How to Paint a Canvas for a Kid's Room

A hand-painted canvas adds a custom look to a child's room.

A hand-painted canvas gives a child's room a custom, special touch that store-bought canvas paintings can't quite replicate. Painting a canvas yourself allows you to create designs specific to the child's interests, such as dragons, baseball, cartoons or butterflies, or you can make a special painting of the child's name in his favorite colors. Acrylic paints are water-based, dry quickly and hold up well on canvas. Regular acrylic craft paint can be used to paint a canvas for a child's room.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pencil
• Old newspaper
• Blank art canvas
• Colored chalk (optional)
• Acrylic craft paints
• Piece of plain cardboard
• Water
• Paint brushes

Instructions

1. Plan a theme and color scheme for the painting based on the child's likes and the colors already found in her room. Sketch the idea on paper as a reference using a pencil.

2. Cover your work surface in old newspaper. Set the canvas on top of the paper along with the paints and supplies.

3. Sketch your art concept onto the canvas with colored chalk or a pencil. Choose a large area of the painting to paint first, such as sky, grass or a background color. Squeeze the needed color onto the plain cardboard. Paint the large area of the canvas, using the cardboard as a palette. Paint the sides of the canvas as well for each area. Allow the paint to dry.

4. Paint other areas of the canvas creation by squirting the desired colors for one area onto the cardboard and dipping the brush into each color as needed. Colors can be mixed by squirting two adjacent paint pools on the cardboard and mixing them with your brush. Allow each section to dry thoroughly before painting adjacent areas.

5. Continue painting the base colors until the entire canvas is full of color. Once dry, fill in the details and outlines with a smaller brush dipped in a contrasting color. Allow all paint to dry thoroughly before displaying the canvas.

Tips & Warnings

• Rinse brushes often if finished using one color. Simply soak them in water or rinse them in the sink. Pat the bristles dry before reusing the brush.

• Create more than one canvas painting to add flair to the room. It your child likes butterflies, for instance, create paintings of different butterflies, or perhaps a ladybug. Use different sized canvases for even more flair.

• Canvases and craft acrylics can be purchased at most craft stores and any art supply store.

• Hang the canvases on protruding nails in the wall. Balance the edges of the canvas frame on the nail. Some canvases have hooks on pre-installed on the back.

• Place the paintings high enough on the wall that the child won't accidentally knock them down.