How-to: Ginormous Metallic Canvas Art

I’ve seen this idea in a variety of forms all over Pinterest in recent months, which would usually make me avoid sharing a similar tutorial. However, when I moved into my new apartment last year, there were two ginormous canvases just sitting there. I’m talking 8 feet by 3 feet! I sat on these for about 10 months before I realized I could easily make something cool with them. This easy, and admittedly Pinterest-inspired, project fit the bill. You can make this simple project in just a couple short sittings.

Supplies

a canvas (any size will do – you can pick them up at most craft stores like Michael’s or JoAnn’s)

painter’s tape

paint

paint brush or sponge roller

measuring tape

pencil

rag

Directions

Wipe down your canvas with a damp rag. Mine, having sat in a garage for goodness knows how long, were super dirty.

Next, decide what pattern you want to use on the canvas. Chevron designs are always popular this year and are pretty easy to make, but I opted for parallel diagonal lines. To make perfect parallel lines, you need to make evenly spaced guide lines for lining up your tape. To make the lines, make a pencil line marking every four inches along the edge of the canvas. Then, line up painter’s tape on the guide lines, as shown.

Arrange them however you like. An asymmetrical pattern really appealed to me, as you can see below. Make sure to press down on the tape to create a good seal to keep paint from seeping under.

Next prepare your paint according to directions provided on the can. It took me two painting sessions with an overnight dry in between each to cover the black paint on the canvas, and I used the gold home decor paint I had leftover from making faux copper gutter gardens last month. This paint really does look and feel metallic when it dries, so I’m pretty excited about how my canvas turned out.

Funny story. Right after finishing my second coat of paint, a bird totally pooped on my project. No joke. Luckily, it didn’t noticeably mix in with the paint and ruin the project entirely. I didn’t so much put a bird on this as a bird put its… you know… on it. :(

Once everything’s dry, carefully peel off all of the painters tape. As you can see, I did have a little bleed through, but I’m okay with it. I love how you can see the pre-existing art on the canvas a little bit on the diagonal lines of my new design.