I can't believe Halloween is already around the corner! It's definitely one of my favorite holidays, so last year I went all out & threw an incredible Halloween party. I transformed each room (downstairs) of my boyfriend's house with a different theme. In my "haunted/abandoned house" room, I wanted some creepy artwork to go with it. I actually got the idea while in a thrift store looking for items I could use. They had stacks & stacks of framed and unframed art with specials going on that made each piece less than $5. I thought "for art that cheap, I wouldn't feel bad painting over it", and the idea for one of my favorite projects was formed!
I have tendency to see things for their potential, & I immediately saw this painting for what it could be; creepy still-life! As you can see, I'm no Picasso, but I'm pretty proud of how it turned out!
I used pencil to draw out a skull & "Poison" on the bottle before going over with acrylic paint. I also added smoke coming out of the kettle, turned the oranges into jack-o-lanterns, and the eggs into blood-shot eyeballs.
With a black cat being such an essential Halloween staple, I knew I had to get this one!
I found a plastic/rubber rat, which I currently don't remember if I found it black or painted it that way. I do know that I painted the eyeball red to stand out. Using an X-Acto knife to start, then scissors, I cut it in half lengthwise. Then I hot-glued it directly to the canvas painting. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the tail winds and curves out even further than the body, increasing the 3D effect.
On this last one, I originally imagined a herd of zombies busting through the gate, but thought that would be beyond my artistic abilities. I decided to go with this creepy girl resembling the one from "The Ring". Again, lightly etched out my design in pencil before using acrylic paint.
I'm a pretty crafty person, so I had paint and brushes already, as well as a hot-glue gun.
If you're making it at home you'll need:
Artwork | Acrylic paint | Paintbrushes | Paint tray | Hot-glue gun | Hot-glue sticks | Pencil
Try it yourself!
Wait for sales at thrift stores to get the lowest priced art
Look for art that you can transform to meet your theme
Incorporate 3D objects or even include lights for a truly unique masterpiece
Glow-in-the-dark paint could make for some really cool effects
If you don't want to risk ruining your walls by hanging your new art, lean them up against objects like I did
Leave a comment if you try it out & let me know how it worked for you!
<$7 for the artwork
~$20 if you have to buy everything new
Love this idea! Low cost and crafty ❤️