Right now we are beginning to have those lower temps that come in the winter time. It is during this time of the year I just want to be in front of a warm fire, under a blanket, working on a handwork project. This usually comes in the form of crocheting, needlework, or sewing. I challenged myself this year and decided to try to learn some painting techniques. I came across this amazing abstract bees tutorial from Beth Can Paint and it felt like me! I can do some things, but getting into super detailed painting has never attracted me so I love this style.

I wanted to share my progress as I followed her directions. There are times it looks pretty bad, but that’s part of the process. You have to trust the process. All the layers come together so beautifully. So above is my very first step. I wanted to make mine more textured, so I kind of globbed the paint on.

After the first layer dried I added a contrasting color.

Of course, I wanted to add one more color after that.

At this point, I experimented with some splatters. She doesn’t do this at this point, but I decided to try it out for fun.

Now is where it looks a bit not so good to me hahaha. Hers looks way better at this point. But, again, this is a process!

Now the bees are starting to really pop.

This is after a few steps. I had painted the yellow on the body and done some splattering. I also tried a technique on the blue where you use the end of a paint brush to “scratch” into the paint.

I decided to fill in the head area a bit more so it would stand out better.

Now it’s time for the wings to pop!

Making the outline more prominent here. I also decided that I didn’t like how many stripes on the body I did initially, so I thickened them up to make it look like less.

I was in awe of what detail the white paint pen did for the bees at this step.

Then of course, a gold paint pen gives it a little sparkle. I have really come to love gold paint pens.

I finished them up with a layer of this product called “glitterific“. It’s a clear medium with glitter in it. So much fun! I felt like this year was going to be a fun creative journey and so far it is proving itself to be just that. And I always love when I find ways to be creative that just feel “so me” in my heart. Now that I did these, I challenged myself to create my own personal style of bee. I did just that and am currently working on some mini pieces. I’m excited to make it my own. Remember, it’s always worth trying something you want to learn. You never know if you will really enjoy or not, but at least you will find out.