3 Great Reasons to Paint a Cabinet

1. To decorate it
2. To practice brushstrokes and patterns
3. To make something  useful

I don't even remember where this old cabinet came from but we found it out in the studio and thought it might come in handy in the bathroom to store small items and make everything easy to find.

There are lots of narrow strips on it that will be a good place to practice different border designs that I want to try on the harnesses and things on my dala horses.

Finished Painting from Brushstroke Practice

I call this my "Gypsy Moths" because they remind me of the painted gypsy wagons I'd seen in old movies and television when I was a kid.

You can see I was a bit lazy and didn't bother with anything more ambitious than dots and comma strokes but I think the results are fun anyway, don't you?

 We'll go to the computer next and cut out each of the butterfly shapes so that I can use them on different projects or just resize or rearrange them to see how far I can push the design and how many different things I can do with it.

I can also paint over any of the areas that I'm not happy with yet.

The other thing that I'm considering at this point is adding more colors and brush strokes to the black areas.

Brush stroke practice project

Pick any easy shape and divide it into sections.

Paint sections in with a few simple colors.

 I aim for 3 or 4 main colors to keep the focus on the brush stokes themselves without worrying too much about what sort of picture I'm actually painting.

Have fun practicing a few simple brushstrokes or just lay down a lot of dots to get the feel of your brushes. The harder you press, the larger they will be so practice a light touch and see just how tiny they can get with the same round brush.