Creative Abundance
Painting classes are a wonderful venue for liberating an abundance of creativity, joy of color and free rein to play. Stretch the imagination and come away with a handmade creation. Laurel’s Originals has always focused on usable art, hand painted cotton knit dresses, canvas bags, canvas rugs and place mats.
After 30 years of painting on textiles Laurel’s Originals offers painting classes to make hand painted canvas rugs or canvas place mats. For many years people have asked for advice on painting and Laurel has shared techniques through blogs and videos. Many of the techniques used can be viewed on the Canvas Rugs YouTube channel with tips on interior décor and painting on canvas.
Friends Try Out the First Painting Class
Our first class was with a group of friends living in Costa Rica. Canvas rug blanks were base coated with a color previously selected so that the rugs were ready for applying the design. Elena is an artist who came to the class with the idea of painting a peacock on her canvas rug to place in her bedroom.
Patty wanted a brightly colored rug to go into her bathroom and chose colors from a calendar,selecting a wavy design that blended colors together. Rebecca chose a simple design to go into her kitchen. It was a great experience to giving a class with different skill levels and time frames depending on the designs.
The following class involved painting canvas place mats. Laurel’s Originals hand painted canvas place mats is fast becoming a popular product. The blanks used for painting classes are beige on both sides. If a different color is desired one side can be painted and dried with a blow dryer. In the class with Niki, Terry Lee and her grand daughter Maria, the technique taught was using plants as leaf presses for the design.
Creative License, Adults and Children Love Painting Classes
The first step was meandering around the yard of Laurel’s farm and selecting interesting looking leaves. Children have their own ideas and after painting one side with leaves, six year old Maria chose to paint freehand on the second side. She also enjoyed blow drying the paint! Maria painted one place mat as a gift for her mother. Terry Lee painted leaves with colors matching a painting in her son’s home to coordinate with their decor. Niki, with her wild love of color selected a bright array of colors for her leaves to match her own eclectic decor.
When painting classes are finished the place mats or canvas rugs are left to dry then varnished for the artists. Varnishing takes a few days allowing for the paint and varnish to dry thoroughly.
No Limit When It Comes To Art
Although the leaf press is an interesting design, painting classes at Laurel’s Originals are open to any burst of creativity that develops in the studio. Hand painted canvas rugs and canvas place mats are creations that last for many years and make great additions to the home. As well, they make unique and thoughtful gifts. A painting class at Laurel’s Originals is also a great gift!
Please write to us or comment below with any questions regarding the painting classes. We look forward to hearing from you!
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