Ridiculously simple DIY minimalist black and white artwork

We love bringing artwork into the home. It has the ability to uplift our mood and in terms of styling, create a space that has depth and interest. While there’s nothing more special than buying an original piece from a favourite artist, this isn’t always achievable so today we’ve got a DIY that can see you create your own masterpiece.

Our DIY minimalist black and white artwork tutorial is incredibly simple and fits perfectly into a Scandinavian or modern space, plus we’ll show you how to make your own oak box frame to give it a professional finish!

Stylist Julia Green says almost anything is art when you put a frame around it and today we’re going to prove this theory to be true.

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Feature DIY artwork

Items you will need:

Artwork

  • Canvas
  • Hessian fabric
  • Paint (we used Minimalist 1 and Black Pitch from Haymes)
  • Medium and angle paint brushes

Box frame

  • Tasmanian Oak (we used 30mm x 8mm)
  • T-Rex Soudal (like super glue but much stronger)
  • 4 clamps (to secure wood while drying)
  • Drop saw
Items you will need artwork
Some of the items you will need

Steps:

1. Paint your canvas in two generous coats of white paint. It’s ok to go a bit heavy on the paint as an irregular build up in some areas will add texture and dimension to the piece.

Paint canvas
Paint the canvas in white paint

2. Using coarse hessian, place several strips in the centre of your artwork and use your medium size brush to apply black paint. The less perfect you paint, the better your artwork will look — think raw and moody.

Place canvas
Randomly place strips of hessian on the canvas
Paint black
Paint hessian in black paint

3. Create a box frame using Tasmanian Oak cut to size. Miter the joints by cutting the ends at a 45-degree angle.

Tip: we suggest cutting the timber at least 5mm longer than you think you’ll need. That way you can place all the timber around the frame and shave off additional length where needed.

Cut timber to size
Cut oak frame down to size

4. Apply a small amount of T-Rex or different ultra strong glue to the inside of each timber strip and secure against the artwork with clamps. Once dry, remove the clamps and lightly sand the corners for a perfect finish.

Clamp timber in place
Clamp timber in place

Voila! Your unique piece of art is done and ready to hang (or rest) with pride in your home. We’ve layered ours with other monochromatic pieces, like this ‘Own it’ print from Yorkelee Prints.

DIY artwork
Close up of artwork
DIY minimalist black and white artwork

What do you think of this simple black and white artwork tutorial? Have you been inspired to DIY your own artwork?

Check out more DIYs

Style Curator
Style Curator is an award-winning blog about the pursuit of a stylish home. Founded by Gina Beschorner, a social media adviser turned blogger and Interior Designer, we share our favourite home products, tours of designer homes, interviews with artists and experts in the design industry and other stylish news. Subscribe to our e-newsletter for weekly highlights!

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