Hello again!!

I have gotten a lot of requests to make another blog post about this milk jug commission! I have a few photos of the finished product and before and after photos for you guys!

Introduction

Sharing art is a pivotal part of being an artist. It provides us with inspiration and ideas to create our own pieces and spread creativity through, not only our own lives, but also our communities. To maintain the idea of art therapy, we must remember that art therapy is not all about psychological thought processing and how to treat which population, but it also includes simple art participation and expression.

As I said in my previous post, I saw this commission as my first piece of art in the new year and I chose to view its floral pattern and color scheme as growth and positivity for my new year outlook. In this weeks post, I am going to be explaining my process and how much I enjoyed some well deserved paint time!

Before

After

Process

This process took me about 15 hours from start to finish simply because there were

Primed and Ready for Action

drying times and tons of layering. So, as you can see, the jug was fire truck red and my client hated it. She felt like it did not go with her yard and she wanted something more floral and spring like. Once I primed the can, I had a fresh palette ton work with. As I started painting however, I realized this was way different than what I am used to. I have always had flat surfaces and well, it was a canvas not metal. Needless to say, I was out of my comfort zone!

As the process progressed I found myself getting frustrated but, as an art therapist in training (haha) I knew a variety of emotions always come about with every piece of art. I started to let go a bit more and kind of go with the flow and see how it turns out with a more organic approach. I was finger painting, dragging the brush strokes until there was no more paint of the brush, watering it down, putting wash over wash to layer it up, so on.

Finally, I decided not to touch it anymore, it seemed perfect. For once , I was not a harsh critic to my work and instead chose to see it as something fresh and new. This isn’t my typical art style, but I thought it was necessary to try new techniques for new results. I am happy with how it came out and so was my client! It really helped me relax before the semester began and sometimes that imperative to anyone, not just college kids!

I hope you all enjoyed the piece, and I hope reading me ramble on about posi vibes and colors and all that good stuff, really helped you find your own ways to start off your new year or prepare yourself for stressful events! Until next time!!

<– Here’s a fun little photo of when I first started working on it! You don’t know this, but I was having a frustration meltdown behind the camera. (haha don’t we all)