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Yay! I’m sharing two FREE ALTERED PAINTINGS, my modern overpainting on some classic Renoirs, as part of my freebie series. Always totally free — you never have to enter your email to download.
The last time I was over at Raw Pixel, I noticed that the site had uploaded a huge grouping of Renoir paintings into the public domain section.
Public domain means that the art is free for personal and commercial use with no attribution required — it’s essentially permission to enjoy!
Now, most normal people would be like, “Wow, a beautiful Renoir painting! I’ll just print that out, frame it and hang it on my wall as a fine art print.”
I’m not normal people. Instead, I thought, “How can I ruin this put a twist on this and make it my own?”
TIP: Altered paintings like these work best in modern glam surroundings. Try hanging these printables in a maximalist gallery wall full of irreverent portraits.
That’s when I thought about the irreverent altered paintings I’ve been seeing lately. Perhaps you’ve seen them, too?
Some of the simplest forms of them include spraypaint over the eyes or a giant swash of paint across the face. Then there’s the more subtle artwork of Side Dimes, who adds bubblegum to her classic subjects. And my favorite — Oh Fine! Art — types hilarious words that juxtapose with her stoic portraits. (This one is my mood right now.)
Process: Free Altered Paintings
Even though I had inspiration, I didn’t really have a plan. I simply opened up two files and let myself loose. One painting ended up having a dip-dyed vibe, the other a more geometric clown vibe (hey, don’t knock it till you try it!). I used the same color palette for both so I could claim cohesion.
Clearly we live in the Age of Corona, as evidenced by my most necessary addition of the masks. Those children are entirely too close to each other!
Here’s a time-lapse video of me playing around — it’s all trial and error — with one of the altered paintings. I’m sharing this to show that you absolutely do NOT need a plan to be creative. I deleted more than I added, I chose the wrong brushes before I found the right ones.
As you can see, there are no rules.
And don’t forget to scroll down to download the PDFs to use in your glam/maximalist decor!
Download: Free Altered Paintings
Art is a high-res 5×7 PDF. It’s for personal use only. No redistribution, selling, shady business or other mean stuff, mmkay. Bigger sizes will be available to purchase in my shop.
Tools used to create this art:
Platforms: Adobe Photoshop (but you could easily use Procreate, too!)
Equipment: Kyle T. Webster’s brushes
More modern glam art in the shop
Bookmark for later:
