Ohmygoodness. I am so excited to share this project! I have had this idea floating in my head for months and now I get to share the results. The concept of painted chevron first came to mind after reading Kelly + Olive’s post about DIY Chevron. I followed their instructions and used the pattern linked to their post.
Here is how it works.
Materials Used:
- 3 22×28″ stretched canvases (each one cost about $22)
- Bronze gold acrylic paint ($10)
- Large, soft bristled brush ($10)
- 1 roll blue painters tape ($4)
- Chevron pattern stencil found on Kelly + Olive (free)
First, I printed out the stencil three times to get the right length for my canvases. I carefully trimmed the paper to include just the zig-zag and then taped them together to get the correct width.
Do these canvases look familiar? I decided I can always recreate the string art look on new canvases, and in the meantime save some $$ by reusing the two I already had.
To transfer the zig-zag pattern from the paper stencil to the canvas, I used a thumb tack to mark each of the points on the zig zags. I did this for both stripes on the stencil and then used blue painters tape to fill in where the white zig-zag was on the stencil. The thumb tack prints helped me know where to start and stop the tape.
I found lining up a whole bunch of tape makes the process quicker.
Once canvas was complete with the zig-zag, I taped the sides as well to keep them white. I also used a credit card to smooth down all the lines and make sure there wouldn’t be any paint leaking into the stripe pattern.
After that, I just needed to paint the canvases with a solid coat of paint. It didn’t take nearly as much paint as I thought it would. I got all three canvases painted with one tube of paint, and I still have paint left over. The canvases needed about 20 minutes to dry and then I removed the painters tape.
I love how the metallic bronze paint shines against the solid white stripe.
Voila! The finished product. Courtney and Lauren came over and helped me hang the art - with thumb tacks! Who knew.
November 18th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
It looks SO great! Bravo!
November 18th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
WOW! Absolutely love this (I’ve always been a big fan of DIY art on canvases!)
November 18th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Oh, I’m in love with chevrons! very cool in gold
November 18th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
It looks so good! Great job! Can’t wait to see the whole studio!
November 18th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
They look awesome! Great job. Thanks for sharing this DIY!
November 18th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
They look great!!! I love that they’re all a slightly different color!
November 18th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
LOVE them! They looks so good and look even better in your room!
November 18th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
looks so fabulous! and not even crooked!!!!
November 18th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
very cool, it looks awesome!!!
November 18th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Super cute! I should give some DIY art a try one of these days, this just might be the inspiration I need!
November 18th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
looking good!
November 19th, 2009 at 10:37 am
@ All: So glad you all love the paintings! I am so glad I did the project.
@ Sarah: Actually, they are all the same color but the metallic shine looks different on the ones closer to the window/sunlight in the photo.
November 19th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Cute! Now I’m trying to think of something I can paint a chevron print onto
November 19th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
such nice results!!!
November 19th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Wow, that is such a great idea! And the white/gold combo looks amazing! I imagine we’ll be seeing these on Apartment Therapy super soon. =) Thanks so much, I’ll be linking
November 20th, 2009 at 8:02 am
These are stunning! I’m doing some posts on accessorizing your walls and I’m going to include this in one and link back if that’s okay.
pk @ Room Remix
December 1st, 2009 at 2:59 pm
@ Magchunk: I’m wondering the same thing…
@ Susan: Thanks.
@ Rachel: Really? You think so? I’d love to one day be on their home tours.
@ PK: You are welcome to post and link to this, of course!
January 5th, 2010 at 11:24 am
Nice, wonderful idea for re-new old stuff found at home:)
January 5th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
What a great idea and project!!!!! xx
January 5th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Wow! These are so amazing and fun! Love them…
January 5th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Very nice diy. I am thinking to use it too. You used nice colors.
January 5th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
WOW! This has to be one of the best DIY ideas I have seen. Great job! I am itching to give this a try myself. Thanks!
January 11th, 2010 at 11:04 am
I have a wall that I’ve dubbed the wall of shame in my living room because it’s such a big space that virtually nothing looks good there. But after seeing this awesome DIY project, I’m thinking this might be just what the doctor ordered.
Thank you for such an inspiring idea that anyone can do!
January 12th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
I am so doing this!!!!!
January 18th, 2010 at 10:58 am
I have had this page bookmarked since the day you posted, just waiting for the right time and project to make it work. It finally came to me: I live in a loft condo with my 15 month old son, and his crib is pretty much in the living area. Today I am off to get a couple of white hollow core doors and hinges. I’m going to replicate this idea on a room divider to set off his crib from the main living area. Yeah! You rock!!
February 16th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
These chevron canvases look amazing!! Thanks for the great tutorial. I’m going to do this!!!
Pam
February 16th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Love this project! Thanks for sharing!
February 16th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
Love how the paintings make a such a statement and pull together the whole room and bring out the color in the chairs. Can you tell me where the pair of lamps are from? I’ve been looking everywhere for something just like those (have found close, but these are the ones!)! thanks!
February 17th, 2010 at 2:28 am
It looks really great, very elegant yet very modern. Thanks for the sharing.