Take your creativity up a level and utilise those unwanted pour paintings to create your own “Angel Wings” abstract painting

If you’re like me, you have a stack of pour paintings taking up space in your studio. You know… the ones you didn’t really like or accidently ruined by sticking your finger in it while it was wet! Well, the good news is they don’t have to go to waste.

Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to put those canvases to good use by creating your own unique “Angel Wings” abstract painting! It is a fun project to keep you busy and free up some more space in your studio.

Step 1

Grab all your old canvases. Some may be perfectly fine, and some may have bumps. You don’t need to utilise the whole canvas. I had many paintings where I only utilised certain areas as I loved the effects. You will also need a new clean canvas to place the wings on. A large size canvas will work best. 

Step 2

Using a pair of scissors or a box knife cutter, carefully cut the canvas away from the wooden frame. Do this for each of the canvases you want to utilise. Frames can be kept if you want to stretch new canvas over the top of them later.

Step 3

Do a google search on “feathers” to create your own template. I used a few different feather designs to ensure I had different sizes and shapes. Print your feathers out using your printer. 

Step 4

Using your feather templates, trace the feathers onto the canvases. Use up as much of the canvases as you like and cut them out. 

The amount of feathers you will need will depend upon how wide and deep you want your wings and the size of the canvas you will put them on. 

With a Posca pen, you can create your own illustrations on each of the feathers if you wish. It is important to note that you want an array of different coloured feathers so each feather stands out.

Step 5

Paint a background onto your canvas. I chose to do a gloss black background to ensure the wings stood out. Once fully dry, use a piece of chalk to draw your wings. 

By using chalk, if your wings end up unbalanced, the chalk can easily be wiped away and you can correct it. Mapping out the size and layout of your wings, will help with placement of the feathers.

Step 6

I placed each of the feathers out into their positions one by one before I glued each one down. 

I wanted to ensure there was different coloured feathers next to each other and above and below.

Step 7

To create the “band” across the top of the wings, I cut out a large piece of canvas in the shape required and spray painted it metallic gold. Once dry, I then used a Posca pen to illustrate a design across it and then glued it down onto the canvas.

Step 8

Large feathers were placed on the bottom row of the wings. I started this row first and worked my way up so the rows above would overlap the rows below. I glued each feather to the canvas one by one. 

Step 9

Once you have completed one side of the wings, repeat on the other side. Ensure the glue dries before checking out your masterpiece! 

Step 10

Stand back and enjoy your new art! Be sure to tag me on Instagram so I can see your unique results.