Make a DIY Mark Rothko-Inspired Painting
by heather
my Rothko-inspired painting
the artist
Mark Rothko was a 20th Century painter who was most well known for his "multiform" paintings: large vertical paintings with large blocks of saturated color. A few months ago, I got the abstract expressionist stamps at the post office (highbrow, I know!), and I couldn't use them on bills because they were too cool! Instead, I have the stamps hanging on a bulletin board where I can enjoy them. There's a Rothko painting (Orange and Yellow, 1956) included on the sheet of stamps and it's so inspiring, I wanted a slightly larger reminder of the painting. As we all know, I DIY for a living, so I decided to make my own homage to Rothko's painting.
USPS' Abstract Expressionist Stamps
If you want to be very true to Rothko's intentions with his painting, you will get a very large canvas! I just used what I had on hand, which was a 10x20" piece of wood. You can also use a dollar store canvas, or paint a mural directly onto a wall (wouldn't that be awesome?)
The inspiration painting, "Orange and Yellow" by Mark Rothko
The inspiration painting is part of a collection in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY.
Project Materials:
- Canvas or piece of wood, $1
- Acrylic paints in 3 colors, on hand
- Flat-surfaced palette of some sort (glass is great - use a pane from a dollar store frame), on hand
- Paintbrush and brayer, on hand
Total: $1
Making my version of the painting is fairly straightforward.
1. Paint canvas with undercoat of your background color. I used orange. Allow it to dry.
2. With brayer, apply second color. You will want to spread the paint out on your smooth surface (the glass) to get the best coverage on your brayer. If you don't have a brayer or a flat surface, just make it work with whatever you have! A paintbrush and paper plate is also fine! Or, try using a flat instrument (like a pastry scraper or a flat piece of cardboard with a sharply cut edge) as a squeegee to drag paint across the canvas neatly and evenly.
Apply color to top third of painting, leaving a border around the top and sides.
3. Wash the brayer and apply third color in the same way, but to the bottom tw0-thirds of canvas.
4. If you use a piece of wood like I did, hammer two small nails into the back, near the top, and tie a cord from one nail to the other to make a convenient way to hang.
I didn't refer to Rothko's work when I created my own, but there are obviously some major differences in the way his looks and the way mine looks! You can't touch the master with acrylic craft paints and 20 minutes of painting. His was made on a very large canvas with oil paints, and he was a genius. I still enjoy my little painting, which is now hanging in our spare bedroom.
I hope you enjoy making your own Rothko-inspired painting too! Here are a few other Rothkos to inspire you:
Love the shades of blue and maroon-burgundy.
Bold reds
Bright color - high contrast
A more elaborate color placement
Love it! I think I will try this in my girls creativity class! I love simple, bold art like this!
I’m sorry, but people pay money for his art? It’s not that it’s bad but it’s just a bunch of paint swatches on a canvas – I guess it must be because he thought of it first. Oh boy.
What a fun project! Thanks so much for this, I’ll be linking.
Simple, Yes. But I find I am happy to just look at my favorite colors be they fabric swatches, paint chips, a pile of yarn, or these simple swoops of color. Simple is good.
**I would do this in my fav’s pinks and aquas and yellows!
What a great high/low project. Rothko is a great color inspiration.
I recently did Franz Kline dollar store art. So glad I’m not the only one who knocks off abstract expressionists for a buck or less.
[...] here’s her tutorial on how to ‘get the look for less’. Um, like millions less. Make a DIY Mark Rothko-Inspired Painting | Dollar Store Crafts. Filed Under: Wall [...]
Totally cool! Try Jackson Pollock next!
[...] I was also recently inspired to do an abstract expressionist-inspired art piece with my DIY Mark Rothko color blocked project (No Ratings Yet) Loading [...]
He’s one of my favorite artists, ever. I did a post today about this on PMP!!
[...] one of the inspiration Rothkos. How to make a DIY Rothko Painting at Dollar Store [...]
To the DIY’er… If you truly admire Rothko, why not consider honoring the museums that have his work in their collections by adding image credit information?
@Jay, thanks for the great suggestion. The “Orange and Yellow” painting is tagged with its museum already: the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY. I’ll have to search for the others.
love to watch the colours, it makes me feel positive and peacefull.
would like to have one on my wall if I could.
I came on this web site to see some of Rothko’s paintings.
I did this because I was listening to music with a friend and was talking about the power of music.
I was thinking about different art forms if they are as powerful.
Rothko’s paintings are supposed to be felt inside people!
Go stand infront of one. Even if you have no idea about art history and what he achieved within it you will have an opportunity to experience painting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is Rothko dudes, an experience of painting that makes you feel things that your favourite music can. Don’t be so afraid of ‘art’- ‘in galleries’. Let yourself enjoy.
Sure, paint away, but what you are doing when attempting one of these is slopping bad plastic paint on a bad canvas. I don’t mean to say don’t paint. What I mean is THINK WHILE YOU DO IT or you will be staring at a peace of poop until you get board of it and try a Pollock.
Don’t try a Pollock… try your own painting hey!
Thanks for your comment Gene. In no way am I suggesting this Rothko-inspired painting compares to the master’s, but I think Rothko would celebrate the fact that his paintings inspired others to get out and make art.
Geno-
Thank goodness you’ve exposed this corrupt DIY’er. It’s truly a situation of national, no, INTERNATIONAL importance. See, here I’ve been worrying about the fact that these mass shootings by some evil nutcase have been happening on almost a weekly basis in the U.S., or that middle class wages have been stagnant for decades, that there seems to be a worldwide epidemic of child abuse and neglect. But no, I have now seen the true ENEMY… And it is someone who’d like to enjoy looking at Rothko-inspired art in her house.
You’re right Geno! We must mobilize our fellow man and stop this insanity.
My God Heather… How do you look at yourself in the mirror everyday? The guilt, the shame, the overwhelming need to commit such crimes… I can only hope you can get the help you need.
*EXTREMELY sarcastic diatribe over* Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself ;)
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