Do you have an image in your head of the perfect piece of art? Have you actually taken some time to look for something that just does not exist? Have you ever thought “I can do better than that”?

The struggle is real!… Trust me I know and I just could not take it anymore, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and create some art.

So, I have some space in my dining room that I have been looking to fill and in my restless search, I came up to the conclusion that I had to create my own piece of art. So, while visiting my local thrift store, I found that perfect size canvas for my wall. The art itself did not match my décor but I figured that whatever I had in mind could be painted over the hideous preexisting art and if it didn’t work I would not feel so bad for “ruining it”. So I took it home for only $8 (See below).

What I had in mind was a very simple black and white abstract painting. Something minimal and transcendental (I have no idea what that really means) but I had a very simple image in my head.  I headed to my nearest home improvement store for materials and skipped Trader Joes because I already had some wine at home.

What I used:

  1. Small paint roller
  2. Painters Blue Tape
  3. 3ft of 1in satin ribbon.
  4. BEHR Matte/Flat paint in color Falling Snow (PPU18-07)
  5. BEHR Matte/Flat paint in color Broadway (PPU18-20)

What I did:

  1. I covered the side edges of the frame with the blue tape so I would not paint over them. (The edges are a beautiful rusty gold and I wanted to keep them that way).
  2. In a disposable paper plate, I poured a good amount of white paint (Falling Snow) and dipped the roller and painted the canvas entirely covering the original flowers image.
  3. I waited for the paint to dry and added a second and third coat of white paint until there was no more trace of the dang flowers and left it alone to dry completely.
  4. I then finished half a bottle of red wine while listening to ABBA
  5. Once the white paint was completely dry, I dipped about 2.5 feet of the 1 inch ribbon in the dark gray paint (Broadway color), while holding the other ½ foot out.
  6. Once the dipped part of the ribbon was completely covered with the gray paint, I pulled off the ribbon and dragged it over the white painted canvas drawing straight diagonal lines.
  7. Voilà!… Not much left to do but to let it dry!
  8. Finish the wine bottle I opened.

The result….

So, is someone going to find my work of art 200 years from now and say “WOW, this is incredible”, probably not. But I also don’t think they will say “Who’s the idiot that painted over this flower print?”, LOL. Small blank canvases are inexpensive at craft stores, you can invest in one large one or find one at a thrift store. I suggest you practice first on foam core boards and play around with abstract images and geometric patterns, or try to replicate a scene from a photograph. Whatever you come up with will be personal and unique. I am seriously loving how this one turned out for no more than $20!

I hope this was helpful, until next time!

 

Shop Materials Used

 

SHARE: