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DIY Boho paintings

DIY Boho paintings
20 min Easy

You are as enthusiastic as we about the minimalist art of the Boho Style and want to create your own abstract art painting? No problem with our DIY instructions for Boho paintings!
We’ll give you some ideas on how you can paint Boho pictures yourself.

Tutorial video

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Material overview

What you need

ProductArticle no.Quantity
STAEDTLER® 949 Water brush - Blistercard containing 1 brush: round fine 949 BK-1-C 1
STAEDTLER® 989 Synthetic brush - Blistercard containing 3 brushes: #2 round, #8 round, #8 flat 989-SBK3-3 1

Additionally required:

Watercolour block (e.g. size A3), Cup with water, Matching picture frame

Step-by-step tutorial

Painting Boho Patterns: The ultimate mini guide for canvas paintings

  1. Selection of shapes: In the template you will find a few shapes that are ideal for the boho look murals and are easy to draw:
    Round, circle-like shapes: Such as circles, rings, rainbows, arcs, half circles, dots.
    Letter-like shapes with soft curves: Such as C, B, E, S and T.
    Angular shapes with soft curves: Such as rectangles, triangles, squares
    Figure-shapes: Such as plants, flowers, leaves, carafes, vases, crescent moon.
  2. Number of shapes: It looks harmonious if you combine the shapes in an odd number of e.g., 3 or 5 shapes per picture.
  3. Arrangement of the shapes: It is best to sketch your canvas picture roughly in pencil on a small piece of paper. Here you can try out which shapes fit well in which size and in which position in the picture. The shapes are allowed to overlap. Make sure that the areas are not placed too far away from each other, otherwise they will quickly look disjointed and lost. You can work well with the rule of thirds when arranging the picture: Divide the picture into nine equal parts and draw two horizontal and two vertical lines. You can place your shapes well on these lines and place a main shape, for example, on a "crossing". The picture is nicely balanced if you place e.g., a larger area in the upper right corner and also place a larger shape in the lower left corner.
  4. Colour selection: As with the shapes, you should ideally work with 2 to 3 main colours (e.g., complementary colours) and, if necessary, further colour gradations.
  5. As a start: Think about which colour area you will start with. Light areas can be painted over later, for dark areas you may have to plan a recess.

Paint abstract art yourself: The step by step guide

Start with the outer lines of the abstract shape and draw them on the watercolour paper with the watercolourable double-fibre painter with brush tip. Then paint the motif on the canvas completely with the broader brush tip.

Now watercolour the motif. It is best to work with a water brush or a classic synthetic brush pencil. Paint the minimalist shape completely with water and, for a greater watercolour effect, simply work with a little more water in some places.

Repeat the previous steps for each motif until the artwork is finished. If you are drawing an overlapping area, allow the area underneath to dry completely first so that the paint does not run into each other. Make sure that the coloured area underneath has a lighter shade so that it can be painted over with good coverage.

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