27 July 2009

The Big Ugly Painting: A Makeover

When I first saw the Big Ugly Painting (BUP, from now on) in Goodwill last week, my first thought was probably much like yours. Blech! It's got that scary 1970'x frame and I particularly liked how the frame had been highlighted with burnt orange paint. {shudder}

The more I looked at BUP, the more my wheels started to spin. It's a real (unsigned) painting. Grandma Esther probably took up oil painting as a hobby in the 70's and this was one of her creations. How it ended up at Goodwill, I don't know.

If you can get past the orange being unpleasantly highlighted by the frame, the colors aren't bad...yellow, cream, white, green and even the orange. For $4.00, I figured BUP was worth bringing home to see if my hunch was right.

Would painting the frame a soft white, completely change the look of BUP and make it into something I love. I say YES!!! I'm totally in love now!

I took the picture out of the frame by removing the nails in the back. Then I cleaned the whole thing really well with baby wipes (they were handy). Then a coat of white spray primer and two coats of soft white spray paint (Rustoleum Heirloom White - satin finish.). That's it!

I think Grandma Esther had a bit of Picasso in her. No? There was something about that changing the color of the frame that made it look like a totally new (and beautiful) painting, in my opinion.

BUP was a part of Today's Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality. If you want to see what else I found this past week, click here.

~~~~~~~~~~


Darlene from Flax and Spindle had a very difficult job. She had to choose her favorite post from last week's DIY Day as the winner of her beautiful Vintage Postcard Pillow on Linen.

Congratulations to Melanie from The Old White Cottage for her post on turning a closet into a crafting station! Shoot me an email Melanie and we'll get you set up!

67 comments {Click here to leave a comment}:

duchess said...

That did turn out cute. Once again you have vision. Grandma would be proud.
Have a great Monday.

Anonymous said...

Holy cow that came out great!! paint is the cheapest miracle isn't it?!

Anonymous said...

Love it! Who woulda thought white paint could make something so drab look so fab! {*okay..I'm done with cliches!}

Have a wonderful Monday.

Shannan Martin said...

Amazing what a little paint action can do! I love it!

Richella Parham said...

Way to go! Isn't it amazing how that white flower jumps to center stage in the refurbished frame? I love the "new" painting! And I love the fact that you took what was once beautiful and made it beautiful again in a completely new way. That's cool.

TidyMom said...

I LOVE it!! Amazing what a frame change can do!!

~TidyMom

randee said...

kimba - i must confess that when i saw it last night in the "before" stage, i didn't see anything wrong with it (i didn't even mind the frame-i must really be old). today - it's a brand new thing! i'm glad you saved it from a paint over :) it looks beautiful in your corner.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE BUP!!!! That is awesome. I would never have thught of painting the frame white. That looks like you paid $400.00 for it not $4.00.

Scooper said...

Now that's a great makeover! I may have to look at thrift store BUP's in a whole new light.

Monica Benavidez said...

The white totally made the BUP look more modern and fresh. Great find!

{oc cottage} said...

See! White paint is magic!!! We shabby/cottage girls swear by it! Your Picasso looks amazing!

m ^..^

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Love the painting now. You made the perfect choice in white. So glad you could visualize it. Great job. Hugs Marty

byLGD Glass Jewelry said...

Okay, that is THE most amazing and SIMPLE transformation!! That means even "I" can do this! Thanks Kimba. You never cease to amaze me. :)

Thrifty Decor Chick said...

I liked it before too, but now!!! It looks much better and super expensive!!

Unknown said...

Wow, Kimba, you're instinct was right on and I'm so impressed with you! I probably would've only thought to save the frame with paint, but now I ADORE the painting!

The Blushing Hostess said...

A vast improvement, well done!

Melanie@TheOldWhiteCottage said...

I won? Are you kidding?? I never win anything! LOL Thank you so much!

And, the painting is awesome. Anytime I go to a thrift store, I *always* search the paintings to see if I can do something with what they have. I've gotten a couple of great things for my parents house and some didn't even need painting!

Tiffany said...

It looks wonderful! For $4 I would have bought it too, in spite of the horrendous orange on the frame. :)

Leslie said...

I ALWAYS look at the prints/paintings as if I'm going to change the frame. This is a GREAT painting...congrats on your find!

Marci @OvercomingBusy said...

Hey! I think that ugly painting was in the mission thrift store last week. I'm going back! Yours turned out fabulous!

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Oh, there it is! I love it now, great job with the white frame. I just finished up some white frames myself, so you'll see my project soon. Changes the whole look!

Lana said...

It looks great! The white paint made such a difference!

Southern Fried Gal said...

Cute! And I still LOVE that pillow and of course all your SLAH items!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi there,

I am new to your blog and I just have to say that the repainting of that BUP took more courage and conviction than... than I would EVER have. It looks freaking fantastic. I am so impressed. Original art. Not mass-produced and printed by Ikea. I love it. You are to be commended and I am actually feeling a bit soppy about the fact that somebody's art has a new lease on life. Way to go!

Just Julia

Kendra @ Domestic Princess in Training said...

I knew you would do something beautiful with it. I loved the painting when you first posted about it, it just needed the right eye to bring it back to life! Good job!!!

Kendra @ Domestic Princess in Training

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

I think BUP is looking mighty fine! ;) Really, isn't amazing what a can of spray paint can do?? I can't believe I didn't hop on the spray paint bandwagon earlier. I have bloggers like you to thank! :)

Muthering Heights said...

Wow, it looks much nicer!

teah said...

lovely. the painting is quite like van gogh. you have a very good eye for treasures!

Joanna said...

That really turned out great! I would have probably ended up just making a chalk board or memory board from it.

But with the frame a totally different color the painting is quiet lovely.

Kim @ Twice Remembered said...

Amazing! Such a small change with a BIG impact! It's lovely now!

Anna Whiston-Donaldson said...

I like it! It looks modern and warm at the same time. Love that heirloom white. My husband thinks I should buy it by the bushel.

the undomesticated wife said...

I was wondering why you were calling it ugly, because I thought the actual painting was pretty! See, change the frame and it's gorgeous!

Unknown said...

Amazing! Great job...it really turned out nice!

Nancy

pcb said...

I share your love of the transforming power of spray paint!

Unknown said...

Ah, it looks much better now!

Heather at Happy Chippy Junk said...

Grandma would be very happy!!!

Meredith said...

It turned out wonderfully! But then again, I'm someone who firmly believes that the ONLY two color options for frames are (or at least should be) black and/or white!

Denise @ Life on Stepping Stone Lane said...

God bless the creator of spray paint!

Ashley @ AshleysBusy said...

Kimba, the new frame works wonders for the painting, now it's crisp and clean :)

Laurel said...

So cute. I had my doubts about this one. ha ha. I am so jealous of your rug finds too! Who finds those for $20. Oh, that's right you do. Lucky girl.

LizO said...

I've always thought that a frame has a lot to do with how people perceive the painting, photo or whatever it contains and you've proved me right.

Awesome eye you have and it looks really good!

momof3girls said...

It is amazing how a change of paint color on that frame makes that painting look oh so chic!!! Great job!

Anonymous said...

That's very pretty!

I now have a podcast show in conjunction with my blog and I hope you'll visit and listen to it!!

Peace & Blessings

I Choose Bliss

Unknown said...

okay.. so I don't normally comment.. BUT WOW what a transformation... I have a feeling I will never be able to look at a BUP the same.. I may try to take it home and fix it up! THANKS!

Nicole A. said...

LOVE it!!! The painting really pops with the white frame! Congrats Melanie on winning, loved your closet craft room, you deserved it!

Valencia Jones-Edwards said...

That was too cute!!! I hope you get a chance to stop by my blog party!

Laurel @ Ducks in a Row said...

Wow - I would have definitely walked past that (if I ever did thrift shopping).

farmhouse wares said...

BUP needs a new nickname. It came out great.

AmberDusick said...

Fantastic! Amazing how the right frame can really change the look of what is inside entirely. It went from dated 70s and cheesy to spectacular!

Hi! My name is erica. Would you be my friend? said...

Cool! That frame completely turned it around!

VintageSunshine said...

I'm in love!!!

Unknown said...

You were right that the light color would make the difference in this picture.
I also love the pillow.

Nellie's Cozy Place said...

Hi Kimba,
wow, you were sure right, that white frame makes all the difference. It does actually look like a pretty picture now. You have such a creative eye. Great buy on those outdoor rugs too. good for you, Isn't God good to us.
Blessings, Nellie

Carmen @ Life with Sprinkles on Top said...

I knew it would look great!!! I love it!

Alicia@Thrifty And Chic said...

Isn't it amazing how paint can easily transform things. That looks beautiful! What a great find!

My First Kitchen said...

Oh, if only I had your thrift store vision. If it doesn't look like it could come out of a Crate and Barrel catalog, I have no idea what to do with it. :)

Steph said...

I am so glad you didn't use the canvas for something else too. I had a hard time seeing the beauty in it before you painted the frame. Good eye! I love it.

Amanda@Imperfectly Beautiful said...

How could anyone NOT love BUP now? Fabulous.

~Amanda

Jennifer Juniper said...

I've been waiting to see what you were going to do with this. I really love the transformation and the fact that it's a real painting. Good snag :)

The Cherry Family said...

The white paint made all the difference! I have a painting question for you.. I am painting my kitchen table black and wanted to use a satin finish. The paint guy said that it will be harder to clean then gloss, but I really don't want to use gloss. So, since you have kids and a satin table, do you think it cleans easily? Thanks for your help! I Love your blog!! btw, i already sprayed the legs black satin and I wanted to roll the top.

Missy said...

I am STUNNED by Grandma Esther's redo. STUNNED.

Marie said...

Hello Kimba - love what you did with the painting! This just confirms what I've already known - heirloom white can transform anything...even the BUPs of the world. Now the painting stands out, not the hideous frame. Great job!

Blessings,
Marie
http://emmacallsmemama.com

Brittany at Mommy Words said...

Wow what baby wipes and white paint can do. I think I will keep baby wipes around forever! Great job!

Anny said...

Way to look past an ugly frama - it completely changed the feel of the piece :)

Lindsay @ Makely said...

Very nice!!!

Anonymous said...

Wow! The BUP is now the BBP (big beautiful painting). Love it!

Yay for Grandma Esther. The painting reminds me of Van Gogh's sunflowers: http://www.chepstowtowncrier.org.uk/uploads/images/van_gogh_sunflower.jpg

Amber said...

It's amazing how something as small as a coat of paint on the frame gave this whole painting a fresh new look! Good eyes! It looks great in your cozy corner!