This painting is what I chose to mimic for my October Painted Canvas program at work. I run a "Painted Canvas" program once every quarter along with other monthly craft programs, but the Painted Canvas is, by far, people's favorite. With my other craft programs I usually always have empty seats even if the class had a full registration list but that is definitely not the case with Painted Canvas! The seats are always full! 

I wanted to do something "spooky" for this quarter's painting program especially since it's October. I had something else in mind originally but ended up picking this one! I followed the tutorial from "Painting with Jane" on Youtube, she's amazing! I didn't go about it exactly as she did. She used a gold metallic canvas (have never seen those before!!) and a paint/gel medium mixture to create translucent paint. I changed mine to just using a sponge on top of gold metallic paint. It's an "ok" effect, and one I think is easier for people in my class but maybe sometime I'll give the gel medium technique a shot!

1. The first step is to trace your large circular object for your blood moon (I used a large plastic bowl). You want it to be nice and big to fill up your background. Paint this circle with your gold metallic paint (you should do 2 coats).

2. "Painting with Jane" recommended using translucent paint so that the colors do not get "muddy". I  understood what she meant when I started sponge painting the colors. It did seem to get muddy but I was ok with it overall once it was done. Like I said earlier, I would like to try the original artist's technique in the future. I used a dry sponge and dipped it slightly in the paint, do not saturated your sponge! I started with brown for the dark shadows on the moon, then went into orange, blending slightly, I went back through with more gold to still have the gold represented, it's too pretty not to!

3. Before we are done with the moon, add some silver highlights with your sponge, you can add a dab of white too if you're feeling daring! 

4. Retrace the same object you used to reemphasize your circle. With a flat or angled brush, trace the outline of your moon with black paint. Take your time and be patient on this step. Paint the remaining white space black. I used two coats of black paint. As I put the second coat on, I also mixed in a bit of silver to make the background seem "shimmery". You don't have to do this part, it is a personal preference. You will notice this effect more in later photos. 

5. Trace your bird/branch template or free draw a bird if you feel comfortable. Paint this entire space black for a good base coat. I left a spot open for the raven's eye so that some of the gold shows through later. 

7.  In between painting feathers, I went in for the beak and tried to mimic the shape done in the video. 

8. I highlighted everything with white. I used my smallest/pointiest brush for this and went over the previous grey with light, quick strokes. 

9. The last step is to highlight the gnarly tree branch! To do this, I lightly added some silver in various spots then, again, lightly added some white to those same highlights in smaller strokes. 

That's really it! Sign your painting with your initials and you are good to go! Talk about an awesome addition to some holiday decor! (And let's all be honest here, this would look pretty good with some glitter too)

I don't know about you, but this winter weather has got me down in the dumps and tired as all heck! I need something to brighten up these dark days and this is the perfect painting to help me out. 

Supplies:

• Bright paint colors 
• White and black paint
• Paint tray
• Paint brushes (make sure you have a skinny one for the hair!)
• Pencil
• Scissors 
• Black and white copied photo
• Original photo for reference
• Canvas (square is fun to use)

9. Lastly, create a single-color outline around your animal to make it “pop”. This is the prominent emphasis you see in Pop Art and what makes the subject stand out. Usually this is black or white but, feel free to make it whatever color you wish!
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​You have officially created your pop art animal! Enjoy!