Wall Coverings
Okay if you’ve been following along you probably know we live in a fixer upper. It’s an older mobile home and my walls aren’t exactly smooth. I love modern art because, it gives my home a rustic modern feel. I’m not really feeling rustic on rustic lately. That’s why I love this art piece so much. 😀
Fluid Painting
A while ago I was inspired by fluid art which inspired me to create my own. If you’re new to fluid art, it’s when paint looks like it’s been spilled or splashed onto the canvas giving it a cool effect. It can be done multi color or monochrome. Since my walls aren’t all that pretty I thought this would be a great wall covering. 😀 Before starting my project I tested at least 10 different techniques and was left with a whole pile of worthless scraps. My paint was soaking into the fabric to much and looked like tie dye rather then the spill effect I wanted.
With what I had at home my last attempt was to paint my fabric with white acrylic paint and see how my liquid would react on top of that.?!! YEYY it worked!! I always thought I would need alcohol paint for an effect like this but guess what!!? Acrylic paint works like magic. I’m so excited to share this technique with you guys. I’ve been surfing the web for a splash effect technique for so long and I finally have the honor to share one. 😀 😀
You can make your abstract art any size and use a mixture of different colors. I stuck to black and white and made mine pretty big. This is very simple and took me under a day to make it. I’ll sum up the directions in 8 steps, but don’t forget to watch my video below for better reference. Okay let’s do this!!! 😀 😀 😀
What you’ll Need (COST $22)
- Two 36″ Wooden Dowels (sold at home depot)
- 36″ by 46″ Piece of white Linen Fabric (works best on thicker/ sturdier lining.. I tried it on thinner and linen it didn’t look the same)
- White acrylic paint (“Basics”brand works the best.. It won’t run once alcohol is applied. I’ve tried this abstract with latex white paint and he bled into my black paint a little. So it didn’t have the same effect.)
- Black craft paint
- Brush
- Staple Gun
- Hair Dryer or mini fan (IF USING A HAIR DRYER DO NOT USE HEAT ONLY USE COOL AIR SETTINGS!!)
- 91% Rubbing alcohol
- String
- Mixing Container
Directions:
- Give your fabric a good coat of white paint. Avoid leaving brush strokes. If you’re seeing to much brush strokes use a paper towel to wipe down excess paint. Let it dry for a few hours. I hung mine outside on my clothesline and it was dry in under an hour.
- Optional: Iron out all your wrinkles on low heat once your canvas is dry. ( BEWARE: I do not know what paint you’ll be using and if it is flammable. Please be cautious when doing this. Iron at your own risk. )
- In your mixing container mix 1 part black paint to 2 parts alcohol. It’s supposed to be pretty runny. Like water but black. 😀
- Then take your paint mixture and start brushing it onto your canvas. Working in 12″ sections not allowing your paint to dry start adding your rubbing alcohol.
- Use your finger to rub the alcohol and paint together a little just to get the mixtures a little blended.
- Then use a fan or blow dryer and blow on it to create the splash effect. ( COOL AIR NO HEAT )
- Once your art piece is done turn it upside down and staple the fabric to your wooden dowels.
- Staple your string to one of the dowels and it’s ready for display.
Here’s a quick fun video for you guys to enjoy. 😀 : D
A Few Things you should know before starting this project
CAUTION!! I would like you guys to keep this valuable information in mind before beginning this abstract art.
This project is pretty smelly and would be best if done outdoors. Rubbing alcohol vapor is denser than air and is flammable. It should be kept away from heat and open flame. (That includes hair dryers on hot settings I used mine on a cool settings) It is a skin irritant. Wear Gloves. Please read my disclosure policy for your own safety.
I love the modern vibes it gives my home. 
My home feels a little newer.!! Just a wittle bit. 😀 😀
That’s it for today. Don’t forget to have fun with different colors. 😀 😀
i really like the art. i was born in 1964 its not that old. my house was built in 1939. my grandfather built it by hand and its in good shape. maybe its the craftsman ship not the age.
Thank you Angela. Good point craftsman ship makes a huge difference. Totally forgot but I should have mentioned it’s a mobile home not an actual house (will have to mention) . We have no foundation. Our mobile home literally sits on bricks. 🙁 That explains all the wall cracking effects. lol. That’s awesome though. Houses built back then usually have high ceilings and always a good story behind them.
Hlello Lily, i’ve really enjoyed watching this tutorial. I first saw your video on Hometalk on facebook and accssed you blog from there. In that video, you also worked on canvas. I would be interested to know what type of paint you’re using for the canvas, i couldn’t quite understand from the video. Is it chalk paint? I’ve never tried it. I made a series of meltdown abstract paintings where i used oil, turp and linseed oil, and a lot of tilting and flipping. I’d be curious to try out your method, i liked the effect a lot. Thank you
Well hello there! 😀 So glad you came across my blog. I don’t remember if I pre-coated the base of the canvas with anything, but I did use diluted chalk and regular acrylics for the spill effect. (diluted with rubbing alcohol) So far my favorite combo is thick linen fabric with the basics brand as the base coat and the diluted chalk paint for spill effect. With the fabric I seem to get the perfect spill effect and the basics brand holds up well to 90% rubbing alcohol. I Hope this makes sense let me know if you have anymore questions. 😀 😀