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Summer Daze Painting

© Jackie Duda

Last month's feature put seashells to work, and guess what? I still have some leftover sand from our glorious beach trip, so while dreaming up this month's craft item on a hot, muggy July afternoon, I decided to make use of the last bit of sand and incorporate it into a kid's craft. If you enjoy painting wood, this one's for you. I'll describe some easy techniques to add depth and character to an ordinary, one-dimensional painting. So, pack up your sand bucket, grab your acrylic paints, and let's get started.

Materials:

1. One rectangular wood plaque (any size you wish).

2. Assorted wood sea creatures, seashell, and sun shaped cutouts.

3. Acrylic paints in blue, green, yellow, red, and brown hues.

4. Paintbrushes and paint sponges.

5. One bottle of tacky glue.

6. One cup of sand.

7. One package of picture hanger materials.

8. One can of acrylic or polyurethane sealer.

9. Sea-themed rubber-stamps.

Directions:

1. Begin by lightly sanding your plaque and cutouts. Smooth any rough edges.

2. Using a paint sponge for better coverage, paint the entire top of the plaque baby blue. Leave the beveled edges unfinished, for now. That's where the sand comes in.

3. Use different paint sponges to save on cleaning time, paint the lower third of the plaque with a deeper sea blue or teal color. Move your sponge from side-to-side in order to duplicate the wave-like motion of the ocean. Do not paint the lower-left corner. This area is reserved for "sand."

4. Next, dab some white paint around the edges of the "waves" to create the crests. When loading the white paint onto your sponge, be sure to dab the excess off on your paint palette. You don't want to completely cover the peaks of the waves; you only want to "enhance" them with white froth.

5. Highlight the tops of the waves with some deep purple, and now you have a tropical ocean right before your very eyes.

6. Add some fluffy, cotton candy clouds in the sky using the "light-touch" technique described in step four.

7. Now your plaque has to dry, the perfect time to paint your cutouts. Starting with the sun, paint the entire piece yellow.

8. Dip your same yellow tipped paintbrush into some orange paint and lightly brush out the "rays" of the sun till the orange tips blend into the yellow face. Using a thin brush and the orange paint, illustrate eyes, nose and a big smile. Place on the side to dry.

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