Upcycled Canvas Art

February 14, 2022

Room Refresh

I did a little refresh in our daughter's room, and I decided we needed some large-scale art.  I actually planned to order a print, but inspiration struck on a trip to HomeGoods when I saw two HUGE framed canvases on clearance for $25 and $9.  I grabbed them up and headed home, with my head filled with ideas on what to do with them.
giant framed canvases

Rethinking the Artwork

I didn't particularly care for either print, but they were nice canvases with great frames.  First, I used FrogTape to cover the wood frames.  Then, I used acrylic paint to cover up the pictures.  I used a 2.5" brush to spread out paint I squirted all over the canvas.  It took a couple coats.  I wanted texture underneath my paintings, so I did a kind of slip-slap all over the canvas, painting back and forth in different directions.  Once that was dry, it was time to add my art.
Painting over canvas print
painting over canvas

I wanted to do a large landscape, so I used the largest canvas for that.  For the other painting, I did a floral painting.  You could also do something more abstract. The important thing is, if you mess up or don't like it, you can always paint over it again.  I actually did on my original floral painting.  I didn't like how it was looking so I started again from scratch.  No big deal. 


I used acrylic paint for both of mine.  I added oil pastel on top of the floral.  I sealed it with a spray varnish.


The great part about upcycling an old painting is that it is so much cheaper than buying and framing a canvas.  I do this a lot with framed art prints.  Definitely give this a try--you'll be pleased!

landscape framed canvas
large framed canvas of pastel landscape in little girl's room beside bookshelf
acrylic and oil pastel floral painting
Large floral painting over little girl's bed
Bright colored floral painting

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