My first "real" painting.

Ok, ok, so I have painted before but I have never considered myself a "painter." It is not a medium that I have quite mastered yet. I've always wanted to be one, (I've always wanted to illustrate a children's book but that has not happened yet either) but hey, I am learning. 
Yesterday I started a project that I am falling in love with. And guess what, it is a REAL PAINTING!

I was put in charge of decorating for the Christmas Activity/Program for this next week and was asked if I could make the gym look like old Jerusalem; and on a $20 budget nonetheless. Can you say IMPOSSIBLE!? Well, not for this woman! I have the two best ladies on my committee and we haven't spent anything so far. We are making palm trees out of carpet rolls and dug-up ferns, a old Jerusalem market place booth out of  bamboo poles, cardboard, and a long table, and hanging one of those big metal stars wrapped in aluminum foil. It is going to look great! At least I am hoping so. I won't be there to see it all since I am leaving the day before to go home for Christmas. But I think it'll come together.

For one of the walls I decided that it would be nice to have a visual of Jerusalem hanging up, and that's where it all started. Dan brought home a bunch of cardboard, and masonite type wood stuff for me to use, and instead of seeing cardboard and paper covered masonite, what I saw was, CANVAS!

First, I white washed a piece of the stuff with some left over Flat White house paint, (probably from when this house was built) and sketched my design in pencil.

Then today, I started the painting. It is no where near completed yet; but even with the roughed up color scheme starting to come together, I am way excited. I am also thinking I will probably be adding plenty of warm colors to tie in with my red recliner, and maybe eventually it'll be hanging up above the fireplace in that room. And the best part is that I spent a total of $0 on it. The "canvas" was free, the brushes and paint were something I already had on hand, and I don't plan on spending anything on it. Well, at least not until it comes time to buy molding for a frame. Here's what it looks like right now.