Maybe you’ve seen the Tiktok’s (or Insta reels) of people “repainting” thrift store art. In the r/Repaintings subReddit, the media is described as:
“Repaintings is about changing the context or content of an existing art work. Find a painting at a garage sale, thrift store, or in the trash and repaint it. Add some monsters! Lasers? [sic]”
It became popular and *recognized as an actual art form* around 3 years ago, though it’s been going on for decades. One of my favorite artists, Wayne White, has been repainting since 1999. Here’s two that I enjoy:
You can see more of his work here. What I appreciate most is that he took the existing concept of art, which most people see as stuffy and high brow (and of course, it can be) and made it accessible and even reproducible for the average crafty person. Of course he isn’t the first or only person to do this, but he is a big name in the art world.
The upside of this genre is that half the legwork is done for you! You aren’t responsible for painting a boring 70’s landscape or a dusty still life, and those forgotten trash paintings can get a new, often more hilarious life, rather than getting added to the landfills.
Let’s visit some fun before and afters from the r/Repaintings subReddit here:
I think you get the idea. Honestly I wasn’t planning on making one of these, but I got the wild hare when I was at the ReStore and saw this:
Obviously, a sea needs a sea serpent. I googled “water dragons” and “sea serpents” to get some inspiration for what it should look like, and then drew one on some tracing paper. It wasn’t super detailed because I figured I would just start painting and see where it went. I also didn’t have a firm grasp on what I wanted it to look like, i.e. would it have wings? fins? multiple heads? I decided just to do the most basic shape first before the details bogged me down.
Once the foundation was lain, I put a piece of carbon paper under the sketch so that when I traced it, the image would be transferred onto the painting. It’s this stuff:
With the sketch now on the painting, I blocked out the shape with white paint.
I think every single person who tries their hand at anything worries that they will make a mistake, and this feeling can be paralyzing. Here’s the key to getting over that: rather than thinking, “what if I mess up?”, you can say to yourself, “what if I do mess up? How will I work through it?” and then come up with a few plans to get back on track, like maybe taking a breather and coming back in an hour, or somehow incorporating the mistake in, or making the dragon bigger to cover up the previous one and try again. Having that plan ready makes me less nervous about screwing up royally. Plus, you can even make a plan to reward yourself for muddling through, like getting a mocha frapp or something.
Anyway, I mixed up a bunch of greens, a little dark blue and browns, and got this funky color which reminded me of kelp, and laid it down as a base coat.
Of course Xantheppe “oversaw” the whole operation…
Layering on lighter greens and giving a lighter snake belly made the dragon more dynamic, in my opinion, and the water drops cascading down indicates that he’s just arisen so suddenly that the people on the beach haven’t even reacted yet. Oddly, it seems like the dragon “fits” the time period even? I don’t think I’ve ever painted anything like this, so I am pretty proud that I pulled it off.
Sorry about the lighting changes, idk what’s going on there. But, as you can see, I was contemplating some sort of tail situation, though ultimately I decided to quit while I was ahead. The beauty of re-paintings is that I can always come back later and add more detail. And speaking of detail… here’s an up close look at the final product:
So that’s my quick and small contribution to the repainting world! I know it’s not a huge difference, but I think it will spark a few smirks when people pass by.
… And then while I was out at the Bargain Box in Morristown, NJ, I saw this:
Let’s see what sort of upcycling will befall this one! I’m thinking either some mythological cryptid flying in the sky, or boring up from the ground. Thoughts?
***BONUS***
Oh, you’re still here? Well then, you might as well take a gander at a couple of other weird items from the ReStore.
Moonflower DIY 