Repurpose An Old Piece: Brushstroke Statement Art (Video)

So I think at one time or another all us Millennials had one of those large city skyline art pieces from Ikea hanging on our walls. New York, Chicago, London; they were $49 and so much bang for the post-grad's limited budget.

I had the London one as an homage to the six months I lived there when I was 20. It was front and center over my sofa for several years, but all good things must come to an end. Our new house didn't have a good spot for a large horizontal piece of art, and truth be told, I was over it; ready for something new brushstroke-y and abstract. The canvas and frame were still in great shape, so I was excited to give this oldie a makeover.

Repurpose An Old Piece: Brushstroke Statement Art (Video)

Here's the hyperlapse of my creating the art.

Materials:

Here we go:

Lay down a drop cloth and spray paint the frame black (about 2 coats). No need to tape off the canvas, as you'll paint it next.
Paint the canvas with gesso. Gesso stiffens and primes the surface so it's ready to accept the paint. If you don't have gesso, go to the next step. I think it'll still work.
Paint the canvas with 2 coats of white acrylic paint or enough to fully cover the original canvas. I didn't want to tape off the frame because I think it's a bit tedious, so I just did my best to keep a straight line where the frame met the canvas.
Now we're ready for brushstrokes! Take a deep breath and shake out your painting hand. You'll make broad, sweeping strokes, and it's best to be relaxed for this. Take comfort in knowing if you don't like what it looks like, you can always whitewash and try again. If you want a little security, you can (lightly) pencil your route on the canvas, but you may lose some of the smooth spontaneity of the strokes.
Mix your blue acrylic paint with a teaspoon of water to thin it out just a little bit. Load up your brush and begin to paint.
For the paint splatters, lay your canvas flat and add a little more water to your paint so that it'll drip off the brush. Load up the brush with the liquified paint and allow the paint to drip off in your desired places. For larger splatters, allow multiple drips in the same spot.