DIY: How to Make Modern Colorful Art Prints

One of the best parts of scrolling the #OurArticle hashtag is seeing how our customers make every Article piece their own. An Emil sofa can look totally different depending on the home, the person, the pillows, and the art that surrounds it. The art, especially. We’re always excited to see the art our customers choose. There’s something deeply personal about color, subject, and placement. Even the way a piece is framed can tell us something about the person who picked it.

We also get a lot of questions about the art in our feed: namely, where is that print from? Where can I get it? Often, we advise asking the original poster — they’ve always been happy to help. In one of our latest posts, however, we can tell you exactly where to get the art.

Punchy colors and graphic accents take an industrial space to the next level. Bonus when the punchy color is a comfortable sofa. #EmilSofa

A post shared by Article (@article) on Jun 28, 2018 at 9:44am PDT

As prep for our recent Emil shoot, the Art team hosted a scrappy little art-making session. The goal? Make some striking, simple prints to complement the colors of our Emil sofa series. A group of colleagues, some poster board, and a few glue sticks later, we had 15+ pieces to mix, match, and use in our shoot. And you guys seemed to like them.

We wanted to share the skills. With a few pieces of craft paper, scissors, a glue stick, and a great frame, you can have a piece of original art on your walls in the time it takes to drink a Sunday-AM cup o’ coffee (side note: this is a great post-brunch activity).

First, assemble your materials. You’ll need:

• A frame, size of your choosing. Mat optional!
• White poster paper that fits into your frame.
• Art paper in the colors of your chosen palette. To avoid getting overwhelmed, we recommend choosing a palette of three to five colors.

Next, decide what kind of shapes you want. Are you drawn to soothing round shapes? Tinkly, narrow sharp shapes? A mixture of both? To help make a decision, take a look through some of your recent Pinterest boards. What are the shapes that appear most? Try those first.

Once your shapes are cut out, arrange them on your poster board. Try a few different versions to see what layout you like best.

Now that you’ve decided on your layout, get out that glue stick! It’s elementary school all over again, but better because your coordination has improved. Hot tip: keep a warm damp towel near your work station. Dirty hands + glue stick = annoying marks on your poster card, almost certain to drive you crazy.

Poof! Your art is ready to frame, hang, and admire. The frame is crucial: a great frame can elevate a postcard from your aunt to quirky art piece. Go ahead — flex your art skills. It’s a great way to spend a slow weekend morning.