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Persia Lou

Creative. Crafty. Fun.

Watercolor Pixel Painting

Two Christmases ago, I was really focused on making a handmade Christmas. I had come up with lots of fun handmade gift ideas for my kids, my mom, my sisters, but I was getting a little stuck on what to make for my husband. Until I saw Wit & Whistle’s pixel painting. I liked that it was simple, meaningful, and something that I thought he would like.

The idea is to take an image, pixelize it, and then recreate it in watercolors. The result is a beautiful, abstract image. I started with an image of the famous arch in Cabo San Lucas, which is were we honeymooned. Since I knew I wanted to frame the finished painting, I set up my grid so I would end up with an 8″x10″ painting that would be easy (i.e., inexpensive) to frame. To accomplish that, I scaled my image down to 20 pixels by 15 pixels using GIMP, a free photo editing program similar to photoshop. Here’s what the photo looked like when scaled to 20×15:

Next, I created a grid of 20×15 half inch squares on my paper, and when to work filling in my grid. It took a little bit of time to fill in all those squares, but I really love the way it turned out. It’s not a faithful recreation of the original image, but if that’s what I wanted I guess I would have just printed the thing out.
Now, it hangs in our room, and I like it so much I’ve often thought of doing more paintings of other meaningful places to add to the display. What do you all think? I would definitely recommend giving this project a go. Be sure to stop by Wit & Whistle to see her inspirational painting.
Linking up at I Heart Naptime, Nifty Thrifty Things, Homemaker on a Dime, Monday Funday, The Inspiration Board, You’re Gonna Love It, BeBetsy, Inspire Me Wednesday at MamaBuzz, and The Scoop at Lolly Jane.
See previous “I Tried It Tuesday” posts here.

May 7, 2013 5:49 pm Alexis Middleton Filed Under: Craft

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Camille {Sugar Baby Boutique} says

    May 7, 2013 at 6:44 pm

    Looks amazing!!

    • Alexis @ persia lou says

      May 8, 2013 at 3:20 pm

      Thanks, Camille!

  2. Denise @ My House, My Rules says

    May 7, 2013 at 7:06 pm

    I love it! Sort of reminds me of a Chuck Close painting (and Chuck Close just happens to be my absolute favorite artist). I've actually been wanting to try something like this for a long time but been too scared/lazy but now I think I will have to give it a try! Thanks for the inspiration.

    • Alexis @ persia lou says

      May 8, 2013 at 3:27 pm

      You're right – it is a bit like a Chuck Close painting. (In a less amazing way, of course 😉 I think you would like the technique if you give it a shot!

  3. Brandi says

    May 9, 2013 at 12:34 pm

    That's so neat! You're really creative.

  4. BeBetsy says

    May 10, 2013 at 1:09 am

    Very cool idea! Thanks for sharing this at our linky party at BeBetsy – BRAG ABOUT IT! Hope to see you again and nice to meet you! Sharon and Denise

  5. April Hoff says

    September 10, 2013 at 12:29 am

    This is GORGEOUS, Alexis! What a great idea! Thanks for linking it up at the Get Your DIY On link up party! Hope to see you back next week!

  6. April Hoff says

    September 12, 2013 at 12:34 am

    Featuring your pixel art on Sunday at our next "Get Your DIY On" link up party! Bring a fall wreath if you can! 🙂

  7. Tammy Snider says

    April 29, 2014 at 1:52 pm

    I love this art, it looks so cool. nice job!<br /><br />Tammy @ thecoloreddoor.blogspot.com

  8. Deonna Wade says

    April 29, 2014 at 4:55 pm

    Hey it&#39;s Deonna! That painting is so great! I didn&#39;t know it was an actual picture until I read your post. I thought it was cool even before that 🙂 I would love to try this with Lake Tahoe or some place that is special to us. Very creative

  9. Katie Nathey says

    May 2, 2014 at 11:27 am

    This is such a great idea and the colors are so relaxing too. This is definitely added to my to do list, pinned!

  10. Level 1 Homemaker says

    August 4, 2014 at 7:25 pm

    Such a great idea–lovely, too!

  11. Jess @ Spool and Spoon says

    August 4, 2014 at 8:47 pm

    It&#39;s crazy because I immediately recognized the arch from Cabo San Lucas when I saw it on Facebook (also where my handsome husband and I honeymooned three years ago). Definitely adding something like this to our gallery wall! Love it 🙂

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