Super Speedy Paint Backgrounds: A Tutorial

Hello!
After my last tutorial using ink to make a background, I thought that today I would go back to my 'go to' medium, paint! 99% of my backgrounds are made using paint, and I'm going to share a very quick and easy technique that will get you a fab background in a couple of minutes!
First up, the finished project.....

Right...the background! The main thing to remember is speed. Don't stop to think, just do it! We want a little blending/mixing going on, so no drying between colours with this one!
Get all your paint squeezed out onto a palette (or a bit of acetate!!), so you don't need to stop to change colour. Add your first with broad strokes of the brush..

My 'brush of choice' is a make up brush! A foundation brush to be precise. Love the feel of them, they're cheap as anything and the bristles don't fall out and stick to your work!
White is great to add in between colours to blend....

I don't stop to clean the brush either, just keep going! Pale purple next...

To stop it looking too 'blocky', add in more purple over the blue...

Plenty of white to bring the colours together! Up to now, I have used vertical strokes. Add in a few horizontal too...

I use less horizontal strokes when applying wet colour over wet colour because these tend to mix up the colours and make things a little too muddy for my taste. Up to you though! Now I add in my dark 'pop' colour...

Still wet over wet, and still not cleaned the brush as you can see! Less of the darker colour as it will obliterate everything otherwise. Colour needs to be a bit balanced though, so add a little more dark on the other edge of the piece...

I love the blue/white/purple scheme, but decided to add in a bit of pink for a change!

By now, the paint is starting to dry off, so you get nice texture as well as colour as the wet paint drags over the drier paint underneath..

That is the base layer finished...and should have taken about a minute and a half!

Now we need to add the details, so clean your brush and dry off the wet paint on the background!
This next set of pictures look very similar.... Each layer of detail is subtle, but it all adds up!
I stencilled a little through some sequin waste..

Next, print a few lines here and there..

Dots and circles...

Stamping...

And the final touch, sewing the background to a bit of black card! I also did some stitching over the paint to add more detail..

This is now very nearly done, just focal images/embellishments to add, and then text. Sometimes I add more to the painty details too, if I feel the end look is missing something! In this case I added red accents to tie in with the red hearts.
I created a flower look from some rather awesome Prima mechanicals pendants...

I covered the metal with gesso, then just flicked purple paint at them! The hearts are Fimo clay, painted red and with tiny blue dots added. Wire stems, with coils around them to make them a little more substantial! The deep pendants make wonderful 3D flowers..

Final touch, words cut from a book..

Phew...are you still with me?!!
I hope you have a go at the speedy painty backgrounds....great fun and a great base for any page!

Love Trish xxx