Large-Scale Abstract Art on a DIY Drop Cloth Canvas

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Plaid®. All opinions are my own.

Large-scale art can be incredibly expensive, but the good news is you don’t have to be an artist to create your own inexpensive abstract art. I’ll show you how to build your own large-scale canvas, and then you can get creative making your own abstract art! Anyone can do it, and all you need are a few supplies.

Project Supplies:

• FolkArt® Acrylic Paint (I used 3 – 8 oz. bottles of Wicker White and 3 – 8 oz. bottles of Navy Blue)
• 3 – 1×2 boards at 6 ft. long
• Saw
• 2 inch wood screws
• Drill
• Countersink drill bit (or a pocket hole jig and pocket hole screws)
• Large canvas drop cloth (at least 3′ wide and 5′ long)
• Scissors
• Staple gun and staples
• Large paint brush
• Plastic plate
• Plastic drop cloth
• Sanding block or sandpaper

Step 1

First, cut your boards to the following lengths: (2) boards at 5 ft. long; (2) boards at 3 feet long. (Or whatever dimensions you choose for your canvas.)

Step 2

Sand the rough edges of the wood.

Step 3

Position your “frame”. Using a countersink bit, drill pilot holes in each bottom corner where your screws will go. Then, attach the frame with 2″ screws. (Alternately, you can use pocket holes for a stronger joint.) Initially, I had planned on attaching a board in the middle for added support, but I didn’t like the way it looked through the canvas so I nixed the idea.

Step 4

Iron or steam your drop cloth, and then lay it on top of your frame. Cut it to size, leaving a few extra inches on each side.

Step 5

Flip the whole thing over, and using a staple gun, attach your drop cloth to the frame. Be sure to stretch your canvas and pull it tight each time you staple. You may need to cut some excess fabric in each corner before wrapping and stapling it to the frame. I opted to work on top of a plastic drop cloth.

Step 6

After your canvas has been built, it’s time to paint! Paint the entire canvas white, and allow to dry. I used FolkArt® Acrylic Paint in Wicker White, and Navy Blue for the abstract pattern. It took about 3 of the 8 oz. bottles to cover the canvas in the white. I love this paint because it gives great coverage and is water-based for easy clean-up.

Step 7

Now comes the fun part! I just randomly splattered my navy blue paint all over the canvas. I did find that the smaller 2 oz. paint bottles have smaller holes in the cap, so those work much better for this. Since I was using larger bottles, I swapped out the cap with a smaller bottle. So I recommend either purchasing three 8 oz. bottles of navy blue and 1 small 2 oz. bottle and just swapping out the cap from the smaller bottle, or just buy a bunch of small bottles.

That’s it! Simple enough, right?

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Thanks for visiting!

-Erin