I think that unless you have extreme hidden talents, it is difficult to pull off DIY drawn/painted art.

I would suggest looking at antique malls/estate sales for framed art that is inexpensive, or DIY using photography that is enlarged and framed.

With a camera and some time at Kiko's using the computer, you are much more likely to come up with something that will work out well.

Anything from areas of your city, to head shots of the family that have computer manipulation of the colors/lines would work. Matted and framed.

If you do it well....ti could work well. How about taking photographs in color of things mostly black and white. I am think of the look of the photos on the shelf to the right of the fireplace, blowing them up big big and framing simply with a white mat. and hanging a string....or a couple of groups. And makes ure there is a bit of that great Orange on one or 2 of them.
I can see all sorts of things....from steel girders, to close ups of spoked wheels, a tiny segment or a historic photo blown way up so it looks pixillated, a la Lichtenstein.
So many possibilities...
Linda c

I've always wanted to do one of these:
marble painting

Although making yourself something might be cheaper than many pieces of art, I don't think it will be inexpensive to do if you have to buy supplies (& possibly frames depending on what you make) and you'll probably need extra supplies for practice if you aren't already artsy or talented. That's one thing that has been holding me up from attempting the marble painting, which you can see is a child's project in that link. And yet I'm still intimidated by it and haven't tried it yet. Maybe if I do it with my niece I'll loosen up and get creative.

There were some previous threads, with some great advice from paintergirl, about creating art. Maybe you can find one of those and get more ideas about what to create.

I agree, by the time you buy a large canvas and paint, you are looking at some significant money.

Do you have a local university nearby? Our fine arts students do wonderful work that is obviously inexpensive.

Do you have any gallery crawls where you live

I would also try the thrift/consignment/CL route.

I am of the go for it persuasion. But then I am the type that loves to try things for the sake of trying. I had the same problem, and picked up paintbrush for the first time in my 30's for the same reason, I wanted artwork but could not find anything that "talked" to me. My sister is an artist, so there is a strain of a genetic ability.

I painted two child-like/simplistic pictures on original leftover screen windows from our house. Then I grabbed left over sheetrock and painted a picture on that that gets propped up on our mantle. Then I bought a large cheap open frame and stretched a piece of white sheeting, stapling it to the frame and painted on that.

No, none of them would be the kind of art that could be sold to a third party. But it is m-i-n-e, which makes it cool. The way I see it it is better than that recent thread on matching art to furniture and how 80's it all was...

I personally would never be able to pull it off. I agree with trying photography. Much easier IMHO. Or there are so many great fabrics out there-if you see a few that you like you can frame it and create artwork. I have found great vintage prints at antique shope for really cheap but the scale probably wouldn't work for your room. Another though it to put stuff on your wall that not painted art-wallhangings, architectural salvage- old doors, leaded glass windows, corbels, ornate iron grills/fences, large map. If you look on etsy, there's some great wall art and wall art stencils. The possibilities are endless.

I am really glad you put this question out there for the forum to respond. I've been following the "art to match furniture" thread that has had some great conversations about buying original art vs home decor stock pictures. I would love to own quality original art and even have my eye on a few artists that I will buy from when I become independently wealthy or make good in the stock market. In the meantime I have lots of big blank walls that I don't want to clutter up with mass produced predictable pictures.

I would love to hear from others on this forum who have had the courage to experiment with canvas. If you use the canvas to introduce color or pattern, it seems to me the subject could be handled by a motivated person with a good eye. I have a friend whose DH did just that. She painted canvas with colors that added a spark of interest on bare walls. I have to admit I have several blank canvases in storage and I intend try my hand at something along the lines of what srg215 is contemplating. I have had the urge to try it for years but have been afraid to take the plunge.

I agree that there are cheaper ways to dress up a wall than investing in oils and canvas but it could be a great creative expression that ,if done well, could add unique interest to your home. It might even be a little therapeutic.

srg215, I was just checking through bhg.com and you have to look at these:

Here is a link that might be useful: blank wall

I am with sidney.

I encourage you to try it, especially if you want to be more artistic... than normal(?) I thought about this idea, until I looked at the price of canvases at Home Goods. I still might do it, but the price made me hesitate. Actually, my husband has more artistic ability so I might come home with a canvas, paint and an inspiration photo for him. Poor guy. :)

Wish I could help with advice......... but I definitely think you should try.

I know this is style is not for everyone but here is a room that was featured in Veranda Magazine that shows how a simply painted canvas can make a statement.

If you have the talent go for it. If you have photographs you love you can turn them into canvas works of art. One of the food bloggers I follow did that recently and she was very pleased with the result. I'll link her blog and the site she used.

Savoring Time in the Kitchen ... canvas print review

Easy Canvas Prints

Natal, good idea for the canvas photo prints. I see Groupon type of deals for those all the time. Also, Shutterfly often offers discounts on them, too.

I actually did just that. Didn't have the budget for original works of art so I did my own. I'm very pleased with the results. They may not appeal to others who see them but I'm proud of them and enjoy them very much.

As far as tips, I personally prayed for help.
: )

Go for it girl!

Canvas stretcher bars are inexpensive at an art supply store and there are lots of very pretty fabrics available, or even pieced together clothing from a thrift store. Stretch that over the stretcher bars and staple and you've got inexpensive decor items that will be placeholders until you find something that you love in the art world. There's a lot you can do with fabric that doesn't involve sewing at all and lets you take advantage of some of the wonderful graphic nature of today's upholstery choices. Even if it's $100 a yard, a single yard of it can make two "paintings" and that's loads cheaper than anything else on the market. And, if you go the fabric route, I've used the leftovers to make patchwork pillows that matched, and ottoman covers, and even used the iron on vinyl to make table cloths or shower curtains or place-mats or rag rugs or decoupage table tops or............

Michaels has their canvases on sale often, and even when not, they have 40 or 50% off coupons in the Sunday paper. Get a small bottle of faux glaze and some acrylic craft paints and practice on a piece of white-painted cardboard or poster board to get a feel for how the colors mix and shade, you can make something really cool and unique for not very much money.

I saw something in a magazine recently, of course I can't remember where, but the homeowner had framed some favourite wallpaper. Bought some wallpaper, mounted it on a canvas and framed it.

Go for it. Some of what passes for contemporary or abstract art these days makes you wonder who created their definition of art ..... but it's art! You don't have to do landscapes and portraits which are harder to fake. I was at an art auction last night and two pieces by one of the featured artist was some sort of a string on a twig attached to canvas then the string made additional movement on the canvas. I would not have had the creativity to do something like that. Not everybody would think of that are fine art ... but someone bought it ... because it spoke to them. I do paint a little and do have to agree with what someone else said. The cost of the supplies can be pricey - especially if you don't know what you are doing and this is not really going to be a hobby for you. The brushes, canvas, easle, thinner (if you are using oils) plus the paints do add up. A little tube of good quality paint could easily cost about $9 on sale. You can mix almost any color you want from the primary colors but unless you have an eye for color composition it might not be that easy to do. It is an enjoyable hobby though - very relaxing. If you go that route you might get more out of it (a new hobby) than what you expected. Take a class at a local community college to get a few basics.

I agree with trying photography. In this age of digital cameras, you can take numerous pictures (my 7-year-old grandson took 599 on a recent 4-day trip we took him on!) to decide what you like and have one or more favorites enlarged and framed. As a gift to us my daughter had one of the pictures I took in Venice enlarged to 11x14 and framed. It looks great and it's hard for me to believe that I took the picture, as I am not what I would call artistic. (But then Venice is a great place to take pictures.) She also gave us an 11x14 of a picture she took in Tibet, similarly framed. The frames were bought at an inexpensive frame shop but are very nice wood frames that look good with the pictures without detracting from them.

I liked the link peginmd posted. Lots of great ideas for a gallery wall. How about a gallery wall with something meaningful to you--your last name done artfully; everyone's initials; family photographs in black and white; family profiles; few shelves with the kid's artwork, etc.

I am doing a "21" gallery wall on very large wall in our family room. 21 is my lucky number as it's both my daughters birthdate; my dad's birthdate; our marriage date; and our house number.

Some of my ideas for the wall include: framing our marriage license that i had an artist from etsy paint on; framing our deed; a wedding picture; pics of my girls; a fish that my dad won a prize for; a piece of wood that my BIL blowtorched XXI on; an antique printer case that I am filling with memorbilia of my daughters; a caricature of the family; a large canvas of a man and woman having a picnic; a pic of my dog dressed as my daughter; wooden "21"; black and white photographs that i took of items at our home used to spell out twenty one...and on and on....

I have not completed the wall yet--but I am so excited as to me it is so much unique stuff that is so personal and meaningful. I will include one of those picture diplays with clothes pins (they have them at Pier one) that allow me to easily add/remove snapshot photos as I please.

Interesting rugs, small quilts or even pretty fabric over a frame look good.

Thrift stores often have huge artwork.

Or do a "gallery wall" effect on the fireplace

I did this for a large wall over our couch with an Urban Outfitter stencil and large canvases from the local art supply store (it's holding the space until I can splurge on a huge landscape I have been eyeballing at the local art studio) So I say go for it!

We also did this in another room - found the huge window on the side of the road and loaded it with old photos (free!)

Laurainlincoln...that is awesome. Thanks for sharing.

Look at Beekeeperswife photos above her bed. She took them on vacation and they make great art!

Look farther down in the discussion to see close-ups

Here is a link that might be useful: Beekeeperwife's bedroom

Spectacular, Laura!

I haven't *yet* created my own artwork but after seeing some abstract pieces at HomeSense recently I know I can do something as creative. Huge paintings which looked as if the paint was splashed across the canvas. Since large stretched canvases can be expensive I thought I might paint on plywood to practice and use them if they turn out the way I want. I plan to use some of the latex house paint I have left over from walls and add craft paint for extra colors.

Every famous artist started somewhere so I encourage you to give it a try if you are inclined.

I've framed expensive pieces of fabric samples that I got free and like that look also but not sure how it would work in a large frame. Might have to use spray glue and attach fabric to a smooth surface such as Masonite and frame. Large frames can often be found inexpensively at thrift stores. Or use unframed.

Watch the video at the link below for help to create abstract art!

Here is a link that might be useful: original abstract painting techniques

I had to give you another website that has a multitude of free images to download. You can print off an image on a piece of cardstock, paper or take the image to say kinkos, get them to enlarge on canvas or paper, frame and you are done.

Here is a link that might be useful: fairy blogspot

I think a lot of "bad" art can simply pass for the latest thing in modern art to the untrained eye, but our eyes are better trained to recognize good photography. We see it around us all the time. We might not know the difference between great and good photography, but most of us can recognize bad photography when we see it!

I say go for it. You can buy large canvases at Michael's or A.C. Moore with the ubiquitous 40% off coupons. I painted this huge 3' x 4' canvas with some leftover housepaint. It hangs in our living room. Not for everyone, but that's why it hangs in my house. ;-)