Looking to diy some amazing art resembling the American flag? Here’s some ways to make Old Glory just a little more photogenic! Well guys, it’s kind of getting close to that time of year…good old July Fourth. Cookouts, fireworks, and how about opportunities for creativity?
What better occasion that to take some imagination and ingenuity and add some red, white and blue? Don’t forget Memorial and Veteran’s Day too! These ideas are great ways to pay homage especially if you have a loved one who has served our country.
Now as for me…I don’t usually do artwork to commemorate a holiday or occasion…but this was one exception I’d made so I’m going to give you some ideas to go on.
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Materials For Flag Wall Art
Flags are super important to be in step with the season! The best kind of material for flags, ideally should be a type of fabric, like canvas cloth. Decorate your fabric rectangles , paint on them, attach sequins, beads or rhinestone bling – don’t be afraid to go the whole nine yards!
You can hang your flag from a variety of materials, like balsa wood, depending on the width.You can have a flag that can literally “wave”…or you can turn your flag into more of a wall decoration with some of these ideas here. Let’s dive in!
My Finished Flag Piece
Here’s what I’m talking about! This below is a collage I made using the following materials:
- An 18″ by 24″ gallery wrap canvas
- Acrylic paints – I like and use this brand
- Mod Podge
- Assorted magazine clippings
This was so much fun! All my magazine clippings represented American heros, idols, and pop culture icons, quotes of inspiration, and other references to things that make you think about the good ol’ USA.
(I do apologize for any offensive advertisements if any…I probably made this piece of art back in 2006-7 and I realize that culture changes a lot in 10 years)
But if you want to try your hand at some wall art depicting the American flag – a collage, or mixed media, is a great approach. Magazine clippings or pages from old books have so much creative overlooked potential. You can thin down the paint and paint over the clippings or paper scraps when you have glued them down and some of the writing may show which will produce a neat effect with a little dimension to it.
Patriotic Washi Tape Set (5 Rolls Per Unit) Each Roll Includes 16 Ft.
Mod Podge Waterbase Sealer, Glue and Finish (8-Ounce), SparkleDarice 18-Inch-by-24-Inch Stretched Canvas, 2-Pack
Materials that would be great for stars and stripes:
- Washi tape (you can pull out long strips or get more creative and apply tape in pieces which would create real dimension.
- Paper -many kinds will work
- Beads, faux gems, sequins
- Uncooked rice (dye some of it red and some of it blue first -spread the glue down and drop the colored rice down it will stick in place.)
This guy took a similar approach to mine in which he used paper collage combined with what appears to be an underlayer below red tape stripes. I like this…it looks way more interesting than if he had gone with just a plain white background.
Now here are some other great approaches I want to show you – Here’s a multimedia mosaic piece depicting the flag….(This is not my work) wow isn’t this amazing, I wonder how long this might have taken?
The mosaic approach would look so killer, you could do this with other materials if you’re not too much into paper. What about the application of beads, faux rhinestones, sequins, buttons, or other everyday items like bottlecaps arranged in a flag pattern?
If you have saved up enough of something like that be it bottlecaps, pop tops, etc., this may be your lucky day if you’ve been waiting for an idea to launch their official re-purpose!
Loose Bulk Sequins for DIY Arts Crafts Projects Assorted SizesLinpeng Bead Box Assortment with FREE spacers and charmsConfetti Stars 1/4 lb Patriotic Red White and Blue
You can certainly make the flag realistic and use a yardstick to get straight lines for the flag stripes, but it doesn’t have to be straight at all, look at my collage above and notice how I made the stripes and the blue side a little ripply (for lack of a better word) I don’t know if it was intentional or not but a flag that looks like it is in motion really comes alive especially when it comes to wall art.
Don’t Limit Yourself to Just Canvas Wall Art
You don’t have to be uber-traditional in your layout. You can create a flag using other substrate mediums, like wood, clay, or metal. Check out this piece below which appears to be done with wood or masonite board.
I like what he did with the subtle splatter effect. I’d hang this in my home I’m sure. How big you want your flag to be is up to you, it can be small or medium or big.
If your finished flag is large in girth but otherwise lightweight check out my tutorial for optimal wall art hanging!
I think the sculptural approach would look great too. If you like to work with clay I recommend this to get started.
I’m not sure about the exact materials here; this is a sculpture by Claes Oldenburg. You may have heard of him. He was a well-known artist from Sweden who specializes in monumental big object sculptures.
Celebrate With Some Additional Flag Ideas!
Once you’ve had fun hanging your masterpiece…don’t stop there! You could take things up a notch and create a beautiful American flag to dress up your dessert table.A printable like this one below has the American flag design using M & M candies and you could use the pattern for cupcakes or cookies too!
For an even more festive Fourth of July celebration, check out these dessert and snack printables based on famous historical figures. First Lady Abigail Adams enjoyed making apple pan dowdy. Try your hand at this recipe and use the printable display placard. Meanwhile, First Lady Dolley Madison is said to have popularized ice cream in the White House and in America. (Her favorite flavor was oyster!)
Use these printable ice cream cone labels at your at-home celebration this year. Or, if you’d like something a little saltier, try making some French fries and serve them in this foldable fry holder, based on Thomas Jefferson who popularized the crispy treat in America. Download these 4th of July dessert freebies here!
I hope you enjoyed this lineup of ideas….can you think of any more that could be added to this list?
Creative Commons Photo Attribution: Fourth and fifth images courtesy of:
Coty Schwabe
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