ARTICLE

Mother's day gift idea to paint or embroider

Make something really special for Mum this Mother’s Day – a portrait created by you of your favourite “Mum and me” photograph. Here are some easy steps to producing a lovely work of art, which you may or may not wish to confess to using. Depending on the time you have available to you, and your artistic talent, you may need to use more or fewer of the cheat tips below.

Start by choosing the photograph you wish to use. Ideally, this should be a close up, head and shoulders shot. The more detail in your photograph, the longer it will take you to create your artwork. Likewise, the bigger the end product you create the more time you will need, so take this into consideration when you plan your work.

Artistic idea #1 – Portrait on paper or board

Print out your photograph, sized and cropped, onto the paper or board you wish to use, or alternatively, arrange for it to be copied and/or printed by your local copy or photo centre.

If you’re painting and using paper, dampen and stretch it as you would for watercolour painting by taping it securely to a board. Use whichever paint media you’re comfortable with, and paint over the printed photograph, using the shapes, shades, and tones of the printing to guide your colour choice and application.

If your ink is likely to run, use a thicker card and paint with acrylic colour straight from the tube. If the card curls, press it between two heavy books once the paint is completely dry.

Chalk or oil pastels, or even coloured pencils in a good range of colours can also be used to create a coloured drawing, with no need to prepare the paper in any special way. You may wish to use a draft quality print of your photograph so that the ink is lighter and easier to cover.

To create a black and white pencil drawing, I suggest tracing your photograph onto tracing paper and then transferring to good quality paper, rather than attempting to draw over a print out.

Artistic idea #2 – Embroidered portrait

Use an iron on transfer product or a liquid transfer medium, (available from your local art supply store) to transfer a print of your photograph onto an embroidery, cross stitch, or tapestry canvas.

Use the colours and shading of the transferred graphic to select your thread colours, and stitch closely over the transfer.

Finish off by turning your canvas into a wall hanging, cushion, or whatever you think your mum will appreciate.

copyright © Elsa Neal 2006 (Please contact the for permission to reprint this article.)

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