One of my favorite activities that I look forward to each fall is working with Best Buddies Indiana creating collaborative artwork for the Art of Friendship event. Again this year my buddies were a pair from the local high school. I’ve had such fun meeting new pairs of friends each year and creating fun art with them! We worked outdoors on our canvas piece, starting with a layer of watercolor and webbing to make a background design.
While that dried we discussed different shapes we might add to the piece and it was decided that leaves would be the thing. A pair of scissors and a short walk around the yard and we had gathered plenty of leaves for our project! Our next step was selecting which colors of spray paint we would use with the leaves. Then the leaves were laid on the canvas, sprayed around, moved, sprayed again, etc. until we were happy with the colors. After that had a chance to dry then we decide if we would add circles, lines, or waves and lines were the choice. I drew the lines where the ladies told me to and that was the end of the project for then.
Several days after that, when the paint was thoroughly dry, I went back into the piece with charcoal, markers & pen and highlighted details throughout the piece.
I felt like it was pretty much finished but I wasn’t altogether sure. So I let it sit a while where I could see it frequently. Just hours before it was to go to the art event and be auctioned off I decided it needed just one last touch, so the gold colored leaves were added. Here is a photo of my two buddies from this year, with the artwork behind them on the left.
We had such a great time and it was great raising money for this wonderful organization. Read more about what Best Buddies does HERE. I’ve participated in this event every year and will cherish the memories that I’ve made!
Lynne
Once the piece was tentatively composed they got to work sanding wooden pieces, applying sand & aluminum for texture and adding paint and ink for color. 
They were wonderful collaborators with lots of interesting ideas! 
The pieces were all left to dry and later I finished the edges, did a little touch up and then did the final assembly of the piece. They titled it “Figurative Masquerade” and I love the way that it turned out! I attached multiple hangers on the piece so it could be hung in several different directions, depending on the purchasers preference. It was sold for $250 at a live auction during the event, which was held at the Mansion at Oak Hill in Carmel, Indiana. It’s awesome to help out such a great organization and I had a fabulous time working with Ben & Kristi this year!
A Randomly Creative Blog 