Filling a large wall can be tricky. In the boy’s room, there’s a big blank wall. Well, was. Before giving it a makeover, I had hung a gallery wall. Which was fun, but some of those pieces moved above the beds. That seemed like it would be too many small frames in one space. For this wall, I wanted something big and fun.
Maybe XXL Wall Letters? Cute. Traced shapes filled in? The boys would have fun doing that. Toy collection display? Nah, didn’t want Ev to play with the toys at night. Simple abstract painting, could be awesome. Then I stumbled on a Warhol Campbell’s Tomato Soup painting in a teen space and fell hard.
Ultimately, I was most inspired to make an over sized painting of an everyday object. Rather than a soup can, I asked the boys to choose their three favorite books. Both chose Green Eggs and Ham as a favorite, which seemed perfect for their room. A stop to Michael’s with 40% coupon in hand and I left with a 2 by 4 foot canvas. The proportions of the book and canvas aren’t the same and I wanted it horizontal, so I chose a section of the book cover to enlarge. Using the high school art trick, drawing a grid on the image and canvas for points of reference, I (roughly) recreated a few letters, plate, and guy. Tangent, why doesn’t this guy have a name?!
V helped with some of the painting, filling in large white and orange areas. Once it dried, we hung it on their wall. A little higher than I thought looked right, but we lean against this wall when we read books.
The bits of orange in the pillow and lighter orange in the thrift store print tie in nicely.
Again, I think framing out the canvas will finish off the painting. Even better, this art was affordable, light weight, and the boys chose the content. Triple threat. Ha.
What’s your favorite way to fill a large wall? Do you have a favorite large piece of art?
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That’s so cool Amanda. My son loooves Dr. Seuss. I know all about big blank wall issues. Looks like we both figured out solutions this week:)
Love it! You did an awesome job!
That looks great! Of course, you could always paint a frame on the wall. (That is what I did for my son’s nursery.)
My 2 year old daughter loves when I read her Green Eggs and Ham! She would love this. I think you should paint the edges of the canvas green or even black and leave it alone (no frame).
That is awesome!
I like creating word art. I just did it for my son’s room with high vaulted ceilings.
SO cool! And you can’t ever go wrong with Dr. Seuss! LOVE IT
That looks great! Love that it has so much meaning!
I DYI my art too (and often the extra large canvases as well):
http://heim-elich.blogspot.de/2012/08/grosse-kunst.html
http://heim-elich.blogspot.de/2013/04/aquarellfarben-bild-pfau.html
Gallery walls are awesome too…
http://heim-elich.blogspot.de/2013/07/galeriewand-im-flur.html
And I have a thing for quotes (but I make the from foam craft sheets not vinyl so the are a bit more 3D and bumps in the walls don’t matter…)
http://heim-elich.blogspot.de/2013/01/wallquote.html
I also like using cheap things, like a box of postcards:
http://heim-elich.blogspot.de/2013/01/postkartenwand.html
Or stencils.
http://heim-elich.blogspot.de/2012/01/eine-schablone-fur-die-schlafzimmerwand.html
Okay, I am done, thanks for the opportunity to share! Greetings from Germany
Jenn(ifer)
Hey Jenn(ifer)!
Thank you for sharing all of your amazing art pieces! All so lovely! I especially love the idea of using a box of postcards. 🙂
Thanks!
Amanda
Amanda, Green Eggs and Ham is a classic and your painting is beautiful! Thanks for linking to me too! An abstract would have looked great here too but a piece with personal significance – like this one inspired by a mutual favorite book of your boys – is always the best way to go. Well done.
Hey Sarah!
Thank you so, so much! I agree with you completely. Something with personal meaning always trumps store bought or generic items. 🙂 So glad you like the painting as much as we do.
Thanks!
Amanda
His name is Sam, LOL.