Faux tile patterns are fun to paint. Inspiration for them is everywhere. Here I’m using acrylic paint on canvas pretreated with Gesso. The background paint looks best if it’s a bit thick and lumpy, showing the brush strokes. I lightly mark off the squares with chalk and ruler, but try to keep it freehand as possible.
Mother of pearl buttons from my great grandmother’s sewing box, sea glass and some macaroni painted for beads using my favorite Sakura Souffle gel pens.
I like the pink blocks best. They don’t crumble like the blue ones and the white ones. So far I haven’t liked the Lino or wood because it’s much harder to carve and I can get as much detail with the pink as I need.
I tried tracing with carbon paper and all that but now I just keep it simple by free hand drawing with a ballpoint pen. You don’t have to follow the lines exactly and you can really see what you’ve got with no smudges.
I use a bunch of carving tools that you can buy in almost any art supply store. “NIji” brand tools have a straight wooden handle. “Speedball” has a set with a bulbous red handle. I don’t recommend one over the other, I just pick up whatever feels sharpest and right at the moment.
Jules Means Designs 