DIY Canvas Art!

I am an avid Pinterest viewer and I always see these beautiful DIY canvas art photos and always feel inspired to try it and I finally went to Michaels and bought the goods!  I recommend going to Michaels for canvases,paint, & brushes because you can use their 40-50% coupons on the canvases.( http://weeklyad.michaels.com/coupons/). Other places such as JoAnns you are aren't able to use coupons on canvases. Luckily my Mom had 100+ different acrylic paints I could use.  

So here we go! 

Things you will need! 
-Canvas
-Acrylic Paint ( a variety of colors & then either black, white, or gold for the herringbone lines)
-Thin Painters tape
-Paint brush ( between .5"-1.5" wides)


The only thing I needed to buy was canvases so I bought a 5 pack of 16" by 20" from Michaels for $12( I used a 40% coupon). (http://www.michaels.com/Artist%27s-Loft%E2%84%A2-Necessities%E2%84%A2-16in-x-20in-Super-Value-Canvas-Pack/fa1697,default,pd.html?cgid=products-artsupplies-canvas-valuepacks) 

I was inspired by this blog! http://www.ateaspoonofhappiness.com/diy-canvas-art-the-pinterest-challenge-1/

I decided to do 3 connecting canvases. I wanted one with pink & purple tones, one with blue, green and yellow, and one that tied to two together with pink, purples, blues, and greens. 

1. Here is a look at the strokes and crossover strokes that I used. There really is no right way to do it. Just add colors where you think they should go and try and have a variety of directions.

2. Once your canvas is 99% color let it sit and dry for about 1-2 hours till you can touch the paint .

3. Take your painters tape and start making lines going in different directions leaving roughly a 1/4-1/5 inch between the strips of tape. Leaving a couple of spots blank. Personally I taped it all up and then took between 3-5 small strips off to give it a little more variety. Like the photo below!

4. After it is all taped up take your line color, I used white and gently tab it through the tape canals. I used a circular foam sponge brush so that I wouldn't have to worry about having the white blur under the tape. 

5. After it is all painted let take all the tape off right away and let it dry on a flat surface for a couple of hours.

6. Voila! All done! If you have any questions leave a comment or email maxwe135@umn.edu