pirate classroom sign painting texture plastic baggie

One of my friends is gearing up to have her own classroom of eager young minds this year and she asked me to help make the decorations for her classroom. The theme is pirates, with Captain Gillespie at the helm. Arrrrgh! Pay attention young Jim Hawkins! First off be the sign designating the Capt’ns quarters.

Specifications:

Size to be about 9 by 22 inches
must read “Captain Gillespie”
make it look like a parchment that has seen cannon fire

Materials on hand.

A canvas of about the right size
various colors of acrylic paint, old brushes, ink and a fishbowl

Supplies, Americana Cocoa and Primary Yellow mixed together in an old fish bowl

I applied a thin layer with an old brush but the texture looked stripy, not parchment like….

Not quite right.. Color is good, texture is off.

I find that a plastic baggie is often the nearest thing at hand in my shop. Arrrg, better there than in the stomach of a sea turtle. Arrrrrrr!

A crumpled plastic bag makes an excellent texture tool

The texture was perfect once it dried.

I painted “Captain Gillespie” on in some Indian Red Calligraphy ink. The next step was to simulate the look of cannon fire. I could probably do this with some ochre or charcoal but I don’t seen any nearby.

I did have…