Painted Metal Bucket

Folk Art Parrots and Flowers

This is a very jovial composition that follows a folk art style of painting. Parrots perched among flowering branches done with a palette of vibrant acrylic colors. The imagery is taken from traditional folk art paintings and used as a model to reproduce this colorful composition.

A modern take on folk art patterns in clothing, art work, and home decor items is extremely popular. Companies like CHUMBAK are finding creative products that poke a little bit of fun at the every day lives around us. Chumbak’s website says that their “product & designs are inspired by cultures and art forms from around the world, blended with a fun, colorful, and modern aesthetic that is joyful and uplifting”. That in essence captures their appeal. The patterns evoke a feeling of nostalgia but the bright colors keep it cheerful and modern.

Often times the simplicity of folk art is mistaken as rudimentary or unsophisticated and as not requiring skill. You often hear or think “a child could do that!”. Folk art reflects the work of a self taught community who come up with a unique perspective to daily life, social issues, and stories or folklore associated with their culture.

Folk art is typically two dimensional, favors bold solid colors, flat landscapes and simple forms. Although folk art paintings are available, I have seen folk art mostly on products like cabinets, frames, boxes, and wood products. This art form denotes joy, wit, and charm. This charm and personal connection is the draw for me.

I came across a folk style painted planter recently and inspired by that, I created this metal bucket into a folk art style piece. I used acrylic colors for this one. I should have used a primer on the bucket before I started but as usual my impatience got the better of me. I ended up having to coat all colors 3 times! That part was tedious and frustrating. I am always too eager to get started and fail to prep my materials properly and many a project has suffered because of this. I end up having to abandon projects or spend extra time fixing issues. The other thing I realized after completion was that I would have like a matte or non-gloss finish. That would have maintained the look of a folk art piece. The shiny finish is not typical of folk art and it somehow takes away from the piece. I am hoping the finish will wear off with time.

I started with this. A plain generic bucket from the craft store. I sanded it lightly to give a plain base.

I painted a base of blue and sketched my framework. That’s it. onto the fun part; painting!

The black is so essential, as it grounds and highlights everything else.

I am using this as a planter for now but I can easily swap the plant out for a small vase of flowers as a low height table centerpiece. It’s a rustic look so maybe outdoors on the patio table would be nice too for a summer dinner setting. Can you visualize collecting wildflowers in this bucket along rolling hills? I imagine myself on a warm spring day dressed in a flowy dress with a bonnet or hat with my little bucket collecting wild flowers. Crouching down as I walk through the woods, looking for the flashes of white, yellow, orange, or white. Maybe a picnic on the green hills that are sprinkled with these wildflowers. Come join me!