Introduction: Lighted Starry Night Painting
This is a simple mixed media painting using acrylic and polymer clay; the clay is for some 3d effect on the painting; and the fairylights is to give light to the stars. I decided to do this to give life to our dark hallway, I used fairy lights with batteries because I want to hide the wires while my masterpiece is hanging on the wall.
I havent painted in maybe 23+ years, my skills are just basic so anyone can do this, I dont even have background in any arts study. Clay is just a hobby with my kid.
I hope this would give ideas to others and have fun making this.
I havent painted in maybe 23+ years, my skills are just basic so anyone can do this, I dont even have background in any arts study. Clay is just a hobby with my kid.
I hope this would give ideas to others and have fun making this.
Step 1: Materials and Tools
I used acrylic paint, polymer sculpey clay, glue, painters tape, fairy lights, clay cutter round, clay cutter petal shape, clay cutter tiny flower shape, paint brushes, and some tiny green grass turf from craft store, ruler, exacto knife, pear knife, toothpicks, coin batteries, wax paper, duct tape
Step 2: Plan the Painting
My idea of a starry night painting is based on our vacations in different places to unwind and relax. This is a reminder of fun times, having bon fire eating s'mores and barbique, chitchatting and planning the next adventure with friends and family.
In this painting, I wanted a small old cottage, with a river and a bon fire. I want a lot of little flowers because spring is my favorite season. I also wanted a neighbors house with windmill to add a some countryside feel in it.
You can put anything in your painting that makes you happy too. It's not how great or beautiful the paiting looks like that matters, as long as you enjoy doing it, and are satisfied with your work, it will still be a masterpiece! ❤
In this painting, I wanted a small old cottage, with a river and a bon fire. I want a lot of little flowers because spring is my favorite season. I also wanted a neighbors house with windmill to add a some countryside feel in it.
You can put anything in your painting that makes you happy too. It's not how great or beautiful the paiting looks like that matters, as long as you enjoy doing it, and are satisfied with your work, it will still be a masterpiece! ❤
Step 3: Painting the Background
I decided to paint the background of my painting with darker colors because its night time. I wanted a dark sky for my stars to light up, then i want a mountain and a river on the side, I placed a yellow space for where I planned to place my little cottage, I wanted pine trees on the background. I wanted a relaxing feel of the environment underneath the stars in my painting.
Step 4: Making the Cottage
I draw the house in a ledger pad because I dont have a graphing paper. I just needed some guidelines to make my cottage straight. Cut the cottage and cut its windows and door.
I used polymer clay for the house, I wanted to paint the clay after baking so it doesnt matter what color of clay I used.
I kneaded the clay into a ball and used clay rolling pin to flatten it, the diameter has to cover the house drawing. Then I carefully cut the edges using ruler and small knife, I made a hole for the windows and door too because I want lights inside the cottage. I cut out the door and pinned a small screw to serve as my doorknob.
I used polymer clay for the house, I wanted to paint the clay after baking so it doesnt matter what color of clay I used.
I kneaded the clay into a ball and used clay rolling pin to flatten it, the diameter has to cover the house drawing. Then I carefully cut the edges using ruler and small knife, I made a hole for the windows and door too because I want lights inside the cottage. I cut out the door and pinned a small screw to serve as my doorknob.
Step 5: Tile-roof Clay
After the cottage has been cut, I rolled another clay and used a petal cutter. I made a lot of cut petals, then I lined it over the cottage roof, starting at the bottom. I lined the next row alternating and covering the gaps of the first row. It will look like fish scales but once it is done and colored, it will look like tiles. Continue alternating the tiles with the next row and so on. Once you are done, cut the sides to get a straight looking roof.
Step 6: Making the Bon Fire and the Full Moon
I wanted a lightened bon fire. I planned to make the flame out of clay, but since my toddler broke my tealight candle, it gave me an idea to use the semi-transparent cover of the bulb. I cut it almost half way to accomodate my painting and painted it with yellow and orange acrylic paint. I made stones out of polymer clay to surround the bon fire and made some extra to be scattered around the painting. I just simply made a semi-rounded clay, then I poked the rocks with toothpick to get the rock appearance. I used my scraps clay because I am going to paint it anyway. I made a bigger hole for the bon fire in the painting for the little bulb to light up more than the stars.
For the moon, I used transparent polymer flattened it out and cut it with round clay cutter.
For the moon, I used transparent polymer flattened it out and cut it with round clay cutter.
Step 7: Making the Accessories
I made tiny flowers and leaves of polymer clay by simply flattening it, and using the smallest flower and leaf cutter I have. I also made little roses, I rolled and flattened the clay into tiny circles then roll them into roses. I also made spiral green stalk just roll your green clay to become very thin snakes then wrap it around a toothpick. For the pine trees, I flattened out the rolled green clay and cut the edges to make it tear drop shape then I cut the sides to shape the branches. The leaves were just cut using petal cutter with green clay. I made stones too using scrap clay, then coloring it after baking. After making all the accessories, bake the clay as directed. I painted toothpicks with brown acrylic paint to serve as the cottage fence.
Step 8: Painting the Clays
After baking the polymer clay, I painted the cottage body with light brown, then the roof red. After drying, I painted the cottage body with darker brown and the roof, red again for the 2nd coat. I painted the roof with diluted dark brown color (with water) to make it look like an old cottage (3rd coat). The body of the cottage have lines, I painted them with very dark brown acrylic to make it look like wood. I made a neighbors house and a wind mill with clay on the empty space in the center. The neighbor's house is just a clay shaped like a house and windmill. I painted them grey to look like concerete after baking. On the space where I wanted to put the neighbors house, I painted yellow on windows location. I painted the pine trees with some brown color because my painting is night-time to make the trees a darker.
Step 9: Planning the Fairylight Bulbs Placement
I temporarily placed the moon and the cottage on the painting to plan where I will be poking the holes for the fairylight bulbs. I have 3 fairylights, warm color with 10 bulbs each so I planned how I will be able to maximize them. First, I wanted a starry night, the neighbor's house to have a light, each of the cottage windows, and the bon fire . I poked a hole on the painting after measuring where the bulbs can be placed. After having a hole for the fairy light bulbs, I taped the tealight bulbs at the back of the painting using the painters tape to temporarily hold it in place. When I am sure of the wiring placement, I used duct tape to secure the bulbs and wirings in place, replacing the painters tape. I made sure that all the switches are all in one side.
Step 10: Gluing the Clays
I glued the cottage after putting a hole for the light on each windows. I also glued the moon, the pine trees the neighbors and the bon-fire and the rocks. I glued the fence toothpicks on the painting. I painted a pathway from the cottage. I used an old sponge with green paint to lightly damp on the painting to where I want some little weeds/grasses. After drying, i mixed glue with water and used my painting brush to apply some glue on the painting where I want to put the green grass turf that I got from the craft store and scattered the tiny turf on the glue. While waiting for the glue to dry out, I painted some green grass/leaves at the bottom portion of my cottage body and the neighbors coz I want to put flowers on it. When the paint and glue are all dried, I removed the excess turf by tapping the painting. I glued the flowers, roses leaves, and stones. I arranged them to how I wanted them to look like. I painted some yellow dots in the center of each little flowers. After the glue and paint are all dry and strong, my masterpiece is ready to be displayed.