Cheshire Cat Painting on Wooden Box

Cheshire Cat Painting on Wood Box

http://www.etsy.com/listing/91413222/psychedelic-cheshire-cat-wooden-box

This top image is a picture of the final product, but as you can see by the image below it was not as beautiful without a clear coat of varnish to add shine and enrich the colors. 

In fact, the picture above is not all that appealing and although the picture I painted does look nice I would never try to sell it in such a state. Below you can see what a little clear coat of semi-gloss varnish did to the Cheshire Cat painting. It is brighter and looks more professional and is much more likely to sell this way. 

For this reason I glaze almost everything I make whether it is a painting or the jewelry I do. It is just so much nicer and takes very little time and money to do. 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/91413222/psychedelic-cheshire-cat-wooden-box

Here you can see how the greens and pinks pop out and you can even see the yellows i added to the cheeks to give it more color dimension. For anyone making paintings or sculptures it is a good idea to always seal or glaze your final product, and remember to show how shiny it is in the photos you take so people know what they are getting. 

You can find this painting and others that are for sale by visiting my shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SaucerfullofSecrets

New Mushroom Painting and new iideas

Finished Mushroom Painting

http://www.etsy.com/listing/90289034/amanita-mushroom-painting-on-wooden

I decided to start trying out some new things with my art this year. Instead of just doing tiny sculptures and jewelry I decided to really get into doing some paintings. I was painting a ton of things for Christmas for all me friends and family and really rediscovered my love for painting. This is my first attempt to sell some some paintings since I was really young.

The mushroom painting is done in watercolors on a wooden cutting board I got that was bare and raw still. It was a light color of wood and I wanted to leave a lot of it showing through the painting, which is why I chose watercolor (instead of acrylics as I had intended when I first bought the wood board). Then I drew the mushrooms on the board in pencil free hand and planned out the grass and everything. I decided to go with amanita mushrooms because they are a nice red orange color and people use them a lot in their kitchen decorations. Also, they are what one thinks of when they decide to draw or paint a mushroom. The red with white dots. Although, I enjoy all types of mushrooms. As one can see below the painting was nice before I clear coated it but it doesn't look finished and presentable yet.

Mushroom Painting Before Clear Coat

After I finished the watercolor mushroom painting I decided to finish it with a clear coat of Krylon Crystal Clear. The one I used on this painting is the matte clear because the shiny one can sometimes take away from the painting and make it look dull. However I use this paint on all my wooden work because it is the best and dries in 10 minutes.

After the paint dried it has a slightly glossy finish and is the painting as well as the wood is well protected.

You can find this exact item for sale on my Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/90289034/amanita-mushroom-painting-on-wooden