Cheap, inexpensive, great looking artwork is probably closer than you think at a lot less money than you would expect. It doesn't matter if you have a clean, sleek modern home or a cozy turn of the century antique charmer, bare walls always make a room seem somewhat undressed.
While it would be lovely if we could all become patrons of the arts and hang on our walls the amazing masterpieces of budding young artists or the classic works of old world masters the truth is that those pieces are probably way out of our price range.
So what do you do when you want to warm up you living space with some great art work but haven't the money to do it?
The art work in you home should actually reflect your personality. There is nothing odder than looking at prints in someones home that were bought at the mall that have nothing to do with them or their lives (themed rooms that have prints of paintings of tropical animals when they have no link to that area). What are your interests and what are your loves and what is your history, these are things that you should consider.
Frames can be very reasonable in price if you buy them pre-made in big box stores (read our article Deals on Frames for Art and Photography ) Don't think that if you have a modern room you can't put something old in it or if you have a room with antiques you can't but something modern in it. If the frames of the art work are subtle then it allows the art work to "pop" and it will work. Consider some of these ideas to fill standard size frames.
Books are a gold mine for prints. You should not destroy books that are in good condition, you can either carefully colour photo copy the print on a good quality paper or take a digital photograph it and have that printed on mat paper. Before removing any pages from a book always check on line that it is not a rare or valuable volume.
Antique dealers buy partial sets of encyclopedias at thrift stores or at auctions for under $5. These books are often damaged beyond repair but still have some great stuff in them.
Books are a gold mine for prints. You should not destroy books that are in good condition, you can either carefully colour photo copy the print on a good quality paper or take a digital photograph it and have that printed on mat paper. Before removing any pages from a book always check on line that it is not a rare or valuable volume.
Antique dealers buy partial sets of encyclopedias at thrift stores or at auctions for under $5. These books are often damaged beyond repair but still have some great stuff in them. There was a time where Encyclopedia sales men did a thriving business because every home wanted a set for the benifit of their child's education. The result is that there are hundreds of thousands of these old encyclopedias that people now consider worthless since they are so out of date. They are so plentiful that some thrift stores don't even bother putting them out when they receive them but place them directly into the trash.
Look for ones that have full page colour prints and then start browsing through your interests. Of course the older the encyclopedia the more interesting the prints will be. Architecture, animals, automobiles, butterflies, flags, flowers, flying machines, maps, military, talking machines and trains are just a few of the prints that you might find.
If you come across old and damaged books that are on their way to the dump always check to see if there are prints inside. It use to be very standard that novels would be illustrated and you could find 6 or more prints in these books. Children's books were often very well illustrated and can have some very amusing prints.
Older books or instruction manuals on your particular hobby, interest or profession can yield delightful results. Be it golf, tennis, sailing, camping, sewing, engineering or manufacturing there is an old book out there about it. Have the prints copied. Some books come with maps or other large diagrams folded inside.
Old magazines can sometimes hold some interesting prints. Decorating magazines from the early part of the previous century would at times print on good quality paper copies of prints for their readers to remove and frame. Audubon bird prints were a common theme. They might also have full page ads that you can frame for their colour and their content.
Estate sales and church bazaars can be the best places to get books as they often sell for as little as 10 cents a book and at the end of the day bazaars will sell bags of books for $1.
Postcards from the last 100 years are plentiful and easy to find. Any antique mall will have them. The themes run from historic sites to humour to animals to holidays and more, there is literally something for everyone. While one postcard might look neat a dozen or more is a statement.
If you come across old and damaged books that are on their way to the dump always check to see if there are prints inside. It use to be very standard that novels would be illustrated and you could find 6 or more prints in these books. Children's books were often very well illustrated and can have some very amusing prints.
Older books or instruction manuals on your particular hobby, interest or profession can yield delightful results. Be it golf, tennis, sailing, camping, sewing, engineering or manufacturing there is an old book out there about it. Have the prints copied. Some books come with maps or other large diagrams folded inside.
Old magazines can sometimes hold some interesting prints. Decorating magazines from the early part of the previous century would at times print on good quality paper copies of prints for their readers to remove and frame. Audubon bird prints were a common theme. They might also have full page ads that you can frame for their colour and their content.
Estate sales and church bazaars can be the best places to get books as they often sell for as little as 10 cents a book and at the end of the day bazaars will sell bags of books for $1.
Postcards from the last 100 years are plentiful and easy to find. Any antique mall will have them. The themes run from historic sites to humour to animals to holidays and more, there is literally something for everyone. While one postcard might look neat a dozen or more is a statement. These small images are best shown in areas where you have to pass close to them to see the detail like a hallway or a small study. You can start a collection of antique and vintage postcards of your home town or the place that you were born in or buy vintage postcards from all the places that you have travel to.
Anything that is made of paper can be framed. Your prize collection of foreign air line luggage tags, restaurant menus from the 1970's or playing cards, your options are endless. Frame items that have bold graphics or strong colours. Before framing it prop it up in the area that you are thinking of putting it and stand back to see how it will look. You don't want to put something too small on a large wall unless you are doing a series of several of them in identical frames.
You can make your own art using dozens of different craft techniques such as flower pressing, silhouettes, collage, or water colour. While most of these crafts are considered very traditional the end result can be very modern.
Anything that is made of paper can be framed. Your prize collection of foreign air line luggage tags, restaurant menus from the 1970's or playing cards, your options are endless. Frame items that have bold graphics or strong colours. Before framing it prop it up in the area that you are thinking of putting it and stand back to see how it will look. You don't want to put something too small on a large wall unless you are doing a series of several of them in identical frames.
You can make your own art using dozens of different craft techniques such as flower pressing, silhouettes, collage, or water colour. While most of these crafts are considered very traditional the end result can be very modern. Flower pressing basicly calls for placing any flora or fauna between the pages of a heavy book (like a phone book) and after they have completely dried in about 10 to 14 days using white glue to attach them to paper. The results would be completely different if you were to use the spiky leaves of a thistle or pretty flowers.
Silhouettes don't have to be stuffy formal posses of your great aunt Nelly it can be the dancing image of a friend or the profile of each family member (a series of these from grandparents to infants could be fun in a family room and really show family resemblances). Collage is a lot of fun and gives a big bang for the buck considering you are using scrap paper pieces from a variety of sources and glue. Water colour painting should be done on special water colour paper as it is thicker and won't warp like regular paper. If you just want to have some fun with it then try it on art paper as see what you get with splotches and stripes.
You could also try something with pen and ink, water colour crayons, or ink blots, you might have a hidden talent!
For larger pieces (more than 16" by 24") you might want to try to make a canvas that you can paint. This is more time consuming and costly but it also means that you can make paintings up to 4 feet tall and 8 feet long and if you paint the sides neatly you will not have to frame it. You would have to make a frame for the canvas from 1 x 2 inch lumber with braces inside. This would be covered in canvas and stapled neatly to the back of the frame. You would then dampen the canvas to let it shrink on the frame and become taut. Then paint the canvas with Gesso which is a canvas finish. Lightly sand the Gesso finish and you are ready to start your creation.
You could also try something with pen and ink, water colour crayons, or ink blots, you might have a hidden talent!
For larger pieces (more than 16" by 24") you might want to try to make a canvas that you can paint. This is more time consuming and costly but it also means that you can make paintings up to 4 feet tall and 8 feet long and if you paint the sides neatly you will not have to frame it. You would have to make a frame for the canvas from 1 x 2 inch lumber with braces inside. This would be covered in canvas and stapled neatly to the back of the frame. You would then dampen the canvas to let it shrink on the frame and become taut. Then paint the canvas with Gesso which is a canvas finish. Lightly sand the Gesso finish and you are ready to start your creation.
You could skip all these steps and go to a art supply store and buy pre made canvases. A 40 inch by 60 inch canvas would be under $40. You might want to make a preliminary study of your master piece on a large piece of paper using child's water colour paint just so you will have an idea of what you want to do. When you are ready to start with your canvas use acrylic paints as they are easier to clean up and are easier for beginning artist to use. You can water them down to get very interesting effects. Lay your canvas on the floor and be fearless - let loose your inner Jackson Pollack.
Not all artwork has to be the paper or canvas type. Hanging a beautiful modern or antique quilt or a interesting wool blanket would make a stunning art piece. Large pieces of fabric need special care to be hung especially if they are very heavy. A heavy cloth strip is sewn to the back so a wood dowel can be put in and it is the dowel that is attached to the wall to hang the fabric. If the fabric is of value this really should be done by a framing store that specializes in this. You should never pin or staple fabric to the wall as this will damage it by the weight of the piece being held up by one small area and the metal can leave stains in the fabric.
Interesting costumes or clothing can also be hung as art work. It is better if it is something like a kimono where a dowel would be put through the sleeves and the kimono would lay flat against the wall. If you are determined to frame larger items like military uniforms, sports jerseys or baby clothes you should do it in a large shadow box and sew the clothes to the backing board. Check out a few museum sites and sports memorabilia stores to see how they do it. You could have some real fun with this idea and frame great grandma Betsy's wool bathing suit to hang at the beach house, or maybe that amazing flower bikini your aunt wore in the 60's.
Paintings can sometimes be bought very cheaply at thrift stores and auctions. You never know what might end up at a thrift store, the frame might be horrible and the painting great or the other way around. At auctions dealers are looking for "names" so paintings by week end artist, no matter how good they are, can go for just a few dollars. Again the frames might be terrible. These two water colours sold for $30 at auction. They had no glass and needed repairs on their frames but were still a deal for original art.
Not all artwork has to be the paper or canvas type. Hanging a beautiful modern or antique quilt or a interesting wool blanket would make a stunning art piece. Large pieces of fabric need special care to be hung especially if they are very heavy. A heavy cloth strip is sewn to the back so a wood dowel can be put in and it is the dowel that is attached to the wall to hang the fabric. If the fabric is of value this really should be done by a framing store that specializes in this. You should never pin or staple fabric to the wall as this will damage it by the weight of the piece being held up by one small area and the metal can leave stains in the fabric.
Interesting costumes or clothing can also be hung as art work. It is better if it is something like a kimono where a dowel would be put through the sleeves and the kimono would lay flat against the wall. If you are determined to frame larger items like military uniforms, sports jerseys or baby clothes you should do it in a large shadow box and sew the clothes to the backing board. Check out a few museum sites and sports memorabilia stores to see how they do it. You could have some real fun with this idea and frame great grandma Betsy's wool bathing suit to hang at the beach house, or maybe that amazing flower bikini your aunt wore in the 60's.
Paintings can sometimes be bought very cheaply at thrift stores and auctions. You never know what might end up at a thrift store, the frame might be horrible and the painting great or the other way around. At auctions dealers are looking for "names" so paintings by week end artist, no matter how good they are, can go for just a few dollars. Again the frames might be terrible. These two water colours sold for $30 at auction. They had no glass and needed repairs on their frames but were still a deal for original art.Keep your mind open about what "art" is and have fun with it. The water colour in the photo to the right was done by a 4 year old using food colouring and the ink painting was made by dipping a cloth in India ink and dragging it across the paper and then spraying the paper using an old toothbrush dipped in ink. As far as the home owner is concerned, they are both master pieces.
Photography and Content
Copyright Ingrid Talpak 2009
Morestylethancash
In a rush but want to explore More Style Than Cash further when you have time? Add me to your Favorites or follow me on Twitter.
For more Articles chose from Crafts, Decorating, Food and Entertaining, Fashion, Gift Giving, Stationery and Cards, Health and Beauty, Kids, or Money Matters.
Photography and Content
Copyright Ingrid Talpak 2009
Morestylethancash
Leave a comment