Abstract Paint Along

Every couple of years, I get itchy to change at least part of the decor in my house. Some years, it's been something big, like a new rug or living room love seat. But some years, it's something smaller, like the artwork in my kitchen.

I have a fairly small kitchen. The house was built in 1923, and while I refurbished the kitchen when I moved in, I didn't alter the size at all. It's a very efficient kitchen, but as my Dad would say, it's a one-butt kitchen. Given all that, I've still ended up with two-thirds of one wall completely blank. A great opportunity to have a statement piece!

The wall in question is a neutral/cool-tone grey. The rest of the kitchen is done in black and white, with accents of yellow, green, and silver/tin. In the past, I've done a simple painting of lemons (very amateur level, but not horrible), and a drip "painting" with yellow, green, white, and black crayons and a hairdryer.

So when I was considering a new piece of artwork to refresh the kitchen decor, I knew I wanted something that looked a little less DIY than I'd had before. I can't recall how I initially stumbled across these videos, but I found an un-narrated video tutorial for abstract painting using only a palate knife, and something in me said, "Hey! I could do that!"

I chose slightly different colors that I thought would match my kitchen better, but other than that, I think, for an evening's effort, it turned out pretty good! Of course there are things I'd do differently, or better, now that I've done it once and I kind of feel like I know what I'm doing. But I would definitely say it's a very approachable project, even for someone with only a couple of high school or college art classes under their belt.

Rather than framing it traditionally, I ended up "floating" the painting on the wall, with the frame hanging separately. It gives the painting more focus, and takes up more of the wall (which I wanted). Visitors to my kitchen, few though they are, can see "kitchen" on three walls, and "art gallery" on the fourth wall: