How To Make Your Own Wall Art for Cheap!

Let’s talk about art. It’s actually ridiculous how expensive some wall art is. Since the good old days, art has always been looked to as “fancy” or something only for the rich to enjoy. I know this is true, because I’ve been forced to take too many history classes growing up.

Now, I am 21 years of age, and like quite a few 21 year olds, I’ve been through my fair share of apartments. Usually the first place you move into is decorated solely with Ikea furniture. Seriously, I could walk into most college freshmen’s dorms and pick things out like “That right there is Malm 3389, and that’s a Hemnes coffee table”.

Ikea pretty much owns your furniture budget, until you get a job that can afford more than a diet of ramen noodles and the oh so occasional celebratory ice cream sandwich that you buy for yourself after acing your general education finals. As a young adult, you will most likely at one point own, or see a friend own, the standard canvas of Audrey Hepburn and/or the generic black and white landscape photo of Paris that Ikea sells for a hefty $39.99.

Now I had moved around three times, and on the third time I was finally fed up with my Ikea furniture. Sure, I loved it’s ever so affordable price and it’s cute Russian-meets American instruction manual that let’s be honest, no one understands- but It was time for something new. I needed adult furniture. Furniture that I would actually mind if Paris, my cat, pooped on. Thus, I started to look.

Furniture shopping went relatively well. I discovered tons of adorable and classy things from places like West Elm and Crate&Barrel. My apartment was truly coming together- that is, until I needed wall art.

Wall art is such a challenge. I feel like more than anything, wall art is the last thing a person lingers on when decorating their new space, simply because they don’t want to mess it up. Wall art can make or break the perfect apartment! After two months of living in case-de-la Eva, I finally went on a venture to find wall art that wasn’t from Ikea. To my surprise, nearly every single place I looked was selling paintings for hundreds and often even thousands of dollars! Like…. WHAT?!

I had always toyed in my mind the idea of making my own art and saving ton of money, but it wasn’t until I saw the most simple purple paint scribble framed in gold selling for $2800, that I got in my car and drove to Michaels.

At Michaels, I bought two large canvases, two large frames and a whole bunch of paint. I laid it all down on my floor and got to being Picasso. I found some art that I loved on etsy that sold for around $400, and began to recreate it on my canvases as closely as I could. In the end, I spent $240 at Michaels and came out with some amazing artwork. I have yet to start painting the framed art, but I can already tell it will look great! Here are my creations. 

At Michaels, I bought two large canvases, two large frames and a whole bunch of paint. I laid it all down on my floor and got to being Picasso. I found some art that I loved on etsy that sold for around $400, and began to recreate it on my canvases as closely as I could. In the end, I spent $240 at Michaels and came out with some amazing artwork. I have yet to start painting the framed art, but I can already tell it will look great! Here are my creations.

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And here is just part of the giant mess I made. #WorthIt

All in all, going with making my own wall art was totally worth it. I saved a ton of money and now I have something to talk… okay lets be honest- brag about for when people come over and ask about the pieces. If you’re a little nervous about attacking art by yourself, here are my tips:

Buy a cheap canvas, and only buy one! You don’t want to fail miserably then be stuck wasting your money on three $75 dollar canvases you will never ever use again.
Pick art that is easy to create. i.e. If you have never “arted” before, maybe stay away from faces, landscapes, realism, fruit bowls or just about anything with detail in it. Keep it easy, like lines and shapes.
Pick your art idea and color schemes before you go and get supplies, that way you don’t leave the store with 110 colors of paint when you only need 5 shades of green.
Do your art on a clean surface, or a surface you don’t mind getting messy. You will get messy.
Have fun and don’t take it too seriously! Use broad, musical strokes and let your hands roam free. Remember: anything is art, and art has no rules. If you want to paint yourself and lay on your canvas then roll around- guess what, that’s still art. Hang your masterpiece proudly and show it off to the haters! Just make sure you have a very artistic name and meaning behind it to back it up. 

Have you ever painted before? Send me photos of your own DIY wall art! Until next time,

XOXO, Eva

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