DIY Minimalist Art | How to Create a Stunning Textured Painting

How to upcycle a canvas you already have into a custom art piece.

This is one of my favourite DIYs because it’s simple, quick, cheap, and oh-so impactful. And, if you reuse a canvas you already have but no longer love, you might just have all the supplies on hand to get this done TODAY.

I had this old bicycle print sitting in the basement donate pile, but was inspired to try a minimalist black and white painting. I’m so glad I was able to give this old print a new lease on life!

Are you ready to give this DIY a try? Here’s what you’ll need:

Supplies for DIY Art

Canvas (new blank canvas or previously painted/printed, both will work).
Black paint
White paint
Paint Brush
Tissue Paper

Seriously, that’s it. Here’s the step by step.

How to create DIY Minimalist Art

Paint the canvas the base colour – I chose black, but feel free to experiment! You don’t need to be too particular, we are going for an organic textured look, but ensure you cover the canvas.

Crumple some tissue paper into a ball, then tear into strips and sections. While the paint is still wet, stick the tissue paper in a random pattern to the canvas. I only covered about 50% of the canvas, but do more or less depending on your preference. I found allowing some ripples in the paper gave nice texture to the piece.

Does it look ridiculous at this point? 100%! But stick with me here guys. The end result is gonna be GOOD.

Once those have dried in place, cover the canvas in black paint again. Feel free to build up texture by pushing some of the paint around with a palette knife. Allow to dry.

See, that’s looking so much better already, don’t you think?

Take your white paint and water it down really well. I used 1 cup of water to about 4 tablespoons of paint. Put your canvas on it’s short end and drip the paint down the canvas. Do as much or as little as you like! Just be sure to have some paper towels underneath as this part is a bit messy.