Newsprint Tape Painting
23 Aug 2012
I have been working on this painting for ages, but that’s only because I usually only have time to paint a few lines at a time. It is actually kind of the perfect project for a busy person because it doesn’t demand more than 5 minutes at a time. It’s been really fun watching it take shape, and yesterday I decided that it is finally finished!
The word newsprint might be a little misleading…this is actually the phone book! They keep appearing on our doorstep year after year, and I was determined to make something out of them. I started by pulling out a few pages and affixing them to a canvas with ModPodge. I diluted it just a bit with water and then used a broad brush to apply it to the canvas before putting the pages on, and then I put a few more coats on top until the pages were secured.
I played around with them a bit until I had them arranged in a little sunburst pattern.
This is what it looked like after the first coat of ModPodge. Getting there! I wrapped the excess paper around the back of the canvas and taped it down.
Here is the canvas ready to paint.
And here is the first line. Painter’s tape is a girl’s best friend, and it makes nice straight lines so easy to paint.
Here things are beginning to take shape. Somehow the newsprint made me go in a tropical color direction. I’ve had some questions about paint lately, and I’m glad that it’s actually right here in the picture (along with a notebook and my laptop, for some reason). This is the very basic (ha!) acrylic paint I use, which is really easy to find and really affordable.
And that’s it! Now I just have to decide where to hang it.

Aug 23, 2012 @ 19:13:43
From a fellow avid painter’s tape user, how cool!
Aug 23, 2012 @ 23:40:20
I have been thinking so much about you while working on some of my latest projects! 🙂
Aug 24, 2012 @ 04:36:18
Hey! I thought I posted a comment here yesterday and I don’t see it. Just another example of machines conspiring against me. My lost post was about names for your painting. Because to me it could convey a lot. Bold lines across words gathered and printed in order to be used in a way that is now obsolete. Hmmm. Something to think about. Plus it looks as though it was fun to do.
Aug 26, 2012 @ 22:18:07
It was fun! And I do think it is a painting waiting to be theorized too;)
Aug 24, 2012 @ 08:58:16
LOVE it! It looks like a piece from a modern art museum or something you’d see in a fun super-modern-chic store display. (And I’m loving catching up on your other posts too – LOVE your cheerleader/Olympics outfit and the anniversary astrophysics field trip!) : )
-Mel the Crafty Scientist
Aug 26, 2012 @ 22:21:19
Oh, thank you so much! I have some catching up to do on your blog too, and I am so looking forward to it!