Hang your own handmade paintings, drawings or collages on your home walls
If anyone can be an artist, you can be one too!
Here I am not talking about Picasso or Leonardo Da Vinci or Van Gogh. It is all about your own artwork, the ones you did with your own hands! You can hang your own handmade artwork by framing them and placing them on the walls of your favorite room. These handmade artwork not only showcase your artistry skills but also garner attention and admiration from your friends and relatives. Recall the saying from the famous animated film 'Ratatouille' which is about the rat named Remus who strives to be a chef, was inspired by Gusteau, the late renowned chef who said "Anyone can cook".
If anyone can cook, write, do gardening, play sports and all, then anyone can paint or draw! Famed artists such as Rembrandt, Freida Kahlo, Raja Ravi Verma and many to name brought the whole world under their feet due to their sheer dedication towards their art. Anyone who saw their masterpieces would have thought that they were born with the talent of conjuring up such wondrous pictures that stunned the world. Little did they know that these legendary painters undertook the Herculean task of envisioning their colossal effort into their art for many months or years. Passion for painting or drawing can either be inborn or acquired by anyone irrespective of age, yet they have to be created with imagination and hard work.
My childhood hobby
As a child, I had practised paintings and drawings with fervour, thanks to the encouragement from my parents. This prompted me to frequently take part in school and few city-level competitions for which I had received recognition and prizes. However, with the passage of time, due to my high school studies, colleges and now professional work, I lost touch with this hobby yet my nurturing ardour for this former pastime led to another new passion - jewelry designing which stemmed from my acquired knowledge of layout, draft and contour in paintings and drawings. Recently, I planned to revive my old hobby and pursue it every weekend.
To bring out your artistic potential, many options are available for you to choose as mentioned below:
1. Brush up your artistry skills
I took help from my art guide books on how to get the basics of painting and drawing perfectly. Whenever I took part in school art competitions, I looked upon those books for special tips required for the art competitions and it had paid off well. My collage manual book often provided me with ideas about making cards either for the competition or for my family on special occasions.
You can attend art classes conducted by professional artists and also bond with other budding artists which would help you in elevating your level of perception and vision in your artwork. If you prefer learning at home, buy art handbooks that contain well-detailed instructions including step by step photos on how to paint or draw. Tutorial videos on YouTube and other video-sharing websites would be a helpful alternative to master this art. Watching well-known television art programmes such as Art Attack will stimulate your interest of obtaining artistic abilities.
2. Go color crazy!
When it comes to creating artwork, I like experimenting with different coloring materials such as crayons, sketch pens, glitter pens, coloring pencils and acrylic paints. All my framed pictures are distinct from each other on the basis of the way they were presented due to diverse use of various coloring materials.
Paintings can be demonstrated in water-color, acrylic, oil or spray paint. Other complex forms of paintings such as glass painting, enamel painting, mural painting and so on as well as advanced types of paintings such as relational art, virtual art, 3D digital art etc would add innovativity to your artistic skills if you like to think outside the box!
Special Note:
Glass Painting, enamel painting, mural painting, relational art, virtual art and 3D digital art all should require skill-teaching classes if you want to specialize in these intricate arts.
3. At the stroke of a pencil or a black marker pen
I did some drawings using just a good quality lead pencil. Many of my pencil drawings were based on buildings as they are of various depths and dimensions and hence they enabled me to draw more imaginatively.
You can surely enjoy carrying out this art as much as I did as it involves less effort than painting and more creative ideas will spark up. Framing these pencil drawings would give a classic look to your rooms. Practising the variations of tracing, shading, toning, tinting, tinging and hue-ing over a period of time will produce the desired effects. A permanent black marker pen can be employed for drawings as it serves to steer the concept of drawing to a new level.
4. Jazz up your collage ideas!
When I was in the seventh standard, during the time of school card making competition, I created a card with the picture of God Ganesha and decorated the sides of the card with golden paper pieces and glitter using glitter pens to pep up the look and add a collage-ish twist to the card.
You can create a collage using old decorative items such as jewelry pieces, ribbons, buttons, unused items like wool-bits, old bags, tiny dolls, colorful magazine torn pieces, feathers - artificial or real, stickers, sea-shells, dry flowers, fallen leaves and many more, using your vivid imagination!
5. Art board can be anything other than just canvas
Paper and thin cardboard were often used as my art board. I ensured that they were of good quality so that paints and pencil tracings lasted forever on them.
You can produce pictures on paper, cardboard, plain unused cloth, old plates, wooden planks, and endless list of things. You can explore new ideas and unique purposes of such items to be utilized as art base and at the same time ensure that these objects are of long-lasting quality.
6. Be adventurous with your pictures
Apart from painting and drawing real-life things and nature, I also had done few modern pictures by creating squiggles and swirls, using paints on papers.
You can do a profound change in your artistic skills by generating an abstract picture or a caricature or cartooning or pop art or doodling or a simple yet thought-provoking image. Have a fun way with pictures and let your mind work at its creative best!
7. Make your own frames
Most of my pictures were framed in a professional art framing center. This enhanced the overall look of my pictures. Recently, I discovered that making my own frames are inexpensive and stimulated creative thinking.
You can create your own frames by using thick and good quality cardboard or sturdy durable cloth as a base for pasting your pictures using strong glue and make holes to put through the wool strings or shoe laces to be used as hanging loops.
8. Your inspiration can be myriad
I was inspired mainly by nature and India's heritage. My paintings and drawings which are hung in my house are mostly related to water bodies, animals and Indian culture.
Your inspiration can come from any of your surroundings like nature, people, still life objects and countless things left to you to conjure it up on your painting or drawing board.
9. Beat the blues and set the mood for committing to your artwork
During my childhood and teens, I spent most of my time alone, engaging in artistic pursuits. This empowered me to elaborate various ideas on artwork.
Producing your own artwork is not only the key to achieving creativity but also self-relaxation and peace of mind. You can paint or draw in any quiet place like a meadow, field, park, etc. If you are inspired by people, you can sit in a semi-crowded place and draw pictures of them. As for children, you can create collage with your siblings, friends or cousins. This would build complete cooperation and ideal teamwork.
10. Pursue your passion for creating artwork seriously from your heart
Recently, I casually walked by and noticed my own paintings. This suddenly brought back my childhood memories. I remembered that I had a wonderful time in creating these pictures. Then I realised that I had forsaken this good old hobby and decided to restore my former art activities.
You have to be truly interested in any art you take. Undertaking artwork requires a great deal of patience and devotion. If you happen to find that you abandoned this hobby long back, you can regain it if you have the interest. If you continue to pursue it as a hobby, it would be great as it satisfies your creative instincts and enables you to spend your free time happily doing what you love. If you are serious in pursuing it either as a part-time job or full-time job, then proceed to achieve your dreams and come out with flying colors!
The step by step guide to making your own artwork wall hangings
Tools required for creating your artwork wall hangings:
- A cardboard base of any size of your choice (It should be thick and hard).
- Cardboard cutter.
- Pencil, ruler, eraser and pencil sharpener (for measurements as when necessary)
- High quality adhesive or glue.
- Polyester laces.
- Perforator for making holes to put polyester laces through.
- Scissors and cello-tape (miscellaneous as when needed).
- Fancy decorative stuff such as beads, old jewelry pieces, potpourri pieces, ribbons, shiny cloth strips and many more!
Instructions:
First step
Cut the cardboard into any desired size required for your artwork. Make sure that there are considerable space for embellishing it with your fancy stuff.
As per my plan, I cut the cardboard into a long rectangle shaped base.
Tip:
To avoid making scratches on the table or floor due to cutter or spilling glue all over the place, put many newspapers underneath the cardboard base to prevent these minor damages.
Second step
If you want a single picture, you paste the picture in the middle. If you prefer to paste many pictures, you can do it, keeping in mind the space for decorations.
I pasted three pictures on the long vertical cardboard base. I arranged these pictures in a descending order of their sizes.
Special Tips:
- You can paste the photographs of yourself or your loved ones.
- You can inscribe your favorite quotes or messages with paints or other coloring materials and paste them.
- You can create your own poster hangings with pictures of your favorite film-stars, sport-stars and pop-singers.
- You can compose your own poems or short creative writing and combine them with your artistic skills to create overall creative hangings.
Third step
To liven up your artwork wall hangings, paste the colorful or attractive cloth strips around the pictures. Cut the cloth strips into the required shape that will fit within the spaces. Other than cloth strips, you can use torn magazine pieces, old camera rolls, discarded dress material, leather strips, ceramic parts, metallic strips and anything beyond your imagination to bestow your artwork with a quirky look.
I pasted long old silk cloth strips on the borders of the cardboard base to infuse the artwork wall hanging with an antique look.
Fourth step
You can use anything to make the hook or loop to hang the the artwork wall hanging - it can be shoe strings, bag handles (polyester), metallic wire, fabric lining and even old chains!
I used the polyester lace as a loop for hanging this artwork wall hanging. I also made the use of my old chain with a fish pendant and few beads as a hanging loop for my another artwork wall hanging.
Fifth step
Adorn your artwork wall hanging with many of your old decorative items. Have fun, elaborating it with as many things as you desire. Make sure that they enrich the appearance of the artwork frame.
I used short golden fabric strips, old earrings, small imitation seashells and tiny circular mirror-like papers as ornaments for the artwork frame and pasted them on the edges of the frame.
Tip:
If you use slightly heavier decorative items, use stronger adhesive and allow them to dry for a day before hanging the artwork frames so that they will not fall.
Last step
After you are done with your artwork frame, hang your artwork wall hanging in your favorite room or in the most prominent room of your house where your guests would pass by your pictures and get enraptured by the aesthetic appeal of your artwork.
I had a beautiful time, involving myself in these art activities. These brought back my joyful childhood memories. I also created two more artwork wall hangings - a wall hanging comprised of combined artwork of painting and collage, using torn magazine bits with an old fish pendant chain as its hanging loop and a wall hanging with potpourri materials as its main focus. I planned to hang all these three artwork wall hangings in my bedroom. This is indeed an exhilarating experience for me!
Special Note:
Sign on your paintings or drawings like Picasso did! Signatures are symbols of originality of artwork created at the hands of skillful artists. Your signatures on your artwork determine your identity as an adept artist.
I signed on almost all my paintings and drawings except collage. Many who noticed my artwork realised that they are actually created by me due to my signatures on them.
Advantages of creating your own artwork
- A great stress buster
- Cheap and economical.
- Reduce, reuse and recycle
- Make money out of your artwork
- Discover your creative side!
How to get your artwork acknowledged and utilized
- Encourage your kids to take part in art activities not only at home but also in school competitions to boost their talents and confidence.
- Set up an exhibition of your artwork.
- You can benefit from your artistic talents by selling your artwork at carnivals or making your business based on your artwork.
- Once you are proficient in artwork, you can organize your artwork tutorials (lecturing or online teaching).
- You can make artwork wall hangings as gifts for your family, relatives and friends on special occasions.
- Donate your artwork at charity events for noble causes.
- You can raise awareness among people through environment friendly or recycling programmes by citing these artwork wall hangings as one of ideal examples in this regard.
A friendly note to all hubbers
Everyone of all ages can be involved in artwork. Artwork is a visual treat for art connoisseurs. Artwork depict the marvellous minds of artists being brought alive in the form of paintings, drawings or collages.
Excel, entertain and enjoy yourself by occupying your time in these delightful artwork endeavours!
Copyrights © 2012 By Ishwaryaa Dhandapani
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