DIY Drywall Art

diy drywall canvas art joint compound tree tutorial

Want large art but don’t want to spend $850?! Ummm same!!! I have been eyeing abstract art for this large wall in our living room, but I could’t spend that kinda money on something that I could *totally* DIY myself, you know?! Like look at this abstract art for $850. Crazy right!?

I’m so happy with how my DIY drywall canvas art turned out, so I’m sharing my full tutorial with you as well as a full cost breakdown!

Materials:

Canvas (mine are 30″x40″ from Hobby Lobby)
Pre-mixed joint compound
1×2 pine
Pre-stain wood conditioner
Provincial & Antique White stains

Tools:

6″ trowel
2″ putty knife
Orbital sander
Miter saw (you could also use a saw with a miter jig to cut the frame to size)
18 gauge brad nailer

Step 1: Apply joint compound to the canvas

You can of course do this however you’d like to! I used a 6″ trowel to smooth out the joint compound, but I left it a bit imperfect. Then, I went in with a 2″ putty knife and made the trees. It is so fun and satisfying! For this step, I used lightweight joint compound by Drydex.

I let the canvases dry overnight with a fan on them. Expect about 12 hours or so for this to dry. I decided that the trees didn’t have enough definition, so I grabbed some heavyweight joint compound and added a second coat to the trees. I ended up using my finger to make the texture of the trees really pop!

I was so excited when I woke up the next morning to this canvas!!! I wasn’t sure if I was going to love it or not – but I’m definitely glad I decided to give the trees more definition!!!

Step 2 – Add a frame

I used 1×2 pine from Home Depot and cut it down to size with my miter saw. Be sure to miter the edges for a seamless look! You could stop here and install the frame as is, but I wanted mine to look a bit more finished. So I sanded with 220 grit sandpaper on my orbital sander and then applied my go-to stain combo. It’s one coat pre-stain wood conditioner, one coat provincial, one coat antique white.

Then, I installed the frame to the canvas with my 18 gauge brad nailer. I found that placing painters tape on the corners helped keep everything square enough!

There you have it! DIY high end art! (In my opinion, that is!) To actually hang the art, I added a couple sawtooth hangers on the back of each canvas.