by Monica Raye Daly
On our 34th anniversary last December I was gifted an ukulele which didn’t have a strap. Someone shared a link to Etsy for hand made ukulele straps. I went to take a look and found a wonderful place for eye candy. I wanted at least twelve of them. Unfortunately I can’t get twelve. From all the beautiful possibilities, I chose the one with butterflies.
Once it came in, I immediately installed it on my uke. I absolutely loved it! As being an artist I just can’t seem to leave things alone. I tend to put my personal touch on things. I felt the butterflies needed to continue their journey on my ukulele, so I needed to create more beautiful creatures. Well, I couldn’t really wrap my ukulele in more straps, so I had to create these butterflies myself. Step one. Draw them on.
In pencil I drew the same size butterflies and labeled them in the same pattern on the strap. To immortalize the drawings I needed to paint them on. I chose acrylic paints to use. It dries fast and water solubility makes it easier to thin and layer when need it. To draw them on you really need the right tools, because there is a plethora of brushes. Painting precise lines requires a smaller paint brush with a pointy tip for details. My paints were old and dry. I wouldn’t recommend it for painting on your precious ukulele, but I made it work. Starting with yellow as the lightest colour I mapped out and repeated the pattern seen on the strap.
Some butterflies are easier to paint than others, so I left the difficult ones for later. Once I finished the yellow I added tan and brown. You have to be careful, not to touch wet paint, because the colours easily get mixed. I did at one point but didn’t fret, thin acrylic paint is easy to scrap off. As I put on my thin layers I was able to blend the colours when needed.
While adding blue, green and detailed things, the butterflies really started to come together. I didn’t rush, I took my time. Soon the most difficult butterfly was getting worked on. I think having so much detail in that one butterfly intimidated me. Not every butterfly is the same and some were really detailed to paint.
think it turned out well. Each is a bit different but close enough for me to the strap.
My next step is either paint clear nail polish over each butterfly or buy a can of spray varnish and give it a light coat for protection. I haven’t decided yet what I should do. For now I’m really happy with the result and really wanted to share it with all of you.
Once it was done, it was time for some new strings and finally time to play. Since I got this ukulele I did receive another ukulele… of to Etsy for a look for a new project!