How To Paint Contemporary Art

Everyone's Painting Their Own Abstract Art, And You Should Too

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Have you ever looked at a cool, framed painting on display and thought to yourself, "I could totally make that"? Don't get us wrong–if you have some extra spending money, you should definitely support your local artists. But if the only wall art options in your budget are pre-fab pieces at an off-price retailer, you might want to flex your creative muscle and make a work of abstract art yourself to hang on the wall (and you don't even need to frame it to make it look spectacular).

When it comes to abstract art, it really can be as easy as taking a paintbrush to canvas and going to town. But if you'd like a little more guidance, here are some easy-to-tackle techniques for creating your own masterpieces to display. After this, you'll have two things to be proud of: Your incredible art skills and how much money you saved.

1. Brush-stroked black-and-white

The brush-stroked black-and-white look of this Dans le Lakehouse piece is easy to achieve and goes with so many decor schemes.

(Image credit: Style Me Pretty)

2. Pink ombré

Style Me Pretty teaches you how to mix paint to create a gentle ombré gradient as seen on this piece.

(Image credit: The Painted Hive)

3. Watercolor-style blues

Kristine of The Painted Hive made this watercolor-style painting by brushing, splashing and spraying paint around.

(Image credit: Shannon Claire)

4. Animal-inspired watercolors

Here's some animal-inspired art from Shannon Claire, who used watercolors to create these spotted paintings.

(Image credit: Swoonworthy)

5. Colors of the rainbow

Kimberly of Swoonworthy shows us how to create a piece by layering lots of tiny, short brushstrokes.

(Image credit: Brittany Makes)

6. Artsy scribbles

It doesn't get any easier than this: Brittany Makes used acrylic paint markers to literally scribble this black and white painting together.

(Image credit: Live Love DIY)

7. Glam gold leaf flakes

Here's a great technique to add some elegance to your art: Live Love DIY used gold leaf flakes as a material in this abstract piece.

(Image credit: Lolly Jane)

8. Blue and gold

Here's more gold leaf art from Ashley at Lolly Jane. We love this piece's texture. Ashley dropped globs of paint on the canvas and then spread them around with pieces of chipboard.

(Image credit: The Sassy Life)

9. Statement embroidery

This canvas art piece by The Sassy Life utilizes embroidery to make a statement.

(Image credit: Laura Gummerman)

10. Modern geometry

(Image credit: Classy Clutter)

11. Diamond ripple

Speaking of geometric art, this diamond ripple piece from Classy Clutter is easy to recreate with plywood, painter's tape and paint.

12. Constellation watercolor

How dreamy are these constellation watercolor paintings? Learn how to make your own at Style Me Pretty.

(Image credit: Jennifer Rizzo)

13. Gold veining

Jenniffer Rizzo used short brush strokes and layered paint to create this stunner with a gold accent down the middle.

Additional reporting by Carolin Lehmann

Taryn Williford

Lifestyle Director

Taryn is a homebody from Atlanta. She writes about cleaning and living well as the Lifestyle Director at Apartment Therapy. She might have helped you declutter your apartment through the magic of a well-paced email newsletter. Or maybe you know her from The Pickle Factory Loft on Instagram.

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