Gallery Wall Art: XO
“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” Vincent Van Gogh
Creating some more rust this week using acrylic paint. I scored several large (circular) letters for just a $1.00 each at a recent sale. I knew right away, I wanted to paint the “X” and “O” I got and add them to a gallery wall for my home. Since, I plan on keeping them up all year long, I did not want them to be red or pink. 
I loved the rusty look of the frame I shared (seen HERE) and thought that would fit perfectly with our farm house style. Plus, rust always reminds me of true treasures found in Matthew 6.
I started out with black acrylic paint to give the letters an overall base color. However, it is all about layering so you could use brown, rusty orange or dark grey.
Then, I added rusty orange with a little bit of sand in the mix. After it dried, I went over it with a grey (as you can see I left some of the orange color showing).
I kept on adding different layers of color (leaving areas of the other colors visible each time I added a layer) until I liked the overall look. For this rusty project, I used a little bit of green and silver too. 
A closer look to see the rusty details. ♥
I’m still working on my gallery wall, so expect to see some photos of it in the near future…and more rusty projects! 🙂 
Not sure if this is what Van Gogh had in mind, but I thought the fun design that formed on the drop cloth (paper) from painting these letters looks pretty cool. What do you think?
XO Michelle ♥
Follow along 🙂
Follow on Twitter
Join the fun on Pinterest
Follow daily post on Instagram
‘Like’ on Facebook for encouragement and updates on new products.
Connect with me on Linkedin
Signup for Blog, Announcements & Updates (Right Column)
Supporter of Pediatric Cancer Research Braveeli.com
02/18/2016 @ 9:58 pm
Michelle, ooh I love the rusty look you give things with a little paint!! This X and O will look great on a gallery wall!! Can’t wait to see it all together!! That drop cloth looks pretty cool too!!
02/19/2016 @ 9:18 am
Thank you Keri!!! I did sets for theater productions for years, so I love treatments and textures. Rust is my favorite to experiment with…hope everyone doesn’t get tired of it!!! 🙂
02/19/2016 @ 9:30 am
NICE, Michelle! You have an eye for the “rusty gold” look for sure!!!
02/22/2016 @ 9:07 am
Awe, thanks Renee…you always make my day!!! Let me know if you have a vision for anything…I love making rust!!! 🙂
02/19/2016 @ 3:03 pm
Sooo nice, I love the XO signs and how rusty and old you made them look! Great job, I can’t wait to see your gallery wall!
02/22/2016 @ 9:06 am
Thank you Katrin, glad you liked them!!! Going to start hanging a few things this week so I hope to get it put together soon! 🙂
02/19/2016 @ 3:19 pm
They look really cool. I cannot believe you were able to achieve such a great look with just paint alone. Looking forward to see your gallery wall.
02/22/2016 @ 9:03 am
Thank you so much Mary…the miracle of paint…I love it! 🙂 Hopefully, I can get a moment to get it all placed and post soon!
02/20/2016 @ 5:50 am
Your rusty letters turned out beautiful! The sand added to the rusty orange really helps add the effect of rust along with the layering. I am going to try that next time I want the rusty effect.
02/22/2016 @ 9:01 am
They were fun to paint…glad you liked my rusty letters Linda! Can’t wait to see what you create! 🙂
03/06/2016 @ 11:47 am
I really love all your rusty projects!! I have on my to-do list give this technique a try. What are those little bumps? Are they part of the paint itself?
Can’t wait to see your gallery!
03/06/2016 @ 11:51 am
I read it again and found the answer, you used sand! When I read it the first time I thought that you sanded it before applying the orange… my fault. We have lots of sand here 🙂
03/07/2016 @ 9:44 am
Thank you!!! Can’t wait to see what rusty projects you come up with! Yes, sand or even saw dust works to give it that added crusty-rusty feel! 😀