Pinterest Challenge: Robert Frost is in 'da House!

Ah, it is the day of the great Pinterest challenge reveal.  The Pinterest challenge was issued by a few ladies that are not affiliated with our latest obsession, but just wanted to actually create something they have been drooling over.  And they invited everyone else to do so, as well.  Hear all about it here.

And now, my "pinspiration":

I should probably be more clear because this picture is dripping with inspiration.  Everything from those candles, to the peacock pillow to Alisa Burke herself is pretty to-die-for.  But what made me pin this picture was that artwork on the wall.  She did it herself with the famous E.E. Cumming's poem and some shoe polish.  Yep, shoe polish.  I think she calls is "graffiti chic." And she gives a full run down of it on her blog.

Now, I love E.E. Cummings and that poem as much as the next person.  But I really wanted to make this project my own.  With my own handwriting and my own favorite poem:  Robert Frost's The Path Not Taken.  And here's mine:

I actually did this painting twice.  The first time I used just my favorite line, "two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." And I hung it and I liked it, but with such a large canvas (3'x8'!!)--I realized I could easily fit the whole poem and it would be so much more powerful.  Turns out--it is.  I achieved her same drippy effect by dipping my brush in a little water before dunking it in the paint and painting on an upright canvas. Chris made the frame for me out of some cheap wood we found at Home Depot totaling less than $2 and we stretched the canvas (I got for Mother's day) before I went to town painting.

I really wanted the writing to be loose and organic feeling, so I just trusted my hand to move as it would. I wasn't strict with myself on trying to copy a font or being super neat.  I wanted the brushstrokes to shine.  So, I didn't dwell on the perfection of each letter and I painted the actual words in about 10 minutes.  I did do a few washes beforehand on the background so it wouldn't feel so stark. 

Something I did do to ensure I would be able to fit the whole poem on the canvas spaced evenly, was mock-up my canvas in Illustrator and fit the lines into that space.  It turned out to be 10 lines, on a 36" height--making each line about 3.6 inches away from each other. 

 Since I am a total sucker for typography and this poem--seriously it is my fav--of course I love it.  It is a wonderful feeling to be inspired by something and make it your own.

Next for the family room? We are anxious to flank lamps on either side of the new art and add more appropriate pillows to the couch (some like Alisa's would rock my world) and eventually cut a big window in the wall next to the right of the above picture.  

Did anyone else participate in the challenge?  I'd love to see what you have done!