Interesting surfaces

I have often said that I will paint on anything that doesn't move, so don't stand still for too long! Most of the time my paintings are on very traditional surfaces: watercolor on paper, Genesis heat-set oils on gesso board or canvas, acrylics on wood. Occasionally it is fun to paint on more unique surfaces. Sometimes this involves the use of specialized paints: enamels for glass or fabric paints. Sometimes, though, it is simply a matter of using regular paints on an unusual surface. A fun project is to paint your own luggage tags. You can use regular acrylic paints like DecoArt Americana and paint on the leather luggage tags that come 2 to a package for about $2.49. You do not need to prep the surface, just paint. It is not even necessary to put any sort of varnish or protective finish over the completed painting. You will have a unique luggage tag that will help you identify your luggage in the sea of identical suitcases in which it floats. I painted a number of tags for our own luggage several years ago. These tags have been on planes, been dragged around in the car, stored in the closet. They stay on our luggage all the time. They look as good today as when I painted them. The purple cone flowers are on the front and the back of a tag. The sunflower design shows only the back.