Up-cycling Art Canvases
I’ve been working on finishing details in our primary bedroom and had a large blank wall. I’ve stared at it for months trying to decide what to do. Whatever I was going to do needed to be inexpensive, kind of large, and tie in all the colors of the room.
I decided I wanted some art. I did not go out and buy art. In my basement I had three large art panels that were given to me by a friend. I knew I wouldn’t keep them as is and until now I had no idea what I’d do with them. I up-cycled the canvases into new art for our primary bedroom.
Materials
Art Canvas (choose your own size or thrift something old to re-use)
Digital Art Print, Printed
Mod Podge Matte Finish
Small putty knife or paint brush
Razor knife
Paint Primer
D ring- Hangers
First step:
Find a digital art print you love. There are several websites that offer these to purchase but there are also places to find them for free. I bought my digital print from Juniper Print Shop.
Some other sites I like:
Etsy
Vintage Print Gallery
Step 2:
Get your art printed at a local print shop. I used Staples. I needed really large prints and staples prints architectural prints (blueprint size). I also chose architectural prints because they are cost efficient for large art. I use them for large photos of my girls that I change out frequently.
I had to edit my art so it could be printed on four different prints due to the size of the art panels. Each panel will have two parts of the print glued to them. There are four red rocks on the photo below, these are the quadrants I cropped my print.
Step 3:
Prime your canvas. If your canvas is white you can skip this step, but for obvious reasons, I primed mine. They took two coats. Let them dry before moving to the next step.
Step 4:
Glue the prints to the canvase(s) with mod podge. I prefer a matte finish over gloss with mod podge. Apply mod podge to the canvas not the back of the art print. I used a small putty knife, but a paint brush works too. You have some time to position your print before the glue dries or your print rips. I found it easiest to slide the print on from one side. I did not wrap the edges, but in hind sight I would suggest wrapping the edges too.
Now remember, my print was split into quadrants do each art panel had two pieces to glue down. If you’re in person and really examining the art you can see the seam, but from a typical viewing situation, the seam disappears.
Repeat gluing steps for the second panel. Let the print you just glued down, dry until
the mod podge turns clear. Some wrinkling is to be expected and I had a few air bubbles. You could ”pop” the bubbles and add more glue or leave them like I did for extra texture.
Step 5:
Now your print is glued down and dry, it’s time to seal the top. Come back with your mod podge and trowel or paint brush and apply a top coat of mod podge to the art. Let it dry completely, it will be clear and trim the edges if you didn’t wrap the print around them. (Again I suggest wrapping your edges for a cleaner finish.)
My art already had D Ring hangers on the back. If you need hangers I recommend any D Ring hangers. Make sure they’re rated for the weight if your art panel.
Now hang your art and enjoy!
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Alissa