DIY Designer Inspired Art and Frame

I am sharing with you my DIY designer inspired art and frame that I made for the office!

The time has arrived for our next fun installment of the DIY Look-For-Less challenge {read the first one here}. You caught a preview of my project in my office makeover reveal on Monday. Now for the nitty-gritty of the DIY designer inspired large-scale art and frame I made.

This is an image-heavy post. However, I felt the artistic images do a better job in terms of a tutorial than actual words do so you can see how I layered the paint on the canvas. But first, here is the beautiful designer inspiration artwork:

{inspiration artwork source}

It looked abstract enough that I thought I could make something similar {but obviously not nearly as beautiful} and the colors are what drew me in. I bought all of these diverse craft paints from Hobby Lobby {30% off}, not knowing what to expect, but I honestly used less than half of them {although I went through nearly two bottles of white alone}. I also bought a heavy-duty art canvas from Hobby Lobby that measured 48″x48″ – different orientation than the inspiration photo but I felt it would work better in my space. If you prefer to shop online, here is a similar canvas and similar paints.

The Art Tutorial

One of the hardest parts of this project is just starting. I tried to mimic the movement in my inspiration photo and just went for it. You’ll see I gradually began to add subtle layers and various colors. I used an “economy” brush that I had on hand from one of the big box hardware stores {not sure where I got it}.

At this point I decided to start adding in some of the soothing greens as well. Here was my set-up. I kept the charming blues on one paper plate and the greens on another.

Still keeping the brush relatively dry, you can see here how I held the brush to apply the green. Somewhat scrunched up. I’m a pretty technical artist – obviously.

I then began to add in some more blurred areas of focus {using a fairly dry brush and round, swirly, cloud-like strokes}, again mimicking the soft shapes of the original inspiration piece.

I then began to fill in all the edges with soft aqua, smoky blues, and creamy mints, etc. all created with the colors I had opened and then adding white as necessary. I also tried to fill in areas where the white canvas was showing through – even if it was an area I liked the look of. Regardless of where I was on the canvas, I still tried to mimic the brushstrokes of the area on the inspiration piece accordingly.

At this point, I stopped to compare the two art pieces. Not bad, but I also noticed the areas the needed some tweaking and got to work once the first layer fully dried.

After a few final final tweaks I called it quits before I ended up ruining a decent piece. I tried the art in a few locations {living room, upstairs hallway and the office}. I ultimately settled on the office and it couldn’t have turned out more perfectly here.

Building The Picture Frame

A few days later, I built out the frame with my husband’s help. I purchased some lattice wood from Lowe’s. I painted one side gold {along with all the edges} using Valspar Metallic gold spray paint and the other dark brown {with the craft paint} to mimic the look of the frame in the inspiration photo {see first photo below for the gold on the top two pieces and the brown on the bottom piece}. I intentionally purchased lattice that was wider than my canvas so that it would stick out about 1/2″ and show the dark brown. I cut all the pieces myself  with a miter box {which honestly were not perfect – but hey – it was my first time!} – all cuts were on a 45 degree angle. My husband then helped me nail it on to the canvas {I lined up the back of the lattice with the back of the canvas}. Down the road, I may use wood filler on the corners to better seal the gap, but I actually like the look for now. I feel like the frame really finished the piece and made it look a little less DIY.

I love how the art finished the office makeover and helped to tie everything together. This project only took me about two hours total but I love the impact the large-scale art and colors make to this room!

SHOP THE LOOK OF OUR OFFICE (CLICK ANY IMAGE BELOW):

Be sure to stop by the other fabulous Look-for-Less DIY projects from each of these talented bloggers. Each one is so unique and they are all a must-see! And I apologize in advance if the links and images don’t line up – I’m currently updating this while at sea and iPads are not the most convenient blogging tools. Enjoy nonetheless!

How to Build a Focal Wall Headboard by Home Coming:

Bathtub Caddy from Sewing Barefoot:

Faux Fur Vanity Stool from Life.Love.Larson

Glass Bottle Lamp DIY via Like A Saturday

Work Bench Look for Less from Kitchen Table Art

Salon-styled Blowout at Home from Absolutely Arkansas