Painted Organizer

Hi there!  Today I would like to share a crafty altered project with you!  I have had a fascination with acrylic paints for quite some time.  I don't really know what to do with them, other than what I see on pinterest, and I try to mimic what I see, creating my own canvases and artwork.  I HATE copying and will NEVER copy anyone's work!  But, I like to take different ideas and put my own spin on it.  One of the techniques that I learned from browsing pinterest is impasto painting.  WOW!  What an absolutely COOL technique!  It totally appeals to me because it's 3-D, and it shows movement where there really isn't any.  It's absolutely awesome and I definitely want to stay on this avenue of art!

Back to my project though.  I was given an organizer by my dad to use however I wished.  He didn't need it any longer, and I can ALWAYS use organizational stuff!  I thought it would hold all of my paints and would be strong enough to haul wherever I go!  As I put my paints inside, I thought it would be cool to decorate the outside!  Well, a week later, it's finally finished!  Haha!  I didn't work on it every day, so really maybe 4 days to complete it...  Hey, I have 4 kids and a life!  Unfortunately I can't spend ALL of my time in my craft room!
Here's what it looked like when I got it:

I started by painting a thin layer of gesso over the entire gray surface:

Then, I started to create!  I drew the letters and the tube of paint by hand, and then painted them.

Closeup of the tube:

On the first side, I wanted to do something different and cool with the acrylic paint.  I mixed my pink paint with Liquitex Pouring Medium and turned the organizer upside down and let it drip.  Once it was dry, I turned it right side up again and it looked like little mountain islands in the middle of the ocean!  I added some white paint and tried to make it look like water.  I felt a bit of Bob Ross coming through!  LOL!  Too bad I didn't paint any little trees!

On the back, I drew and painted a painter's palette.  I painted it as if I was in the middle of a fantastic canvas painting!

And, last but not least, my favorite side!  The impasto side!!!!  Ok, can you tell that I painted lilacs?  I REALLY need to learn freakin shading!!!!  Sheesh!  But, oh the fun I had!!!  I literally glopped paint on a palette knife and slapped it on! SO freeing!  The green leaves, stems and grass I put the paint in a ziplock baggie and piped it on!  Absolutely what I LOVE to do!  I used joint compound as my medium to mix with the paint to create the depth that you see.  That's the only thing I have in my arsenal that would be bulky enough to stand up like it does.  I did go to Mike's to look for impasto paste, but God forbid they should have it!  Guess I'll have to go online once I'm better at this new and awesome technique!!!!!

You can KIND of see the height that I was able to get here:

On the top, I went mixed media, as that is my other true love!  I'm still not an expert, but it's so fun to do random stuff and it all turns out looking cool!  You literally cannot mess up!  Just paint over it!  Haha!

That's it!  Now it's back to work on a new project for March for the store and my ongoing Disney album!
Have a great day!
Thanks for stopping by!