How To Make Your Own (Pretty) Art~

Okay peeps...today I'm going to tell you all how I created the piece of art in my master bedroom redo. (or that damask thing-y hanging above the bedside table.)

This is a great idea to keep in mind when you really want a piece of art that will complement a space, and you just can't seem to find the right one. (Although my father-in-law who is an honest to goodness real life artist and Professor of Fine Art would roll his eyes at the concept of choosing art to "go with" a room...his decorator daughter-in-law, that would be me, does it all the time.)


In the case of my room, I really wanted to incorporate gray damask. I was hoping to use it for the curtains, but with the amount of yardage I needed, my budget would have been sunk. So I decided to bring the damask into the room in a stylized piece of art.

Here's what I did...





1. I found myself a piece of wood in our back room that had a smooth surface (you could also purchase a canvas, but I was aiming to use what I had)


2. I found a damask pattern I liked. In this case, it was a picture of a fabric sample, Natele from Duralee, which I printed out so that I would have a pattern to work from. As you can see, the pattern was quite intricate, so I tried to simplify it as I drew it out...but I'll get to that in a minute.


Natele from Duralee

3. I painted the piece of wood (or canvas) the background color of my pattern. In this case white. I used the same paint from my bedroom project...interior latex in white and dove gray. I would suggest using a graphic print and limiting your painting to 2 colors...unless you are a real artist. It will make the project look more professional in the end.

4. Here's where you can go a couple of different ways. In my case, I have a photo projector. I placed the print on the projector and then traced the projection onto the wood. Or if you are good at this sort of thing, you can look at your picture and freehand it in pencil onto your wood. Finally, if you don't have a projector, and aren't good at freehanding stuff, you can draw a grid on your picture and then draw each section of the grid onto your wood. (I wouldn't suggest drawing a grid on the wood - it's difficult to remove the pencil lines - but the grid on your picture will help you get the proportions correct when you draw onto the wood. )

In my case, I used the projector, and actually wish I had just freehanded it because when you compare my inspiration pattern to the actual painting you can see how the projector distorted the image. I also had a difficult time actually seeing all the lines I needed to trace. In the end I had to fix a few things, and the image is still a little off. Oh well, live and learn right?

5. Now use your other color and fill in the pattern. It's simple...just like coloring in the lines...except with a paintbrush. You'll notice that I reversed the colors in my painting using gray for the motif and white for the background. This is because I actually wanted the finished painting to be more gray than white. You can also see that I rotated the design 90 degrees...that's just because I liked the composition better that way.

6. VOILA! A custom work of art.

Don't forget tomorrow is Frugal Friday again!! MckLinky goes up at 12:00 am EST for all you night owls.

And this week's winner will be announced at So You Think You Can Decorate on Saturday...next week's challenge goes up on Sunday. You can vote until Friday at 12:00 MST.

Have a great day~