*This post does contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through an affiliate link, I do receive compensation however, the products through my links are at no additional cost to you.I’ve had a whole week off of work and it has been AMAZING!!! I’ve got so much done I’ve actually had time to sit down, relax, and do things that are fun for me. One of those things is painting! I’m definitely not the best artist, but I enjoy it. It’s a good way for me to relax and clear my mind, which is something everyone should take time to do every once in a while.
My boyfriends, sister’s birthday was few weeks ago. I had been seeing Lilly Pulitzer inspired paintings all over Pinterest, so I decided to paint her one for her birthday. It turned out a lot better than I anticipated. For her painting, I did purple flowers and her monogram in the middle. After that, I really wanted to paint one for myself. The canvas I bought came in a pack of 2, so I decided to paint another one for my sister for Christmas (I hope she doesn’t read this!)
On the paintings I did for my sister and I, instead of doing a monogram, I made the circle in the center a little bigger to have room to paint a quote. Again, these turned out wayyy better than I anticipated! I actually really shocked myself with how well these turned out!
What You’ll Need for a Lilly Pulitzer Inspired Painting:
- Canvas
- Acrylic Paint (I used 4 colors: Tan, Mint Green, Green, White)
- Paint Brushes in different sizes (these
are my favorite)
- Mod Podge
- Something Circular (I used a paper plate for the quote and a bowl for the monogram)
- Pencil
- Glue Gun
- Pearl Beads (optional)
Step 1: Trace the Circle
Lay the paper plate (or bowl) in the center of the canvas and trace it lightly with a pencil.
Step 2: Paint over the Traced Circle
Paint over the traced circle with the background color. I used tan for my paintings, but use whatever color you want for your background to paint the circle. I used a medium sized angled brush in this set
Step 3: Paint Different Sized Circles in the Background
These circles will be the flowers. Make them different sizes and fill up the background with them!
Step 4: Fill in the Background
Also, as you’re filling in the background, be sure to paint the edges of the canvas. It looks a lot cleaner!
Step 5: Start Painting the Flowers
Use a smaller brush and paint short brush strokes in the circles. I used mint green for this step. This doesn’t have to be neat at all!
Once you do a few short brush strokes in all of the circles, mix half mint green, half white and repeat in the white spaces in the flowers. Then do it again to fill in the rest of the exposed canvas by mixing white with a drop or 2 of mint green to make a super light mint green color.
Step 6: Add leaves to the Flowers
Fill in the open background space with leaves! I try to add about 2 leaves to each flower. I used green mixed with a few drops of white for the leaf color.
Step 7: Paint A Colored Circle to Border the Quote (or monogram)
I used the half mint green, half white color for this and I used the same medium sized angled brush. So, basically just paint over the first large circle. I also painted the center of that circle with white paint just to clean everything up.
Step 8: Paint the Quote!
There’s really no easy way to do this. I tried printing out the quote and tracing it with a pencil (reallllly thickly) and transferring it to my canvas…it didn’t work. So I free-handed it. I wrote out my quote lightly with pencil (so I could erase it if I needed to until it was perfect), then I used the tiniest brush in the brush set
Step 9: Mod Podge
Paint over the entire painting with Mod Podge. I used the glossy finish. The Mod Podge seals everything in and makes it look polished!
Step 10: (optional) Hot Glue Pearl Beads Around the Quote
I absolutely love the way this turned out! This painting is the perfect Christmas gift if you don’t know what to get someone. And you can make it as personalized as you want to! Leave a comment below and let me know if you give this a try! And be sure to check out my other DIY Painting!
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