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Are You Game?

© Karon Goodman

Sometimes, you're blessed with a truly blank canvas to work with, and that's a great time to recycle freehand. Maybe you're a talented artist who can create masterpieces from your mind. Or if you're like me, maybe you need a photo to guide you. That's my idea of freehand -- transferring a photo to my piece of furniture. All it takes is a pencil and a big eraser!

The latest cabinets I recycled freehand were made to be video game cabinets for my boys. I had two cabinets just alike, rescued from an abandoned house. They were originally designed to hang on the wall, but we placed them on the floor and cut a small hole in the back for cords to go through. It was a simple project, really, and quite forgiving. You can view the finished results here: http://www.mindspring.com/~billgoodman/v... .

The cabinets I used were old and neglected. I removed the antique contact paper from the inside shelves and painted them with bright colors to match my pictures. I sanded the outside finish a bit and applied a coat of primer and then a couple of coats of white latex paint. You could use any color, of course, for your background, but I chose white because every color shows up better and brighter with a white basecoat. So if you don't paint your cabinet white, apply white under all of the colors in your picture for more vibrant results.

These cabinets would have worked in a variety of places, but since they were to become video game cabinets, I chose to paint Mario and Wario (I didn't even know who they were, but I had to choose my subjects from the game booklets my boys gave me -- they couldn't believe I was so hopelessly out of touch).

When you choose your subject, keep a few things in mind:

(1) Unless you can infer what's behind a wall or other obstruction, choose a figure that is in complete view.

(2) Decide how much you want to paint. If the background in your picture has to be included, that will mean that much more work. If you want to keep it simple, choose a subject that can stand alone.

(3) Look at the most complicated part of the picture you've chosen. Try to draw it on paper. If that goes well, you can probably handle the entire subject. Draw your practice area either smaller or larger than the picture you're drawing from, because you'll most likely be enlarging the photo for your furniture so the practice with scale will help.