Textured Canvas

In all my home improvement and decor projects, the one area I’ve been seriously neglecting is all my naked walls. I have some ideas for them, but they have been pushed down to the bottom of the priority list over and over again. It’s time I pay my poor walls some attention.

The biggest empty focal point was right at the top of the stairs. There was this big expanse of naked wall with the stairs acting like a great big arrow pointing right to it. Something had to be done.

Even though I painted this on a canvas, it is very much a craft project. I am not (yet) a fine artist, and even if I was, this would not apply. There’s no meaning behind this, I just wanted something abstract and cool to look at that I could put at the top of the stairs. And since it didn’t require me to be a fine artist, it wouldn’t require you to be either.

I wanted to create the impression of a stormy sky, so I went on flickr and looked around for inspiration. I found this amazing photo from flickr user Kevulike and printed it out as a reference.

In the fine art paint section, there are all kinds of really cool texture mediums. I used modeling paste and course texture gel to build up a texture. With the modeling paste I tried to mimic the waves of those stormy clouds, and then with the course texture gel (which adds a grainy texture) I tried to define those scraggly little wisps of cloud. Let this dry overnight.

Then it’s just a matter of layering colors. I just used my acrylic craft paint since I had it on hand. I painted the entire canvas a very pale blue, then added sections of a darker gray. I noticed how the sky had an almost green undertone in the original picture, so I watered down my paint and washed it over the surface, removing some of it with a tissue to create a blotchy and uneven texture. Following the reference photo, I kept layering darker colors, removing more paint here and there, blending it in in other places.

This is the benefit of trying to make an abstract painting. It doesn’t have to look like anything. It’s way more important that it look interesting. Whenever I do a project like this, I always hate it’s guts until two days later. So if you hate it, just leave it in the spot it will hang and live with it for a while. If you’re like me, you’ll grow to love it.

10 thoughts on “Textured Canvas

  1. Very neat effect! I love how you're always trying different things. I wish someone would give me free rein in a craft store overnight sometime so I could experiment with all the supplies.

  2. Wow–I absolutely love that. Thanks to your inspiration, I've started diving into projects that scare me to death, but I try to channel you and just go for it. Thanks for that.

  3. Awesome! I'm working on a canvas, not that I've painted at all before, but because I want something original and that I will hopefully like. This is beautiful! Glad you put that about the texturizing stuff. I never would've known.

  4. Your painting is just awesome! I've often thought that some of those modern art masterpieces look like something that I could do!

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  7. The post that explains on the textured canvas material proved to be a really good and informative one. I liked the explanation on the material shared here on the page. Keep up the good work guys. Thank you directv choice package

  8. Very informative article about home improvement and decor projects, actually medical billing india I was planning to do this kind of works in my home; your article helps me a lot. All the photos given here are marvelous I need more tips from you so please keep updating.

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