DIY: Canvas Art

DIY: Canvas Art, A How To! 

Well, I'm finally getting around to attempting to post my projects I do so that others can try it too! Believe me, I don't do anything fancy and most of the time the projects that I see on Pinterest are cool but some, if not most, are way over my head! This is my attempt to share my crafts with others in a simple, easy to follow, step by step guide. First up, (drumroll please), DIY Canvas Art. 

This is a spin off from a project I saw on, you guessed it, Pinterest. I saw projects where people cut into canvas in geometrical patterns and hung them on their wall as art, so I got to thinking could you do that with any image? Here's what I came up with. 

STEP ONE: Select Images and Cut Out Images

I have an affinity for animals, and especially animals that roam the African Plains. Naturally I gravitated towards the animals shown above. I was careful in the selection of my photos, they needed to have enough shapes to be able to define the pictures but not to much so that the finished project would have "floppy" or loose pieces. Shown below are the pictures I chose, with the dark areas already cut out to produce the outlines. 

 There were a few minor adjustments I needed to make to the pictures so they wouldn't have those "floppy" areas. I used an exacto knife and rotary cutting mat to cut the outline. 

STEP TWO: Transfer Images to Canvas

I then transferred the cut out images to the back of the canvases using a pencil. I found that taping the image in place made it easier so they didn't move. To the right is a photo of the transferred image. 

STEP THREE: Paint Canvas

Just as the title suggests this is the step where you paint the canvas. At this point I had already transferred all three images onto the back of the canvas and was ready to add a pop of color. I chose the colors based on what I felt the colors of the animals were. Golden for Lion, Slate Blue for the Elephant, and Green for the Giraffe. Now I know you're probably thinking how does green relate to a Giraffe, since a gold color was already chosen for the lion I figured giraffes eat foliage which is green most of the time (my husband still doesn't know why I chose the color). In hindsight I should have painted the canvases ahead of time so they could be drying while I was cutting out the paper stencils. 

STEP FOUR: Cutting the Canvas

This part is by far the most arduous part of the process, let me tell you my fingers hurt for the next couple of days. The most important part in this step is to have a really sharp exacto knife. If you don't you are going to have a hard time making sharp lines. Power through the pain, you're almost done! Below are progress photos. 

STEP FIVE: Finish it up

Once your images are completely cut out, they are ready to be hung in your home wherever your heart desires! 

Additional Note: I had a spark of ingenuity after I was done with the project, to potentially putting sheer paper, or tissue paper behind the images, then put a light source behind the image. Voila! Night light for the kids at night. I cannot be sure how safe this will be as far as a heat source, so I will not be held responsible. Maybe someone knows about a more fireproof method to make this happen. Below are the finished products. 

CONCLUSION: What happens next. 

When I bought the canvases they came in two two packs, since this project only took three canvases, I still had one left over. I decided to do something that I would actually put in a child's room. 

Same process as above, when I was done though I put tissue paper over the back of the image, and backlight it before I took this photo. Calvin and Hobbes, doesn't get more awesome than that! 

I hope you found this enjoyable and informative, let your imagination fly! 

Tess