About a year ago, a dear friend of mine gifted me the cutest little bench/toy box and said that it may need some fixing up, as it looked like many-a-kid had had their share of fun with it. I have been trying to think of what to do with it at least weekly for as long as I have had it. After a few months of it sitting in my front room, my handy husband sanded it down beautifully and then it sat some more. I just needed it to be perfect. Then, I thought as I am putting together this idea for a blog, “I’ll “van Gogh” it! (That is my new term for painting Starry Night on something.) The whimsical emotion that Starry Night evokes in me seemed like a fitting theme for a child’s toy box.

I had never touched oil paints before this project, let alone try to mimic the work of a master painter, so I was a little nervous to begin. But as soon as I put my marker to the box, I just kept going, and was ready to start painting in no time. I’d done a bit of research on van Gogh previous to starting this project, so I thought of him often while I was swirling away. If you are interested in learning about van Gogh, I would recommend reading the letters that he sent to his brother (and others) and watching this biography film.

It was fun and rewarding to see this come together. And I only stuck my fingers in the we t oil paint a few times, forgetting that it takes SO long to dry (The paint on this took over a week to harden up)! If you are finding yourself in need of an art project, I would highly recommend freely mimicking the strokes of van Gogh. It was pretty relaxing, really.

What’s your next project? What inspires you? Leave a comment below!