Create Your Own Inspirational Art

The following post is from Alisha of Flourish:

Is there an area of your life in which you feel you could use a little more encouragement or inspiration? Maybe you’re like me have plenty of these areas! If so, I want to show you how to create your own inspirational art piece known as, She Art.

What is She Art? It is simply a form of mixed-media art featuring a girl (usually in folk-art style) and an empowering or heartfelt quote or scripture.

Just by hanging your work of art above your desk or workspace and seeing it each day, is a wonderful way to keep your mind renewed to God’s Word or empower you to keep working towards your dreams.

Here is an example of a She Art piece I recently created for my Masterpiece Society:

If you’ve never tried mixed-media art, you must! It’s like preschool all over again – except for big girls! Lots of painting, drawing, cutting, pasting, stamping, and getting your fingers super-gooey! But you must forget perfectionism and embrace the whimsical!

So pick out an encouraging quote or a scripture that speaks to your heart, then gather the following supplies:

• 8×10 canvas
• Acrylic craft paints in your favorite colors
• Vintage book or hymnal page
• Paint brushes/sponge brush
• Decoupage glue
• Decorative paper (a small scrap will do)
• White gel pen (or white water-based Sharpie)
• Black pen (permanent ink)
• Paper towel

Other optional supplies:

• Decorative stencil
• Heavy body acrylic paint in white
• Painter’s tape
• Old gift/credit card

Step One: Decide on which color you want your background to be. (For this project I chose a bright green called, “Irish Moss.”) Pour paint directly onto canvas (a little goes a long way) and work it around with a sponge brush.

While the paint is still wet, add a small bit of white to a dry, scrunched-up paper towel. Then tamp around your canvas, working a little white into the background color. This will give it a marbled effect. Allow background to dry.

Step Two: (Optional) If you’d like to add a little decoration to your background, then take your favorite stencil and secure it into place on the dry canvas with painter’s tape.

Put a small amount of heavy body acrylic paint (regular craft paint won’t work as well) on an old gift card and slide it over the stencil, pressing firmly to ensure the pattern is completely filled in with paint. Carefully lift stencil off and allow to dry.

Step Three: Cut out the shape of a head and torso from a vintage book or hymnal page (I’ve included a printable template here) and adhere to center of canvas with decoupage glue. Allow to dry.

Step Four: Now it’s time to get all “gussied up!”

First of all, lightly paint your head and neck in a flesh tone (you want to be able to see a bit of the book page underneath) and allow to dry. Generally, one doesn’t paint a face on a She Art girl, but if you want to do so, go for it!

Secondly, paint your hair on — choose your favorite color and style! (Note: the hair should come down over approximately one-half of the head template, encircling the face.) Allow to dry.

Next, cut out a blouse/shirt from a coordinating piece of decorative paper and adhere to torso with decoupage glue. Allow to dry.

Finally, if you’d like to add some colorful flowers to her hair, now is the time. Paint them on in your favorite colors and allow to dry. (I simply paint circles for flowers and leaf shapes. We’ll add detail with our penwork.)

Step Five: Now that everything is dry, it’s time to add detail with our penwork. Take your black permanent pen and outline your girl, adding detail to flowers, hair, shirt, etc. Then do the same with your white gel pen: add details and/or highlights anywhere you’d like.

Lastly, write your scripture or quote on the canvas. I like hand-lettering mine, but you if you prefer, you could just print the quote, cut each word out individually, and adhere with decoupage glue. (I also added a border of white paint around the edges of the canvas to give it a nice finished look.)

Step Six: When you’re satisfied with your work of art and it is completely dry, apply decoupage glue over the entire canvas. It will seal your project and leave a beautiful satiny luster.

Now hang your beautiful art piece in a prominent place to give you constant encouragement or to inspire you to live your dreams!

Alisha Gratehouse is a minister’s wife, the mother of three awesome kids, and a mixed-media artist. Her days are filled with writing, creating, homeschooling, drinking tea, and encouraging others to live abundant and satisfying lives (John 10:10). She believes that everyone has a God-given purpose to fulfill, and that in order to fulfill that purpose, they must follow the passions and desires the Lord has placed in their hearts. Alisha blogs at Flourish, and is the author of A Life That Flourishes. You can also connect with her via Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.