okay...grab your color wheel if you can't remember how to mix and create certain colors.....Then as we said before, just "play"....start layering colors across each wing.  Remember....there is no such thing as messing up!  

Here is my final piece!!  I'm quite pleased with it!!  I love the intensity of the colors, and how they blend so easily into each other! I layered and layered and layered the colors until I was happy with their placement! Just in case you were wondering, the antennas were painted with my fingernails!   

It's not as "aged" looking as my inspiration and it doesn't have the "paint dripping" effect.....but I'm okay with that!  You can definitely see my style of painting though this piece!  

So today's lesson??.....Stop being such a scaredy cat and start painting more!!   

To see the parties I am linking to go HERE!!