My First Time Making Motivational Quote Canvases

A few months ago, I created several quote canvas pieces for a small show I was in. After reading what felt like a thousand different quotes, I narrowed it down to “Anything’s possible if you have enough nerve” by J.K. Rowling and “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” by Eleanor Roosevelt.

First, I needed to paint the entire canvas for a background. I decided I wanted to an ombre background (Ombre is a fancy word for having one color blend into another.) To create this effect I started by painting the canvas with one color and then added the second color after it dried.

Here is what the two canvases looked like when I was done with the background. I used thick brush strokes because I like the texture it adds to the piece.

Next it was time to start the lettering. I sketched out my design lightly in pencil before I started to paint the letters. For these pieces I used acrylic paints, because I wanted paints that dry quickly. To make the lettering pop, I decided to use metallic silver.

I was really nervous when I started the lettering because it wouldn’t be easy to correct if my hand slipped, but the more I did it the more comfortable I was. I also learned that it’s difficult to photograph metallic paint!