If you’ve ever gone to a modern art exhibition and thought to yourself, “Hey! I could do that!” then this simple weekend craft project is right up your alley. We’re breaking down the concept of at-home abstract painting into three easy steps. Scroll on for the totally customizable creative details, and be sure to check out three alternative ideas using our 4″ x 4″ Canvases!
Use Foam Brushes and a Long White Platter to mix different varieties of Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic paints to achieve your desired color scheme. Note that this tutorial is designed around three different colors, but you are welcome to mix as many as you’d like, depending on your preferred palette.
Lay a collection of six 4″ x 4″ Canvases on a flat surface. Take the biggest Foam Brush and dip it in your first color. Remember that this will be the bottom-most color on your finished canvases, so consider your color palette. We used our darkest shade first in order to create a strong foundation for our finished art installation. With your brush, swipe random streaks of color across each of your six canvases. Use the full width of your foam brush to create a uniform pattern. Feel free to be as messy and free-form as you’d like.
Allow the first layer of abstract paint strokes to dry completely before moving on to the next step. Cover your platter of mixed paint with plastic wrap to prevent the paints from drying out.
Uncover your paints, and repeat Step 2 using the medium sized foam brush and a different color from your palette. We used the lightest color in our collection for this middle layer, and, again, used the full width of our foam brush to create uniformity and to simplify the process.
Recover your mixed paints with plastic wrap, and allow this second layer of paint to fully dry before moving on to Step 6.
Uncover your paints again, and repeat Step 2 once more, this time using the smallest foam brush and the third color from your palette. As before, we used the full width of our small foam brush to create a sense of uniformity. The animation below shows how the different layers of paint ultimately create an interesting abstract look on the set of six canvases.
To finish, allow the painted canvases to dry completely. Meanwhile, discard the plastic wrap and rinse off your paint platter using clean tap water. Finally, hang the dried abstract canvases from picture nails tapped lightly into dry wall. (Project and photos by Carrie Waller)
Be sure to check out the other Supply of the Month projects using 4″ x 4″ Canvases. Mini Monogram Canvas Art; by Haeley Giambalvo, DIY States Canvas Art; by Sara Albers, DIY Monogram Embroidered Canvas Art; by Amy Weir