When I have leftover paint on my palette from a painting sesh I tend to use it up making backgrounds in my sketchbook or, in this case, on a piece of paper taped to the table. This one sat there for a few days; that brown was really disappointing me.
The plan had been to make a painting with it but I just wasn’t inspired, so I decided to cut it up. I thought I might stick the cut up pieces in my sketchbook and make a collage but then I found that tearing them gave them a nicer edge and made them into their own mini paintings.
Obviously there are a bajillion things you can do with tiny paintings; I have done a mere three.
1. Make cards. This one looks like a tiny watercolour landscape; it will make the perfect simple but pretty birthday card for a friend.
2. Make an Envelope of Joy. I use mine for payments for my Tai Chi teacher each week, but you could use them for all sorts of things. Pretty wrapping for a store gift card or some other envelope sized gift, perhaps. Or you could write a message on it and attach it to a gift as the card.
3. Write little messages or use the shapes in the pieces to draw images. I wrote these to myself as these are the sorts of things I need to hear right now, but you could inscribe or stamp anything. I like the idea of giving these to someone going through a hard time, or leaving them in public places for people to find.
It’s very pleasing to turn a potential cock up into something lovely or useful.
What would you do with tiny pieces of cut up painting?
