Tuesday, March 16, 2010

DIY: Large Painting On The Cheap

So we all know art can be uber expensive, and hard to find in the exact look or colors you want right? Right! <---That's you shouting right w/ your fist in the air because you can totally relate. I'm going to show you how I fixed this problem for myself.



Here is my $10 piece of perfection. Found here. He asked $15, I offered $10 & you know the rest.


I really loved the details. And would you know, IT'S FREAKIN PLASTIC! That makes it light weight and easier to hang w/o using anchors. And let's be honest, you & I both know it's a print w/ some kind of plastic stuff to add texture. The guy asked if I was sure I wanted it, lmao, w/ a are you crazy look. He had no clue!




After a scrub down with an old toothbrush I gave it the Valspar spray primer treatment and let it sit until the next day. Then I spray it w/ a few coats of flat Porcelain Valspar spray paint. I also primed the print with a white Zinsser spray primer.




Originally I was going to paint the print w/ chalkboard paint for my little girl's room, but it was way to big for the little wall that was waiting for it. So it's going to my empty mantle. I looked at Mantle and said, "Mantle I know your the focal point of our living room, the first thing we see when we walk in, it's your time. I'm here." Well not really. But that's how I felt.




I pulled out a craft tray, some cheap craft paints I had on hand, and a chipped plate. I only used a few colors (black & white included to lighten or darken the main colors).




After drawing some wavy lines to look like seaweed I started to sporadically (learned that word watching Clueless) filling in my weeds. I used light turquoise, dark turquoise, tan, & yellow. Yellow was used to mix w/ the blues to create greens and teals. Tan was used to tie in the mocha colored sofa I have. I did go back and layer some paint. It took me a little time but I felt my way through this. It kind of evolved on it's own.




Voila
! Here it is over my mantle. It pulls in all the colors I have used in the living room so far. (Ignore the chairs in the photo. They will soon be used for the dining table. And they are Robbins Egg Blue not funky filthy blue :o)! )



Here is a better close-up. You like?




The hardest thing was drawing the curvy lines. I swear to you it almost gave me a headache trying to balance them on both sides. Looking back I could of skipped that. So for $12 ($10 painting, $2 for new painting brushes & everything else on hand) I had a nice large custom colored painting that is perfect for my living room.

18 comments:

j said...

You never cease to amaze me! That looks fabulous. I love your take charge attitude.

My mother in law has a mirror framed with that exact frame, still gold.

Nessa said...

i love it. a masterpiece. And the frame alone is worth more than $10.

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L.Duncan@Home23DuncanBoys said...

Do I really have to tell you how great this turned out? And how jealous I am that you thought of this? And how I wish I knew where you lived, so I could take it from you? And how I'm going to try and do this myself one day because it is such a brilliant idea? Really, do I have to say all of that? Of course not so I won't!

Have a good night girl. You ROCKED that!

Destination Seaborn said...

Look at you...Little Miss Cezanne! Good job! That frame must be huge. It looks great all painted up. Lisa

Dayka Robinson said...

i do like it! i'm not good with the free-hand art thing at all!

that frame is to die for! you must keep it forever and spray it different colors as it fits your mood, and maybe one day put a mirror in it. so fab.

Conscious Bride said...

Gorgeous!!! Thanks for sharing this. We just had our house painted and now I'm decorating. SN: I should add some pics to my blog...I could definitely use something like this over my dining room table! Have you ever done any wallpaper art? That's what I was considering and could use any pointers :)

I LOVE IT! That frame is to die for!

Meg said...

Hi Adrianna!

I wandered over here from Chic Little House and am so impressed by your projects! This painting is perfect and that desk is so fun! You had me at the Clueless reference.

I'm excited to start following your blog!

Linda @ theLENNOXX said...

Great job! It really looks like seaweed, very organic and flowing. And I adore the frame!! I love painting too, and regularly buy canvases and frames at flea markets to paint over. Welcome to the club! (and please tell me why you don't like deers now, it is really screwing with my brain..!!)

Redesign Diva said...

Girlfriend! you are getting the whole painting thing to an art! LOVE IT! Picture me standing, giving you an ovation...I love it!

Kindle

Unknown said...

Your artwork turned out FAB!! Keep on painting....

Laura said...

You did a great job - LOVE the frame!!

Pauline Wiles said...

Very nice job! You're right, large artwork can get so expensive...

Anonymous said...

I almost skipped over this post when I saw the frame and I am so glad that I didn't. That's awesome! You did a great job. It really looks good.

-FringeGirl

The Single Nester said...

Just gorgeous and you know me - I love those colors!

Rashon Carraway said...

This is a great punch of color.

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Andy Porter said...

It's so cool to create something that totally fits your personality! I'm sure it totally makes your home standout! Thanks for linking this to Creative Cats!

micah said...

Holy awesomeness! I love that you transformed a piece of crap into amazing artwork. Love it!

Janis@White Alder[Home] said...

Just found your blog from a link at The Lenoxx, and am so glad I did. LOVE this frame (I have one just like it, which I also painted white and have it as a mirror in our dining room) it looks great with your new coat of white and the fantastic painting!