Ballard Designs; Berry Blossom Inspired Tutorial

Did you ever see a piece of art and thought wow I want that, it’ll look perfect only to look at the price tag and groan. That’s exactly what I did when I saw these two.

I put my thinking cap on and devised a plan to create similar pieces for less. The originals are  Berry Blossom Giclees from Ballard Designs. I love the colors in these prints but with a$369 price tag for two,  I knew they weren’t an option for my budget bathroom makeover.

Below is a shot of the art I created taking inspiration from the prints above. This art project was easy to paint and will add much needed style and color to our budget bathroom reno, I love the way they turned out.

Tools and Materials

2.  8×10 open back frames

2. 8 x 10 Canvas boards

Carbon Paper

Paint Brushes

Paints (outlined below)

Instructions

Step 1. Paint the entire canvas with 2 background coats of a neutral background color. Wait for the background to dry according to the directions on the tube.

Step 2. Using the sketch outline trace over outline with a piece of  graphite transfer paper onto the canvas board. Sketch outline is attached at the bottom of the post.

Step 3. Now we’re all ready to paint. I started with the dots that make up a subtle design of the swirls and leaves. I used the acrylic paint for the background because it dries quickly and allows you to start painting the main part of the picture sooner than if you were to use the water based oils that I used for the rest of the piece. The dots that make up the swirl design were painted Benjamin Moore Newburyport Blue to match my newly redecorated room. They are highlighted in blue below:

Step 4 Next up are the dots that make up the subtle leaf design. I painted them in silver acrylic paint. Those dots are highlighted in pink below.

Once all of that dries you can start the main portion of the picture. I’ve created a paint-by-number guide below and 2 paint type options.

Paint Options

I used Winsor & Newton water mixable oil paints for this project which I happened to have  on hand, but you can use any paints you like. I particularly like the idea of using those sample jars of paints  like Martha Stewart’s that Home Depot carries  you can get them in any color, they’re reasonable priced and unlike artist paints there is no mixing required.

Option #1—Artist paints ( I used Winson & Newton water mixable oil paints)

Background—Liquitex Basics, Acrylic Unbleached titanium white

Background Swirl Dots—Newburyportblue by Benjamin Moore (same color I plan to paint my room)

Background Leaf Pattern—Liquitex Metallic Silver

Winsor & Newton Oil Soluable Water paints (according to paint-by-number guide above)

1. Mix Permanent Sap Green & Phthalo Green (Blue Shade)
2. Mix Alizarin Crimson & Magenta
3. Mixture number 2 plus Titanium White
4. Dioxazine Purple & Magenta
5. Permanent Sap Green & White
6. Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna & Titanium White
7. Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna
8. Raw Sienna & Titanium White
9. Cadmium Yellow (pale hue)

Option #2  Martha Stewart’s paint samples (no mixing option)

Background—Glass of Milk

Background Swirl Dots—Benjamin Moore Newburyport Blue (same color I plan to paint my room)

Background Leaf Pattern—Mirror by Martha Stewart Living

1. Caper Berry
2. Beet
3. Larkspur
4. Plum Wine
5. Rhododendron Leaf
6. Shortbread
7. Burlap
8. Toasted Marshmallow
9. Burl

Tip: While the paint is still wet dry brush the area with some white paint  to add highlights.

Click link below for PDF of sketch
Sketch outline

Happy painting everyone! Please let me know if you tried this and how it turns out.

Psst: If you like this project stroll on over to our tutorials page to see our other projects

 Sometimes I participate in these awesome parties: The DIY Showoff, Thrifty Decor Chick, Tip Junkie, Today’s Creative Blog, Blue Cricket Design, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Miss Mustard Seed, Domestically Speaking Power of Paint, Southern Hospitality Blog