An unsuccessful painting just sits there and looks sad. Did you ever think of taking drastic measures to either fix it or finish it off for good? Here is a quick and easy way to “shake the dice.” It requires hardly any supplies, takes very little time and the results might surprise you. If you have the desire to see what might happen and are willing to cut and paste, this might be what you need to take a bad painting and make it acceptable. It will, at the very least, look fresh and unique.
Steps
Part 1
Part 1 of 3:
Picking Your Painting
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Study some of your paintings. You, no doubt, have some parts that fell short of what you intended. Pick out a few possibles to use for this project.
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2Take a look at others in your stack of paintings. The only requirement is that you aren’t satisfied with them and are willing to take extreme measures to change them.Advertisement
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3Gather your supplies. They include a ruler, an index card or a piece of lightweight cardboard, a mat knife or a utility knife, a pencil, and a roll of masking tape.
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4Decide on one painting that you want to overhaul. Take an index card or a light piece of cardboard to measure and measure a 2” square on either of the two and cut it out. This will be your template, so make it as exact as possible.
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5Check the outside dimensions of your painting. Use a ruler, and if the painting isn’t a perfect rectangle, trim it with scissors, a paper cutter, or a utility knife and a metal edged ruler.Advertisement
Part 2
Part 2 of 3:
Getting to Work
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1Turn the painting to the reverse side. Place the template anywhere you please and draw around it using a pencil. Move the template an inch away from the square you just drew and draw another square on the back of the painting around the template. Allow at least an inch between squares, preferably more. Continue to plot out squares on the back of the painting until you have as many as you want. Work all over the surface, distributing them throughout.
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2Use your utility knife and ruler to cut out the squares. Do it cleanly to be sure each cut piece is a perfect square with no uneven corners or ragged edges. If you used watercolor paper, you will find it strong and resistant at first. After a few cuts, you will know the correct pressure that you need, and it will be easier.
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3Shuffle the cut squares. Keep your painting reversed. Shuffle the cut squares, turning some upside down or sideways. Place them into the holes on the painting. This is where you must let go, not try to control the outcome, and just allow the pieces to fit back into the holes in the painting. Keep your painting reversed while doing this. It doesn’t matter if they are on their side or upside down, just place them at random. Tape them down to the painting with two pieces of masking tape so you can turn the painting over.
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Prepare yourself for an interesting outcome. Flip the painting over to see a brand new view of your previous painting. Stand back and look at it for awhile before making changes.Advertisement
Part 3
Part 3 of 3:
Fine-Tuning Your Work
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1Change any of the squares, if desired. When you are satisfied, turn the piece over and tape the desired square you want in that area securely to the painting. Use masking tape. Keep flattening the painting with your fingers as you work. The goal is to make it as seamless as possible.
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2Stand back and study the new artwork. It's a new painting, a quirky and fun experiment. Accept it for the new way it looks. Know that you could have never painted it the way it turned out.
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Congratulate yourself for, at best, recycling. You’ve saved one sad painting from the trash can. Think of it as an abstract (leaning toward cubistic) art piece. Your half hour of letting go and trusting chance might be just the right thing for a viewer to hang on a wall of their home. Remember, beauty is subjective and will always be found only in the eye of the beholder.Advertisement
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Tips
- If you decide to make squares of various sizes, just do them in equal or even numbers to fill all the holes you've cut.Thanks
- Scissors to cut the holes in such small spaces probably aren't the best tool. You want to try and keep your cuts exact and even so when you put it back together it lies flat and has no air spaces where things don't fit perfectlyThanks
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Things You'll Need
- Metal edged ruler
- Scissors, paper cutter, mat knife, or utility knife
- Index card/piece of lightweight cardboard
- Pencil
- Masking tape
About this article
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 561 times.
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