DIY Brush Stroke Artwork
Make Your Own Artwork Using Simple Brush Strokes
Are you looking for some affordable yet beautiful art for your home? You will fall in love with this simple DIY brush stroke artwork on canvases.
I'm Kelly from The Tattered Pew, and I love using Miss Mustard Seed’s® MilkPaint™ to create quick and beautiful projects.
This project is no exception!
For this DIY, I was lucky enough to have my mom help me out. Having the two of us work together made this project go a lot quicker than if I had done it myself! Plus, we made some pretty and beautiful memories.
DIY Brush Stroke Artwork On Canvases
This all started after seeing an outrageously expensive inspiration photo on Pinterest of some art that I was drawn to. I decided I wanted to create my own for an empty wall in our dining room. It looked like simple brush strokes and didn't seem that hard.
Image Source: Pinterest
So after measuring the space and finding that six 12x12 canvases would fit perfectly, I decided I would make my own version! Instead of one piece of art, I would create 6 for a gallery wall!
Let me walk you through the steps of this easy and fun brush stroke project that only took us two hours to complete!
Supplies Needed
Here is what you will need for these painted canvases:
Paint brushes
Water
Hand-held mixer (affiliate link to my favorite one)
Canvases (I used the set of 7, 12 x 12 canvases from Hobby Lobby)
Clean & covered space to work
Mixing Of The Colors
We used Flow Blue and Ironstone for this DIY art because I fell in love with the colors when I used them to paint my patriotic buntings and stencil my burlap tote! The colors work well together and can have a coastal vibe in the right setting.
To start, we had fun mixing Flow Blue with Ironstone. Well, actually, for the first bowl, we did just Flow Blue (equal parts water to equal parts paint). For the second bowl, we did two tablespoons of Flow Blue and one tablespoon of Ironstone. Then for the final bowl, we mixed two tablespoons of Flow Blue and two tablespoons of Ironstone.
This created a beautiful trio of colors that I was instantly in love with! I wanted to do layers on the canvas for a bit of an ombre effect.
Practice That Brush Stroke
I found this pack of seven 12x12 canvases for only $12.99 at Hobby Lobby. I only needed 6 for our space but was happy there was a 7th one to practice on.
Both my mom and I practiced different strokes in different sizes and with different brushes using the paint we mixed up.
We also practiced different patterns.
It was as simple as pushing down the paintbrush at an angle and finding one stroke we liked. Nothing too complicated and everything fun!
Once we saw the one we liked, we knew we were ready to get going!
Teamwork Makes The Dreamwork
To start, we used the lightest paint first and created our strokes and pattern on one canvas. We then held it up to the wall, and it looked like it needed something more. So we moved on to the medium strength paint next as the base layer since it had more depth. We liked it, but it was still missing something.
So we decided it was time to layer on some color! We simply dipped a smaller paintbrush in the full-strength Flow Blue and layered it on top of the medium color. We held it up to the wall, and it popped beautifully! We were instantly in love!
So, mom and I set up a bit of an assembly line of sorts. I did the lighter paint and bigger strokes on one canvas and then would pass it on to her, and she would do the dark stroke on top. We repeated this six different times. It became easier and easier as we completed each one.
The best part? There was no pressure for it to be perfect. Mostly since this was an abstract art project using simple brush marks.
I love how the final result reminds me of the oyster shells I collected on our summer trip to Florida.
Hanging The Art
Once we finished the assembly line, it was time to hang the art and enjoy the fruits of our labor! We tried to mix things up and hang the patterns in different ways.
This project ended up being so simple to bring to life, and I am so glad I had my mom's help. It was so fun to work together, and her help made it go by so quickly.
I love the beachy and custom feel it adds to our dining room. Do you think you want to give this simple DIY brush stroke artwork a try? I promise it's fun and oh so easy. What Miss Mustard Seed’s® MilkPaint™ colors would you pick?