Chalk Paint Heart Thanksgiving Art Project

This art tutorial will teach you how to create a Thanksgiving Chalk Paint Heart Art Project – this is probably one of the easiest acrylic painting projects for beginners because you can make the background super simple or super detailed.

This canvas painting is a great piece to make at this time of year, but you could also paint it in other colors and hang it year round.

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Fall is a time when people really get into decorating and reflecting on the things they are most grateful for.

If you don’t want to color the letters yourself, you can create a more colorful or patterned background, and just leave the writing for the heart on the chalkboard.

My best advice for lettering is to use a very thin brush and sketch in pencil before you color, but we’ll talk about that later.

Thanksgiving Chalk Heart Art Project

What you will need:

• 16” x 20” canvas
• acrylic paint in color of your choice – see photos for colors used and suggestions for Fall theme
• blackboard paint
• pencil and eraser
• Brushes range from very thin and fine for detail painting to 1” for background and blackboard painting
• plate or palette and cup of water
• paper towels and disposable tablecloths or napkins
• easel if desired

Step by step instructions

To start, you will first want to draw a heart shape on the fabric before pouring the color.

Draw gently so as not to leave dents in the fabric and use a good eraser.

If you have trouble getting the circular parts of the heart to fit together, you can take a small plate, about the size of a teacup, and use the edge of the plate to trace around, then paint the other corners from there.

Some people find this works. I sketch it out by hand, but I also erase a few lines until I get it right.

Wipe off all eraser chips before starting to paint.

Continue pouring both the base paint and chalkboard paint onto the plate or palette. The rest can wait, as this part takes the longest and those paints will start to dry in the meantime.

Draw heart on fabric

As you work on this painting, each time you take out a new brush to use, dip it in water to soften it, then blot it on a paper towel to remove excess water before dipping the brush in paint.

You don’t want water mixed with the paint as it will cause the paint to run and streak, but it does help the paint move better and loosens the stiff brush.

Using a thin, medium, or smaller brush, whatever you feel comfortable using to draw the line, first sketch out the heart shape to create the line there and help you keep the line steady throughout the drawing.

Then, once you have completed the entire outline, use a larger brush, like a 1 inch flat edge brush, to fill in the rest.

I find that painting in the same direction helps the color fill in better.

It will take 2 to 3 coats to get a nice, solid finish like you would with chalk, which is why we start with this coat and not a base coat.

Apply one coat thoroughly and smooth out any lumps before applying the next coat.

Put the brush in water and rinse, then set aside for later. That paint is thick and sticky, you don’t want it to ruin the brush and dry there.

Now you can repeat those steps with the background color – first sketch out the heart shape with a thin brush, around the outside edge you painted black, then go back with a larger brush and paint the rest.

Depending on the color you choose, more than one coat may be needed, so just alternate between chalkboard paint and chalkboard paint until you get both coats even, smooth, and don’t see any streaks of paint or canvas sticking out.

If you are creating a patterned background or adding multiple colors, do this while you are painting, between coats of chalkboard paint.

Add accent mark

Allow enough time for the base to dry before you continue adding any accents, like the vines I did.

Now, take out your pencil and sketch out your design before using the paintbrush.

I added appropriate curves to form the vines…

…and then draw little leaf shapes here and there, mirroring them on the opposite side.

Create text

I also sketch out the writing at this time.

The best way to write a letter is to find the center first and decide how wide you want the letter to be. Then draw the first letter, the last letter, and the middle letter before drawing the middle letters, keeping them as close to the same size as possible.

Consistency is what makes it look professional. I recommend not making the text too small so that it is not hard to read when you are across the room.

You can create cute polka dot accents if you like by flipping the brush upside down and using the end of the brush handle. Dip the brush into the paint and create polka dots.

If you’re scared to try cursive writing, try simple print.

Paint the letters with a very thin, small brush. You can always thicken your lines, but you can’t make them any smaller.

I tend to paint a thin coat on the letters first and then add another coat to thicken them up a bit.

More details

Same with vines or other small details. Start small, then add more.

Most of the colors I chose, like the dark green and wine, needed two coats so go back and see if you can see through them and if you can, apply a second coat.

This is much easier than trying to paint them. Add any details you like, you can build on the vines to make it less simple.

Highlights of the painting

The final step in this process is to add some embellishments to make everything pop.

I also used wine paint to attach small berries to random places on the vine.

For the vines and leaves, use a lighter green to add some emphasis and depth.

Things like arrows or simple wavy lines can also be good accents.

For the letters, choose a lighter color than the one you used.

If needed, add a little white to the same color or use vanilla or white.

Add small semicircles or dots to the curves on the letters here and there.

At this point, if you’re done adding highlights, go over the entire picture to see if there are any areas that need touch-up, like the edges on the hearts or letters, and when you’re done, you’re done!

Use chalk to write on the heart shape as desired and you can easily erase it with a damp cloth.

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Categories: Activities for Kids
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