Easy Wall Art Ideas | Chapter Nine: Herringbone Art

I’m loving Chapter Nine in the Easy Wall Art Ideas series: Herringbone Art. I see this pattern everywhere – scarves, jackets, dishes, home decor, jewelry — it’s oh-so-trendy! It got it’s name because the arrangement of rectangles are suppose to resemble the bones of a fish such as a herring. Although this pattern is mostly associated with fashion, herringbone works beautifully in home decorating. I thought a painted canvas was a great way to add this fun, trendy-but-classic herrringbone pattern to your home.

 I’ve seen similar paintings at Pottery Barn and Wayfair for hundreds of dollars – but this is such an easy pattern to create and you can have your own version for a fraction of the cost.

You’ll need the following materials:

• Stretched canvas – you can find these in a wide variety of sizes at any arts & crafts or art supply store. You can also use an old painting that you don’t like anymore – and paint right over it (that’s what I did!). My canvas is 40″ x 30″.

• Acrylic paint in a variety of colors. I chose a dominant backgorund color, plus 5 additional colors. Two of my paints are actually Benjamin Moore interior paints! The others are Liquitex artist’s paints from Michael’s.

• Paint brush

• Painter’s tape 1-1/2″ wide

• Ruler

Here are the instructions:

First, paint your entire canvas with your background color. This will be the color that works as the lines between all the diagonal colors. I picked a neutral gray color I had left over from when we painted our walls. You can see my painted green canvas that I think I did with my kids way back when. I’m not sure what we were planning with this “creation” but we even added some cool texture that I ended up really liking for this project. Let your paint dry and add a second coat if needed.

Add the painters tape for the vertical lines. I just measured the center point for the first piece and then measured the center point on each side for the other two pieces.

Next, you’ll need to place tape for the rectangles. I didn’t use any particular measurements, I just tried to keep the tape at the same angles. Start with the right side then go to the next row and angle the tape in the opposite direction. Just be sure the top of the tape on the right side lines up with the top of the tape on it’s matching piece on the left side. If you’re unsure, you can use the ruler as a line guide.

Continue so that all angles are done. Then you can start painting. I used a total of 5 colors and picked a dominant color to start (light blue). I painted the light blue on almost every other spot (I added a few more later). Then I added the brown and gold and tried to space these colors around evenly.

Then I added the two accent colors – green and orange – more sparingly until all the blocks were painted and the colors balanced well. You might need to add a second coat of paint on some of the colors.

After you finish painting, let it dry completely. Peel the tape off and touch up any areas that may have bleed through the tape.

Since I love the aged, vintage look, I lightly sanded the entire piece with 100 grit sandpaper. This was just what the piece needed to look a little more worn and authentic.

Hang your canvas and admire your amazing work!

It adds a nice colorful touch to this home office in my client’s home. And even my husband commented on how easy this project looked while I was making it. One more chapter left in the Easy Wall Art Ideas series. It’s another fun and easy one – stay tuned!