Water Lily and Dragonfly Vase Redo

I came across this large pottery vase at a second store.  They were having a 50% off sale so I only paid $2.00.

The colors where terrible but I bought it anyway hoping I could do something with it.  The vase is about 14" tall by about 4".

I love dragonflies and lily pads.  But, oh no, the color was all wrong and poorly done.

There was even a registration number on the bottom but no label.  I couldn't discover anything about it's origin.  No matter, I was repainting to match what I like.

The first thing I painted with acrylic paint was the background color.  In order to achieve the effect I wanted I double loaded my brush with bronze and gold paint.

Then I completely covered the background moving in horizontal strokes and slightly blending the colors leaving the dragonfly and lily pad unpainted until the background was dry.

It already looks better with the golden bronze finish.

Now came the fun part of painting in the details.

For the dragonfly I base coated the body a dark blue and highlighted with aqua, teal and orange.  On the wings I painted them white first then blended an aqua very lightly and finished with a clear pearl paint.

The lily pads got a base coat of a golden yellow with several shades of green blended over top.  The  blossom also got a base coat of white then a light pink was used to highlight the petals, those where also top coated with the clear pearl paint. The seed pod where painted with the same golden yellow and dots of several shades of green where added before the coat of pearl paint.

When the lily pads where dry I went back in and added blue dots in several shades of blue and a few blue rhinestones.

After the blue dots where dry I used Glossy Accents on each dot to make it shine.  And lastly I gave the entire background a coat of acrylic varnish to help protect it.

And here is it's new home atop my bookcase with a flower arraignment that includes a water lily.   It goes great with the water lily picture I have hanging on the wall.  Who knew the ugly thrift store piece of ceramic could become this gorgeous vase.  So for $2.00, a little paint and a little time I have a stunning piece on the bookshelf.  No one would ever believe it only cost me $2.00.

Happy Crafting!