PERSONAL SPACE: CIRCLES TUTORIAL

The thing that gets the most love on my insta grid? My incomplete circles. The reason that’s especially gratifying? I made them myself. And it. Was. So. Easy. So I thought I’d pop over to All Up In My Space and show you just how easy, so that we might all live in incomplete circle bliss together. I’m good like that.

Step one:

Gather your tools. You might want to arrange them on a marble surface for about five minutes before you get started – your call. You’ll need:

• One large, one medium and one smaller sheet of thick paper – I chose a nice textured one in off-white
• Something large and round to draw around. In real life, I used a lampshade, but for the purposes of this post, a tray
• A paintbrush. If you want smooth lines, go for soft bristles, and for more imperfect lines, a harder bristle will do it
• Paint. This is cheap kids poster paint, but you can go fancier for a different finish if you like
• Scissors. I knew spending £10 on Hay scissors a few years ago would eventually pay off
• A pencil. Ideally it should have a somehow-burned off end and be too small to hold properly
• A bowl for paint. Make sure it’s the kind of finish that won’t absorb the paint
• Something small and round. You’ll use this to paint around for practise

Step two:

Assuming you’re using a mount, lie your largest sheet of paper on a flat and even surface, like a clean floor or large table, and pop the mount over it, front-down (so you don’t get pencil on it if you slip). Line up the edges of the paper with the edges of the mount and lightly draw around the inside (and outside if the paper’s huge) of the mount. Repeat for every sheet of paper, and trim down to size if needed.

Step three:

Lay all three sheets of paper pencil side-down, lining up the bottom of the largest and medium sheets, and popping the third, smaller one above the medium. They should all be touching – see the image below if this doesn’t make sense.

Step four:

Gently lie your tray/lampshade/round thing on top of the paper. This is where your eventual circle will go, so move it around until you’re happy with the placement.

Step five:

Sploodge some paint into a receptacle. Advice: don’t do this on the paper, as pictured, unless you love swearing a lot and starting again. At this point you can mix in a bit of water if you prefer a less-defined colour.

Step six:

Dabble the paint in the brush – you probably won’t want it dripping in the stuff, but kind of coated, like the picture.

Step seven:

This is where round thing number two comes in. Painting around round things isn’t as easy as you’d think (look at those lumpy bits), so grab a piece of paper and have a few practise runs first. Try going all the way around or doing one half first, then the other half.

Step eight:

Now we’re cooking. Not literally. It’s time to start painting. I recommend a really light touch at the beginning of the circle, so you don’t run out of paint by the time you get around the other side.

Step nine:

Walk away. Give the paint a couple of hours to dry (depending on the kind you’ve used). Warn all partners and children that the penalty for stepping on it/using it as a coaster is death.

Step eleven:

Admire your brushwork. When I did the original pieces, I used a more bristle-y brush, and really love those little imperfections in the lines.

Step twelve:

Take the small one and test an edge to see if it’s dry. Is it? Then we’re ready to frame. I always start with the smallest one to get used to it – it just feels like there’s more that could go wrong with a big sheet of paper.

Step thirteen:

Hang them, call yourself an artist and go and have a cup of tea – you have achieved.