5 ways to add texture to your surfaces

When it comes to painting, especially colorful and messy layers, texture is a super important part of my process. And today I've got 5 really simple (and fast) ways to add some texture to those painting

1. Bubble wrap is one of my favorite things to use for adding texture to those payers of paint. 

2. Use a crumbled up paper towel or rag and dip it into paint and dab it all over the surface for unique texture.

3. I love using a palette knife to scrape and scratch into wet paint.

4. Dip anything, I mean anything from nature into paint and stamp, drag and press it onto that surface.

5. Press tissue paper into that wet paint and then paint over the top of it. The paint will highlight all the folds in the tissue paper. 

creating a kid- use those feet

As many of you know, we love making a creative mess around her and one our favorite things to do foot painting, yep you read that right...painting with our feet. It is a process that feels silly, messy and totally weird and Lucy has loved it since she was a toddler! It's also a process that is WAY more fun with friends so recently we invited some of our favorite kiddos over to experiment and stomp around in paint. And let me tell you it was a BLAST! Here are three of our favorite ways to use those feet to get creative-

A fun things to do is to use your shoes as a stamp! You could use an old pair of shoes with interesting texture on the bottom but I thought it would be fun to transform some cheap flip flops into stamps. I cut out shapes from craft foam and glued them to the bottom of the sandals. Then we dipped those shoes into paint and went WILD walking and stomping around on a big piece of butcher paper. The result is a surface filled with stamped pattern!

Wrapping those footies in bubble wrap is one of my personal favorite things to do- yes, I do this all the time! It's so much fun to walk around with that bubble wrap popping as you add colorful pattern and texture to a surface. Kids love this process because it's totally wacky, weird and tons of fun!

Using those toes to hold a brush is another really fun way to explore painting. This process actually takes a lot of focus so it's a great way to get kids to embrace abstraction and expression while having fun.

You can check out my entire series of "Creating With a Kid" HERE

creating with a kid: paint with your feet

We spend a lot of time outside but this time of year on the Oregon Coast can get a little bleak with days and days of rain. And while I have all kinds of fun and creative projects to keep Lucy busy and inspired, I save few of the really special (and messy projects) for days (like the grumpy ones) when everyone needs something extra special to work on! One of those special projects is painting with our feet and let me say that letting your three year old paint with their feet is not for the faint of heart but it is a really fun way to get creative and let loose with your kids. 

This is the kind of activity that requires a little set up and clean up time. Even though I am the queen of making a mess I still lay down paper or a drop cloth before we dive into painting. 

TIP: This is also a great outdoor activity for warm days and much easier when it comes time to clean up! 

You can paint on just about anything large enough to walk on- paper (I like butcher paper or brown painter's paper), fabric, canvas or even cardboard. Paper surfaces can get slick with paint (it's easier to slip around) while canvas and fabric are less slippery.

I love using my bare feet but Lucy is not into it yet so we grab a pair of summer shoes (that can be washed) and let her go crazy with them on. 

TIP- You can also get really creative with putting different things on your feet- bubble wrap, socks or anything that will create unique pattern or texture on the surface.

We start by dumping acrylic paint onto the surface- this step might be Lucy's favorite because she seems to love having the control and ownership dumping out all those bottles of paint.

Then I let her go crazy in all that paint- walking, marching, stomping and dancing! 

More paint is dumped and more craziness is had!

And don't think painting with your feet is just for kids...this kind of project is for anyone, any age especially those who might need to blow off some steam or let loose!

TIPS FOR ANY AGE:

If you or your child is not comfortable getting dirty or messy with your feet, at least try using your hands to apply paint! This is a great way to get yourself accustomed to what it feels like to use your body.

Blast your favorite music! Using your body to paint is all about expression and movement and having music on will make it even more fun.

Embrace expression and abstraction! Painting with your body is more about the experience and painting in an abstract way. Try to forget about things looking and feeling perfect and instead give yourself permission to get lost in the process and the mess.

Just let go, enjoy the moment and forget about the giant mess that is happening. The worst case scenario is that you have some cleaning to do when everything is over! 

You can read my entire series of "creating with a kid" posts HERE

liquid watercolors

I work a lot with watercolors and I've tried just about everything but recently I've taken a shine to bottles of liquid watercolors. I think liquid watercolors are often associated with kids and classroom projects but I love having bottles of color on hand for bigger and messy watercolors projects.

There are all kinds of different brands but I like the 8oz bottles of Blick Liquid Watercolors. They are affordable and offer a variety of really beautiful saturated color. 

The cool thing about liquid watercolors is that you can use them straight from the bottle (really saturated) or you can water them down. You can even mix up your own colors. What I love most about them is that they are much easier to use with larger surfaces and messy mixed media techniques. Instead of being limited to small pan of color or tiny tube of paint (like most watercolors) you can use them a lot like you use acrylic paint! Here are a few ways that I am using my liquid watercolors.

I love filling a background with a wash of watercolor and using liquid color makes it WAY easier because you can fill a cup to dip large brushes.

You can easily create a stamp pad from a damp sponge by pouring color into the sponge. While this method is not good for rubber stamps, it works really well when using alternative items for stamping (cardboard rolls, vegi stamps, bubble wrap or anything with texture).

When I am painting with acrylics, I use a brayer to quickly fill a background with color. This same technique can also be used with liquid watercolors.

I love splattering and dripping and having larger quantities of liquid color to work with makes this process so much easier!

Since all that color is in liquid form, it is really easy to use it to fill spray misters, spray bottles, daubers and even water brushes. 

Looking for more watercolor inspiration...

5 fun watercolor techniques         watercolor blooms              rubber cement watercolor resist

my favorite everyday things- for painting

A big part of my painting process involves creating LOTS of layers full of color, pattern and texture! So I always have a variety of everyday things on hand to grab as I paint layer after layer. Here are a few of my favorites:

I will use just about anything round to dip in paint and use as a stamps. I love the look of circles repeated over and over again in between all my layers of paint and texture! From plastic cups to pen caps to paint lids, cardboard rolls and more- I always have something round on hand. 

Bubble wrap is one of my absolute favorite things to use for creating fast pattern and texture.

Kitchen utensils make some of the best stamps and mark making tools. From wisks to forks and knives to rolling pins and cookie cutters- our kitchen drawers are one of my favorite places to go shopping for supplies!

While I don't like to paint with cheap foam brushes, I do like to use them for mark making. The edge of a foam brush might be the perfect tool for adding lines, making marks and creating pattern.

Sometimes it's fun to change the way that I apply paint to a surface. If I am not using a brush or my hands I am using my brayer- it works great for applying thin layers of color and will even transfer pattern and texture.

Currently I am obsessed with dry wall tape. I use it as a stamp and a stencil and love the delicate grid that it creates.

Yarn or any type of string or fiber is one of my favorite materials for creating free form lines with paint. I like to wrap yarn around a cardboard roll and roll it in paint and across my surface.

marks from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.

Never underestimate everyday things that can be put to use in your creative projects!