Keeping nature’s gifts on canvas
One morning as I spray painted a piece of furniture black in the side yard, I noticed a cobweb catching the paint over-spay. I had to wait for the paint to dry before I could do anything else to the nightstand, so I pulled up a lawn chair and pondered all the details I could see on the painted web. What a masterpiece! I had never taken time to really look at a web closely, but that morning I realized how intricate and ornate the web was. The day before I’d painted what I thought was a darn good web on a decoration, but after seeing this beauty, I knew I‘d been wrong. What if . . .
I looked at the stack of newspapers beside me and wondered what would happen if I pressed the newsprint on the web. I put the newspaper behind the web and pulled it forward, catching all the painted web onto the paper. I was surprised to see that the paint coated web stuck perfectly to the paper. But in seconds the web popped off since there wasn’t enough paint to keep it attached to the paper. This gave me an idea.
I dashed into the house, grabbed an small white canvas and my Elmer’s spray adhesive, and hustled back outside. I searched my yard until I found another web that would be perfect for my canvas. I sprayed the adhesive on the canvas and then lightly sprayed the web with spray paint (being careful to not kill the maker of this beauty). I carefully put the canvas behind the web and brought it forward as I centered the delicate thing onto the canvas. The web stuck to the canvas and ta da. Instant natural art!
What you need:
- Black spay paint
- Adhesive spray
- Small white canvas
- Frames for the canvas
- Glitter or diamond dust (optional)
Get up and go out early one fall morning and see some of the most spectacular art being made fresh in your neighborhood everyday. Just remember to be kind to the artist when taking their original art/home since there won’t be another like them anywhere in the world.
Step One: Find a Spider Web
Find a web you want to use. Hold up your unprepared canvas and see where you’d like the web placed.
Step Two: Prepare Your Canvas
Spray the area of the canvas where you plan to place the web and let the adhesive set.
Step Three: Gently Prepare Web With Paint Overspray
Gently chase away the resident artist and shake your can of spray paint. After you’re sure the artist is off the web, take your can of spray paint and lightly spray the web with short bursts of paint from at least six to eight inches away. Take your time spraying the delicate web. You may want to take a few practice attempts before spraying a web you want to keep. If you get too much paint, it’ll cause the web to collapse on itself and destroy it. If you spray the web directly, the force of the spray will break the web, and it will be unusable for your project. Remember you only want over spray to stick to the web so its details show up on the canvas.
Step Three: Attaching the Web
Now that your canvas is tacky and you’ve over-sprayed the web, lightly put the canvas behind the web and ever so gently, pull the canvas forward so that the web attaches itself to the canvas at the same time. Once the web is attached to the canvas, set the canvas down inside on some newspaper to dry. Frame the canvas, and you’re done!
Keep in mind you can add to this simple idea in a number of ways like painting a spider on the canvas before you put the web on, or how about putting the web on a antique reproduction of Jack-O-Lantern post card? My friend even put a touch of silver diamond dust on just parts of the web before it and the canvas dried. It was an elegant touch that added just enough shine to add interest to the details to the delicate web. Have fun with this almost free art!
The post Cobweb Picture Art – An Easy Halloween Craft Idea appeared first on Halloween Alliance.