A friend of mine recently sent the first ever request to the[artful]abode for some advice on DIY abstract art for her long, barren hallways. Of course, I had to oblige in the best way I could to keep my loyal (5) readers sticking around! Awhile back I took a stab on some quick, easy artwork for our guest bedroom. It took about 10 minutes, minimal supplies and zero talent. Seriously, Charlie could whip up this painting in no time if I trusted him with a paint brush.
First, I started with picking up a stretched canvas from my local art supply store. These come in an insane amount of sizes, so really the sky’s the limit with your creativity. Just figure out how much space you’re trying to fill and decide if you’d like one huge canvas or a series of smaller ones (odd numbers are always more pleasing to the eye). Try mixing up multiples in different sizes for a collage effect!
Next, I used the wall paint in my guest bedroom as a starting point (because I had some leftover) and picked up two other small tubes of acrylic paint in the same color family. You can basically buy whatever paint you’d like, but I chose these $2.00 paint bottles from Michael’s to do the trick. I decided to go with 3 colors that would gradate nicely from the lightest color in the room (the yellow on the walls) to the darkest color in the bedding (coral red). A nice, warm, peachy orange seemed to be in between the two, so I used that to help the progression in this piece from light to dark not be so drastic. You could definitely pick up 4 or 5 or 6 colors if you’re feeling ambitious – take a risk!
I started with the wall color at the top of my canvas and painted a third of the way down. Looking back, I probably would have divided the piece up into three non-equal parts, but I’m still happy with the outcome. I then mixed a bit of the yellow paint in with the orange (right on the canvas) to blend the two together, then brought in the orange for the 2nd portion of the canvas, then followed with the red. I used my handy dandy paintbrush, but you could certainly pick up a cheapo foam craft brush from Michael’s to take you over the proverbial goal line.
I continued the paint on the front of the canvas around to the edges to make sure any of the white canvas wasn’t exposed. I’m all about a crisp, white frame, but in the case of a canvas “painting”, I think the allure of it is that the painting exceeds the frame. I use the word “painting” loosely because hey, this is basically preschool type artwork – but you’d be amazed at the reaction I’ve gotten from this simple project! This is by no way anything new or innovative, but I hope this shows you how incredibly easy it is to create lovely, abstract art a la Rothko for under $30. Love it!
I still love this and the whole effect in the room. Great colors!
Ohh good idea on using leftover paint colors! Thanks, Artful Abode. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
[...] of artwork. So, I decided to try my hand at painting. You may remember my attempt at a simple, graphic painting a while back, but this one was a bit of a challenge since I am not a painter. AT ALL. Not even a [...]