If you are addicted to Pinterest like I am, I'm sure you've seen the beautiful Herringbone Wall Art that looks like this... and thought "Is that really even possible?!" After studying the links to this "pin", I soon discovered that it is a print and not an actual painting or DIY masterpiece at all - a tad discouraging... I kept coming back to it though and couldn't resist the urge to try.
I knew I couldn't make something that would look exactly like that - but even if I could, that wouldn't be very fun or exciting, huh? That's what I thought. So for my first step, I decided where in the house I wanted to hang it, chose some colors based on that room, and decided to dive in. Here is my finished product:
Supplies:
- Canvas
- Various colors of paint
- Painter's tape
- Paintbrush(es)
- Palette (or something to squirt paint on)
- Scissors
Step 1:
Paint the canvas however you'd like of different colors. I painted mine very randomly and crazy looking but I ended up not liking it - so I painted over it (that's a great thing about paint!). I love shapes and decided I would be much happier with it if there was some order. I painted the whole thing brown as a base color and then painted different square and rectangular shapes over it with various colors and in multiple layers. This is what took the most time honestly because I had to do multiple coats and wait for each color to dry before I did the next one.
I also researched some other DIY bloggers - through Pinterest - to see how different people painted their base. Here are some examples...
Most people end up doing crazy, random paintings, but again, I didn't do it very well when I tried.
Step 2:
Apply the tape in your desired pattern. Instead of measuring out each piece of tape (I wanted each piece of tape to be the exact same size so I would be happier with it), I came up with an ingenious idea. I took the tape roll and marked 2 marks across from each other. Then I cut off pieces of tape at those marks.
It doesn't matter where you put the first piece of tape - it all works out in the end - but try to put it at a 45 degree angle if that is the look you are going for. Then just keep adding pieces of tape, following the pattern. You don't have to measure it; just eyeball it for accuracy. And if you don't like it, you can take it off and try again. Some of my pieces of tape ended up being a little too short or too long - you can tell if the edges start not matching up. I either had to cut or add to some of the strips as I went. You can also pick out different strips to take off at the end in whatever pattern you wish. I took off 12 pieces of tape before doing the next step.
Step 3:
Paint the whole thing whatever color you want. I chose white and I had to do it in multiple coats. Spray painting is another option but make sure the tape is secure before you paint. Before I painted, I ran my hands over each piece of tape to make sure it was stuck to the canvas. I also flipped it upside down and put books on it as weight to secure the tape even more. A piece of tape moving at this point is incredibly frustrating and I'd rather be extra cautious than have the possibility of getting mad and chucking the whole thing.
Step 4:
Fun part!!!! Once it is completely dry, remove the tape! Refrain from taking the tape off too early. Patience is important. I was having a hard time taking the tape off with my nails so I got out some tweezers and that made the process much faster.
Anna and I had a huge empty wall to fill in our living room and I love this new addition.
