Art is not just for experts – Wall Decor: Paint Andy Warhol style Pop Art shows how you too can create interesting wall art to brighten up your home. Painting looks easy – a brush, a bit of paint plus a canvas and you’re there, right? Well, yes and no. We’ve seen on TV how artists like David Hockney creates a masterpiece worth millions almost with one hand in his pocket. Indeed, he probably could.

But painting – or rather creating a piece you’d happily hang on your wall at home – is not quite as simple as it looks. Patience and perfectionism are almost as important as the brush itself, but more of that later. But why would anyone want to create their own wall decor, unless they were professional artists, people might ask. Art is something you buy, surely.

That is a misconception and one we at DuYourHome is hugely keen to quash. Art is unlike a shelf or a mirror or any other decorative object. It is a living piece because it tells a story. The fact that is was painted by yourself or someone you know, only adds another dimension to it, to give it unique emotional value. Other people’s like or dislike of it are an irrelevance.

Essentials for painting your own Pop Art Masterpiece

• An ARTIST’S CANVAS (like the ones from Amazon here) – for better quality look for a linen or cotton canvas. Unless you choose to paint on paper or board
• Several brushes – different sizes and shapes. Particularly super thin brushes for painting eyes – the tiniest dot can change the look in someone’s eyes and of the entire painting
• An easel – it’s worth getting a solid easel to steady the canvas and adjust the height to spare your back. You can get different sizes, standup and a box which functions as a table top easel and box for paint tubes and accessories at the same time
• Paint – oil or acrylic (or water colour). Oil is the old fashioned paint while acrylic is a more modern paint – lighter, dries more quickly (some say too quickly), easier to clean off brushes, perhaps easier to work with depending on your level of skill. Study carefully, and test the paint before you decide which to choose. Most people go for acrylic, which has become of such high quality it almost resembles oil
• Palette – get several to save having to rinse and make space for new shades. Cheaper plastic version make it easy to remove the paint (hot tip: if the paint has dried on the palette, pour boiling water over it and you can peel and roll it off the palette
• Pot of water for dipping the brush and plenty of tissue

Pop Art, which started in the 1950s and 60s became a fun, provocative and hugely popular art movement with Andy Warhol’s blue chip brands and A-list celebrities as his inspiration. The Campbell’s Soup Can and Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy and Elizabeth Taylor ‘paintings’ are some of the greatest collectors’ items on the art market to this day.

Wall decor and pop art – paint your own Pop Art

You can create your own celebrity painting – and you can do it in many different ways. Rather than use someone else’s painting or illustration/photo for copyright reasons, create something that is entirely yours. Draw a popular object or sketch a celebrity and then get creative on top of it. Apply unexpected colours to unusual areas and the effect will be doubly strange, and strangely intriguing.

Once finished, leave the painting to fully dry through to the canvas/board – with acrylic it won’t take more than a couple of days – and apply spray wax layer on top for added protection and preservation. The layer also adds a gloss shine effect to the painting (unless you’ve selected the matt spray can). Read also our blog Private View – how to buy art at exhibitions and how to get invited to the best shows and negotiate with gallerists.