I've always liked painting on wood, so when I saw these little unfinished trinket boxes at my local craft store, I just had to try my hand at decorating them. They're small (only 4" x 4") - the perfect size for sweet seasonal decorations or a unique place to store special treasures.
After I finalized my sketches and color palette, I laid down a base coat consisting of a mixture of burnt umber, black, and ultramarine blue for a deep, rich background. Except for a cursory sanding, I didn't prepare the boxes with gesso or any other ground; I just started painting on raw wood. I was really pleased with the way the paint reacted with the wood - there was always an element of surprise as I painted, since the wood absorbed more of the paint than I expected.
Once I painted the sides, I finished them off with a DecoColor gold opaque paint marker. Since the wood was pretty rough, I didn't want to fool around with trying to get straight lines with a brush. As a final touch, I treated both boxes with two coats of matte acrylic varnish.
I was happy with the results - so much so that I'll be painting more: first I'll tackle a few Halloween and Day of the Dead commissions, then move on to some fall and winter-themed boxes.
The boxes are available at my Etsy shop: www.ravenandrenn.etsy.com
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