Paint jars

Got 100 plastic jars - 250ml - today. Rather than use 50 shades I've decided to go with 100. It should not be a problem to mix up 100 batches and keep them for future projects. I'll probably get a couple more syringes so I will not need to mix the black and white in the syringes.

Bought paint

Checked another couple art shops today - they did have acrylic paint but in pretty small sizes and still expensive. Ended up at Sherwin Williams and bought some black and white paint in plastic "to go" containers that are usually used for paint samples. It worked out to be way less than at the art shops - I got about a quart of each, which should be plenty to start with.

Fabric paint

Checked a couple art and craft shops today looking for fabric paint - found in a couple places but in pretty small volumes , probably best used for detailed painting rather than what I have in mind. Read online that acrylic paint is good for fabric so will check Sherwin Williams.

Talking about fabric I will probably go with cotton

Dayne50

Had a thought for Dayne's pic - like Guy & Natasha's it is a j'ouvert pic, but taken at night with flash so the background is basically black. I'm thinking to do a black background in chalkboard paint and use strips an inch or so in front to give it some depth - will need to determine how to do the horizontal spacing though. Maybe pins or tacks above the surface with the cloth strips glued on.

Syringes

The plan is to precisely mix paint using syringes - I picked up a 50ml and 10ml syringe tonight. Cost less than I expected - $5 for the 50ml. Now to get some paint and fabric!

GuyNat

For Guy and Natasha I am planning to use a J'ouvert picture of them and to reproduce it as a 48 x 48 picture made up of 3/4 inch cloth squares painted in 50 shades of grey

(each representing a pixel) strung on nylon in a wooden frame.

The method

The method basically involves taking a digital photo, converting to greyscale, reducing the pixel depth and the reproducing it in another medium, preferably with some sort of kinetic element. I have different media in mind - including cloth, pins, windmills, table-tennis balls etc. We'll see how it goes.

Proposed pieces

This year is one with a few significant events: I planned to do pieces for 50th birthdays for Carole and Dayne, and one for the living room of our new house. This was pre-empted, though, by the announcement of the wedding of Guy and Natasha in October - so my first piece will be their wedding present.

What is this all about?

I've had an idea buzzing around my head for a while about creating art from pictures - mainly portraits. At the end of last year / beginning of this year this was one of my New Year's resolutions - to get it from my head and into actual existence. This blog, therefore, is intended to chronicle my first foray into my artistic/creative side.