Do it yourself abstract paintings for the home

I don't know about you guys but I was a Top Design fan this last season. More importantly I was a Nathan fan, who wound up winning much to my joy. While his Styrofoam plate light fixture in the season finale was a bit questionable, I absolutely loved the drip painting that he added to the dining room wall. Not only is it bright, graphic and beautiful but it's super easy and cheap to make.

Step 1: Choose your canvas size.

You can go to Micheal's and get a pretty large one for around 20, massive for under 40. My feeling on it is the bigger the better. You can never have enough large art pieces to put in your house. They make great centerpieces behind a couch, a bed or in a dining room.

Step 2: Time to get paint.

Acrylic, acrylic, acrylic!! Choosing this cheap water based medium will give you the option to water it down so you get it into a consistency that will actually drip. To get the best bang for you buck, buy just the primary colors and then mix them yourself at home. This way the choice is endless and your wallet isn't crying over it. Most sets will come with a color wheel to help you out in mixing so don't feel daunted if a first timer, just remember that start adding little by little until you get the feel for it. If you add too much of a dark color, you might find yourself spraying whole tubes of white on it just trying to save it.

Step 3: Get some soda cans you can cut up.

Once you mix your paints to the color you want, find a soda can that you can cut the top off of (actually, you might want to mix colors here to begin with to save the mess). Once the paint is in it, add water until you get the paint to a nice 'drippy consistency.

Step 4: Time to drip!!

Soda cans tend to aid dripping since you can flatten sides to get thick lines as well as fold it in for thin drips if you choose. Try starting with one color first and prop your canvas up not quite at 90 degrees. You don't want it to drip too fast. Now you can just experiment however you like! Nathan seemed to let the paint just do its thing while spontaneously coming in with a brush and swishing it down here and there (see his black line in the middle). If you want colors to overlap, try letting one color dry at a time and then come in with the other color and drip it. Letting it dry beforehand helps eliminate bleeding and will also allow you to build up texture to the piece. Acrylic is also great for projects like this since is dries so fast so you wont have to wait long :)

That's it! Have fun with it. It's a simple art project that anyone can do and its quick enough that you will have a great piece to show off in no time :)