Cheap artwork (big canvases) that doesn't look cheap?

[franch]

We're renting out our flat and need some impressive artwork to hang on the walls, for minimal cost. All I've seen that's any good so far is original paintings in John Lewis for min £120. Can't find anything really good at Ikea. Any good websites maybe? Need big canvases, at least 1m square - sophisticated, stylish but inoffensive (to please a variety of future tenants)??

We bought a house a year ago and needed to buy all furniture, white goods etc.. so we opted for quick paint job and some cheap canvases in the short term. We still have the nicer ones up. I got a few from Next and I really like the abstract ones. You are probably cheaper buying 2 abstract ones and hanging them one under the other, the bottom one upside down. Won't work for all canvases but mine look good as we have really high ceilings.

The 3 in a row sea scape is available in colour and black and white

I have one a bit like this red grey metallic one but more copper and brown

Have you thought about doing one yourself that quite easy too? Au Naturale do blank canvases.

great tip monkey - i'd been looking at next and wondering about them. Love the upside down idea - genius. I'm such a wuss about doing things myself

ebay

When I sold my house I put four smaller canvases close to each other in a square and covered them with wallpaper (there are some quite cool designs now - which I wouldn't be brave enough to cover a whole wall with!). Got wallpaper samples so only cost the price of the blank canvases - just need to make sure you cover them very neatly. The person who bought the house wouldn't stop talking about how much she liked them - don't think she realised we were taking them with us!!

next have m

ebay

ooh liek this

That shawls one is surprisingly good! It would look great in my DD's bedroom I think!

Pete rumney is used by lots of tv make over shows but they are popular so go for a bit more money

The beige circles one is excellent (hi again cod ) - shame the guy has so much bad feedback. Need something in that kind of colour scheme - neutral. Will do a proper ebay trawl

iwouldgoout - excellent idea, tho I'd probably muck it up

This ebay shop looks good - similar circles picture, only £55 inc p&p. and others ...

Go on, paint your own. DSs have done a wonderful "jackson Pollock" painting for the wall of our playroom

You can get a huge canvas , 40''x 40'' for £15 and just paint it with tester pots of household paint. Way cheaper. Even do what a character did on 'Love Soup' and paint the Dulux colour test card in squares .

ooh watching this thread with interest!

Or you could paint a blank canvas all over with one colour, say light blue, then make some paper shapes or get something like doilies, lightly fix them on the canvas to make a stencil and spray all over with spray paint in a dark blue. Remove the stencils to reveal the design in relief. You could repeat it on other canvases in the same colours but fixing the stencils in different positions to make a series. You could even use metallic spray paint to be snazzy.

Do one yourself

This is True btw

my boss was given a rather large sum of money... and put in charge of getting a work of art for the entrance hall of the office

so she bought a 6ft blank canvas...

red and yellow and purple and green paint

Myself, my boss, and the 2 year old and 4 year old went outside...

we used a wallpapering sponge to make a red / yellow swirled into orange background....

then splattered green and purple paint on top.

It looked amazing and she didnt tell them at work exactly where it was from for quite a while!

People could not believe it when she said that her preschool kids and nanny had made it!

everyone believe she had spent a small fortune!

love this

Saw just whta you needed in the Works today - canvasses preprinted with cirlces and squares for you to paint in yourself!

great story NannyL - did she then pocket the large sum of money?!

we saw stuff we liked in Next and Ikea recently (but we're pretty easily pleased!)

No didnt pocket large sum of money.... after a few months they went and spent it on an expensive work of 'art'

after she had proven her point!