DIY Artwork Ideas That Anyone Can Do

I will soon need some artwork to finish up the decorating in my bathroom, so I’ve been looking quite a bit lately at DIY artwork ideas to get inspired.  I love trying my hand at different types of artwork, but I know many people who wouldn’t even think about creating their own artwork because they just assume they have no artistic talent.  Fortunately, not all artwork requires a great deal of artistic talent, and some of these ideas require none at all.

I think this first one is a brilliant idea.  Start with a dull and faded (and cheap!) painting or print from a thrift store, and then use the original painting as a template to create your own Monet-inspired painting.  The shapes are already there.  You simply dab new color over the existing shapes to brighten it up and make it customized for your home.

DIY artwork - Monet inspired painting over an existing painting via Inspired by Charmvia Inspired By Charm

I love anything herringbone, so naturally this next one caught my eye.  The background painting is so freeform that truly anyone (even a child) could do it.  The taping of the herringbone pattern takes a bit more effort, but it doesn’t have to be perfect.  I think the result is pretty amazing.

DIY artwork - metallic herringbone artwork from While They Snoozevia While They Snooze

When I was a child, one of my favorite toys was my Spirograph.  I could spend hours creating different patterns with different colored pens.  This is like the adult version of that (although it would be fun to do with older kids).  It creates such eye-catching artwork, and yet requires no artistic ability at all.

DIY artwork - pendulum painting from Martha Stewartvia Martha Stewart

Black and white photographs blown up to really large sizes can be cheap and easy artwork.  You can create a diptych (like below), a triptych, or just leave the photo whole, and then mount it and hang it.  The one below was created for only $10.

DIY artwork - diptych artwork created from photograph via House By Hoffvia House By Hoff

I really love botanical artwork, and you can create an entire gallery wall of it without painting a single thing.  Just let nature do the work.  All you need is an assortment of fresh leaves and/or flowers, some watercolor paper, paper towels, and a hammer.

DIY artwork - hammered botanical artwork via Build Make Craft Bakevia Build Make Craft Bake

Mosaics can be very time-consuming to create, but they’re very simple to make and can create a stunning piece of artwork that can hang on its own, or can create a beautiful background for items sitting on a mantel or sideboard.  You can make them out of scrapbook paper, colorful pages from magazines, paint chips, etc., and of course you can make it as vibrant or subdued as you like.

DIY artwork - mosaic artwork via U Createvia U Create

Watercolors can be so pretty, and fortunately anyone can create a beautiful watercolor painting using stencils.  I really like this small multicolored elephant, but I can also imagine this idea being used with a large scale allover pattern stencil on a really big poster-sized piece of watercolor paper.

DIY artwork - stenciled watercolor via Grow Creativevia Grow Creative

Who says your frames can’t be artwork?  Old, beautiful frames can generally be found at thrift stores at really low prices.  And anyone can use a can of spray paint, right?  And then you can learn at the link below how to layer those frames to create this gallery wall, where the frames are the artwork.

DIY artwork - layered frames gallery wall via Makely School For Girlsvia Makely School For Girls

Another great idea is to take something sentimental, other than a photograph (e.g., old addressed envelope, handwritten letter, handwritten recipe, etc.), blow it up really large, and frame it.

DIY artwork - enlarged addressed envelope via Southern Livingvia Southern Living

And finally, you can create your own bold, colorful abstract artwork.  Really, anyone can do this.  There are no rules with this type of artwork.  You can use your fingers, a paint brush, or a palette knife, and just start adding and mixing colors to your heart’s content.  You can even turned it into a mixed media art piece by adding gold or silver leaf, torn paper, or other items layered under the paint.

DIY artwork - abstract artwork via Cuckoo 4 Designvia Cuckoo 4 Design

So there you have it.  Even the non-artistic can create artwork, and large-scale artwork at that!

I still haven’t decided what I want to create for my hallway bathroom, but I just might try my hand at some artwork this weekend and see what I can come up with.

 

 

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5 Comments

  1. As a newlywed, my great-grandmother was separated by work obligations from her husband for a while. I’d love to blow up to poster size the opening of her letter that begins “Oh my darling” (in her Spencerian script) and hang it in my bedroom. Thanks for the fun inspiration round up!

  2. My daughter had photos of places sentimental to her, our backyard swing, her aunt’s home in NC, sydney Austrilia where she visited one summer etc. she blew them up and copied them into black & white & framed them. They look great and are so personal!

  3. Hi Kristi
    I am based in South Africa and can’t believe that the first photograph (of the house hidden, the horse drawn cart and the stream) is the same one that is hung in my lounge. Even the frame looks the same. I had bought it at my local flea market, for close to nothing. I so love that picture, even though it’s seen better days. Apologies for digressing and thanks for the artwork tips. Am loving the frame and envelop.