Home Decor DIY Project #1 : Living Room Painting

So after looking ALL over for the perfect painting to go with the decor in my living room, I decided to paint my own picture. Now please note, I dont profess to be a real deal artist by any means but I do enjoy doing it as a hobby.

First, I had to figure out what look I was going for with the painting. Should I do something abstract, something with clean lines, something super simple... decisions, decisions. So I decided to go on www.art.com. They have tons of hot prints (unfortunately none of them worked for what I wanted) but I did come across a picture that inspired my design.

I sketched out my idea on paper first. I bought a canvas from Michaels (40% off) and sketched my design on the canvas in pencil. Next, I knew I didnt want to do a flat painting. I wanted to create a little texture so I bought some glass bead gel and a heavy gel gloss medium. These can be purchased at any art store (or Michaels).
Basically, you mix the gels in with your paint and it thickens the consistency of it allowing you to create texture in your painting.

Here is what the heavy gel bottle looks like:


Filling in lines of sketch:


Finished up one side:


All done!