Okay, let me tell you about this little project I got into recently.
Trying Out That Thing
So, I kept seeing the name Shauna Sheehan pop up, mostly when I was looking at some cool design stuff online, you know, just browsing around. Didn’t know much about her, really, just that the name stuck in my head. Then I saw this particular style, this way of doing… let’s call it textured painting? It looked really neat, kinda layered and interesting.
I thought, hey, I could probably try that. Looked simple enough in the pictures I saw. Famous last words, right? Anyway, I decided to give it a go one weekend.
Getting Started
First off, I had to figure out what I even needed. It wasn’t like there was a clear list. I just guessed based on the photos. Grabbed some thick paper, like cardstock maybe? Found some old acrylic paints I had lying around – basic colors, nothing fancy. The key thing seemed to be adding texture, so I rummaged around and found some sand – yeah, like playground sand I had for another project – and some cheap craft glue.
My master plan was simple: mix the paint, glue, and sand together and just slap it on the paper. How hard could it be?
The Messy Middle
Well, it was harder than I thought. And messier. Way messier.
- Mixing the paint, glue, and sand was weird. The ratios were totally off at first. Too much sand, it was like trying to paint with concrete. Too much glue, it was just sticky goo. Too much paint, and the texture disappeared.
- Getting it onto the paper evenly? Forget about it. I tried a brush, but it got clogged up instantly. Then I tried a palette knife thingy I had, which worked a bit better, but it still looked kinda… lumpy? Not in the cool, intentional way I saw in those pictures, more like “I dropped this in the mud” kind of way.
- Then there was the drying time. Because of the glue and the thickness, it took forever to dry. Like, days. And I was impatient, poking at it, which probably didn’t help the final look.
Honestly, halfway through, I almost just chucked the whole thing in the bin. It looked nothing like the smooth, professional stuff I associated with that name I kept seeing. It was frustrating, you know? You see something, think “I can do that,” and then reality hits you with a bag of sand and glue.
How It Turned Out
So, after it finally dried, it wasn’t a total disaster. It definitely had texture! But it wasn’t… elegant. It was rough. Kinda primitive looking. It didn’t have that specific feel I was going for, the one inspired by, well, you know who.
But, you know what? It was an experience. I actually did something. I tried a technique, messed it up quite a bit, learned that mixing sand and glue isn’t as straightforward as it seems, and ended up with a unique, bumpy piece of paper. It’s not hanging on my wall, let’s be real, but the process itself was kinda fun in a chaotic way. Made me appreciate the skill involved in making that textured stuff look good. It ain’t easy.
