Paint by Numbers of three horses racing through the desert.

Y’all! Ohmygawd, ohmygawd, ohmygawd!

I talked my husband into stopping by the thrift store this week (I’m still on the hunt for a stand-alone CD player), and I browsed the available art. Behold! A paint by numbers picture on canvas for $1, USD.

I love the subject matter, which fits into a Western-ish theme of found art that’s been haunting me all season. I love, love, love that the pattern and that the numbers are still visible in the original. It takes me straight back to the a 1970s childhood. Only, the paint by numbers I remember were on cheap papers and even worse paints.

I almost left it as is because it’s so fabulously kitsch-y.

Paint by number of horses racing through the desert, only done with better paint.

But I didn’t. C’mon!

I took the acrylic paints I had — mostly craft and some liquid/soft-bodied Liquitex paints — and pushed a little color theory on picture and covered the number guide. I like the cooler mountains and warmer foreground a lot better. I also liked the undercoating of Azo Gold I used to warm up the whole picture.

However, I need to bring the horses forward a bit more, and make a few image corrections. There’s not enough contrast between the mountains and the animals, so that’s next. I think I’ll work on both parts, lightening up the background and removing the gray tones from the horses (especially the first).

I don’t want to do too much to remove the piece-y paint by numbers aspect of it, so I won’t put in shading or too much outlining. I gotta stay true to the material!

Thoughts? Let me know.