How to Create a Weathered Vintage Look on Canvas

Distressing a painting on canvas is a way to achieve a weathered vintage look.

A weathered vintage look gives paintings a distinctive, antique quality that enhances your décor. Whether you are working with acrylics or oil-based paints, you create a time-worn look on canvas using a variety of materials. Creating a weathered or vintage appearance is as simple as adding color, applying a crackle finish or using a number of distressing techniques.

Things You'll Need

• Acrylic or oil paint in yellow ochre or brown
• Paint brush
• Water or turpentine
• Cloth rag or sponge
• Crackle medium
• Varnish
• Sandpaper or steel wool
• Palette knife
• Stencil brush or toothbrush

Instructions

1. Create an aged effect on the canvas by applying a transparent coating of yellow ochre or brown paint. For an acrylic painting, use an acrylic or water-based paint thinned with water; for an oil painting, use an oil-based paint thinned with turpentine. Brush the canvas lightly with the diluted paint. Drag the brush to make irregular lines, which helps to give a subtle effect of age. To avoid brushstrokes, dab a cloth rag or sponge into the paint and rub it into the canvas.

2. Apply a crackle finish to the canvas. A crackle finish will replicate the effects of time and the elements on a painted surface. Coat the canvas with the crackle medium, following the instructions on the product label. After the crackle medium has set, apply a varnish or a thin coat of diluted paint in a contrasting color. When the canvas is completely dry, apply another coat of varnish, if desired.

3. Distress the canvas by rubbing it with sandpaper or steel wool. You can also scrape the painting with a palette knife to produce a battered, old, weather-beaten look. Alternatively, you can remove the canvas from its support and roll it or fold it to create cracks in the dried paint.

4. Spatter the canvas with tiny dots of paint, using black or another neutral color. For this technique, use a diluted mixture of acrylic or oil paint. Dip a stiff brush, such as a stencil brush or a toothbrush, into the paint. Spray the canvas by running your index and middle fingers across the brush bristles while aiming at the surface. These tiny dots will give the canvas a slightly dirty, weathered look.

References

• North Dakota State University: Painted Finishes for Special Effects
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Information Studies: Crackle Finish

Resources

• Ranger Ink: Distress Crackle Paint