Tiny Canvases

With big thoughts

A few weeks ago, I wrote about one of the delightful craft activities my sister and I engaged in during her visit to Orlando, namely, painting Kindness Rocks. The other craft activity we engaged in was painting Tiny Canvases.

As I am no Bouguereau, I figured that I’d start out with something simple: favorite quotations. I did, though, add small, related doodles around the quotations as a fun touch. The first one I created is from Thoreau’s Walden, which is the quotation I would like carved on my headstone when that time arrives. The second is an inspiring one from Camus.

If you’re keen to try your hand at these darling wee canvases, be sure to get not only some tiny canvases, paint, and small brushes, but also base paint and varnish. If you decide to use thin marker pens (rather than acrylic or oil paint) to draw or letter, also be sure to get suitable spray-on sealant, else the varnish will make the ink run. I learned that the hard way….

Given the tiny amount of space on a tiny canvas, I quickly realized that it would work best to use brief extracts from some of my favorite passages. Sources ranged from Mary Oliver to Albus Dumbledore.

The ultimate destination (this time) for these tiny canvases was Little Free Libraries. We had so much fun wandering around downtown Orlando from one little library to another, leaving behind a tiny canvas or two to surprise and delight those stopping by to check out the books.

If you’ve got some favorite brief quotations, please share them below. Perhaps they’ll make their way onto a tiny canvas and will be sprinkled about to inspire someone and brighten their day.