Finger Painting a Cereal Box Canvas

I'm back to my cereal box canvases.  When I think I can't "do it" my go to surface is a cereal box.   Think about it.... It's a piece of cardboard.  It's easy to toss or recycle.  It's not in a journal and it's not an expensive piece of canvas.  It's the perfect surface to take the pressure off.

The one is there because I'm reminding myself that it's the first face but it might not be the last face I paint.  Thank you Carolyn Dube for encouraging me and for writing about your struggle with faces.  

Carolyn wrote about trusting her muse and about finger painting.  My muse liked that finger painting idea and that is how I started Miss 1.  I can't begin to tell you how many layers of paint are on her face.  I just kept playing until there was something there that resembled a face.  Then I tried to paint the eyes. Note to self: throw away the cheapo brushes.  They were a mess and I didn't love them so I added yet another layer of cream, brown and pink paint to her.  

At this point is was not happy so I tore up a map of the Southeast US and collaged around her face. Collage is very soothing for me and it's within my comfort zone.  Then I went back in with some brown paint and her eyes improved.  I tried to make her a pink V-neck shirt but decided it was too high up so I tried to remove it.  Viola!  Another happy accident... I had a gel medium transfer on her neck.  I loved it.  It spoke to me so I added a bit more to her neck.  Now I had a face in a map...not great...so I got the brown paint and mixed cream and a bit of pink and finger painted some hair for her.  Her hair is a little 80s but that's ok.  

The odd part about her is that she reminds me of my senior picture.  My best friend did my eye makeup for that picture.  I did not wear eye liner except for that day for that picture.  My hair was auburn and long for a short period of time.  No one who saw the picture recognized me.  I have no clue why I had my senior picture made with a me that wasn't me at all.


My advice to all of you who are afraid to try something you'd really like to try.... Eat some Cheerios, paint with your fingers and use the box as your experimental canvas.  

Link to: APR