Create Your Own Art? Yes you can. {DIY watercolor effect painted canvas}

This post was most recently updated on January 1st, 2020

Judging by one of my my more popular projects here at A Pop of Pretty (a diy painted canvas I created with an inspirational quote), it appears that a whole lot of you want to know how to create your own art.  So I thought I’d show you another painted canvas that I recently created for our piano room.

 I think it sometimes surprises people that they can create art for their walls without being a trained artist. Believe me, nobody values the work of true artists more than I do.  I have  several professional artists for friends whose pieces I covet. I wish I could have a home filled with original pieces born from the imagination of artistic souls like those guys.  Their pieces are real treasures. But filling your home with those art pieces takes time…and not to mention money.

.I’ve always believed that you don’t have to live in a bland home with assembly line wall art while you save for the Mona Lisa.  You just have top be willing to: (1)  get your hands a little dirty (or, in this case, paint-y), and (2) accept that everybody has a little artist in there somewhere.

Yes, even you who says, “I don’t have a creative bone in my body.” You know who you are! I can’t count how many times I hear this from friends and readers. It’s simply a fib you tell yourself.  I’m trained in business of all things, not art. And, if I can pull this off, I know you can too.

The thing is, this wasn’t a hard project. Time consuming, yes. But not hard. I started this project mid-summer, then left it in a corner when I didn’t fall in love with it. (I didn’t look like this back then.) I tinkered with it on and off, and I finally hung it over the piano a couple of weeks ago.

My biggest struggle was that I’m a ‘perfectionist.’ (Side note: In reality, perfection never happens.)  So it took courage to hang something like this and call it a day.  No, it’s not perfect.  No, I’m not an artist. But I do think it’s pretty, and I do enjoy looking at.

Deciding that most art is perpetually ‘unfinished’ helped me get over the idea that it wasn’t ‘real art’.   There’s a quote about art by Da Vinci; that “Art is never finished. Just abandoned.” Researching it led me to this beautifully written article ‘Art is never finished’. It’s a great read for anybody who struggles with starting or giving up on a creative project like this one.

The fact is, you can create your own art.

Still don’t believe me? I’ll post a tutorial for this diy painted canvas in the coming days just to prove it!

Until then,

K.