“Big Lex” – Turning A Poster Into A Hand Made Work Of Art
Ok, so “work of art” may be a bit of a stretch, but it certainly doesn’t look like your standard poster print anymore. First, let’s back up and start from the beginning of this here story. Let me introduce you to Big Lex.
This is a print adapted from Edward Troye’s 1868 portrait of the great racehorse Lexington. The city of Lexington, the heart of the bluegrass (where we call home), is widely known as the Horse Capital of the World. So, duh, it was the obvious choice to become the first ever American city to host the World Equestrian Games in 2010. Lexington went crazy with pride and they put in a great effort to host the thousands of new visitors that these games attracted. As a part of the marketing effort Big Lex became the new mascot of our city. But what’s a mascot without a good backstory. Legend has it that this horse turned blue from grazing in bluegrass pastures his entire life. As you drive around the backroads of the hundreds of horse farms in the area you may just see the legendary blue horse yourself. If you do see him I’d say you need to pull over because it’s obvious you’ve been on a bourbon tour and you really shouldn’t be driving 🙂
For realz though, this horse is everywhere.
That’s a street sign.
Some people like it and some don’t – isn’t that always how it goes. I happen to love the more contemporary take on classic art, and I think it adds something really unique to the city. So, what does this have to with turning a poster into a work of art? Well, you can purchase poster prints of Big Lex online (in addition to lots of other Big Lex merchandise). I mean what’s a marketing campaign without something to sell? The hubs wanted one for our house. It’s only $10 and it’s a nice size at 18×24 inches. So I ordered it even though I wasn’t sure where it would hang in our home.
Once it arrived it was an easy decision. The blue color of the horse was the perfect compliment to my stenciled ikat curtain panels so I knew it would look great in our family room. I wanted to make it look larger and more like an actual piece of art. So I started playing around not knowing if this little project would turn out but figuring if it didn’t I’m only out about $10. I used matte mod podge all over the print to give it a somewhat wrinkled look.
Then when it was somewhat dry I wrapped the poster around a canvas panel (thin canvas board).
I then grabbed some of Valspar’s antiquing glaze and lightly glazed a few areas of the print. The glaze just sort of highlighted the wrinkled areas. It gave the poster more of worn look. Then I had to decide
how to frame the thing. I took a stroll through the frame department at the Hob Lob because they were running a 50% off open back frames sale. I only buy things that are on sale at that store because something is always on sale over there! I found this ginormous gold frame which was $99, but I, of course, only paid half that price!
This photo was taken back before they installed my new kitchen floor – see how rippled they were here! Water damage ain’t pretty!
I kept the receipt and checked the Goodwill for good measure, but they didn’t have anything even close to this size, and I’m not so much on the patience is a virtue when it comes to something like this. I basically figured that $50 for the frame and $10 for the print was still a lot less than what I’d be paying for a piece of art this size.
I used more of this
to achieve this look. Then hung it on the wall with a couple of screw eyes and a some hanging wire.
Then to create a matte I used a scrap piece of fabric left over from recovering the kitchen chairs. I just nailed it up there. I didn’t worry about the raw edges because I knew the frame would hide them.
Now for the final touches. I finally wrapped this project up this past weekend. I’m not sure why this took me so long. I guess I get distracted easily 🙂 Anyhow, this weekend I pulled out a canvas that was sitting in my craft closet and painted the edges. I’d give you a tutorial if i knew how to tell you what I did. There’s no rhyme or reason. I just played with some acrylic craft paint in a blue and sand color and then added a little antiquing glaze in spots (you’d think they were paying me to use that stuff! – but they aren’t – they are welcome to though (: ).
I didn’t paint the middle on purpose. I glued Big Lex down right on top.
Here’s the end result.
These lamps are from Target, and I like. them. a. lot. You can put stuff inside them – said in my super cheesy giddy voice 🙂 I moved this dresser in here from the dining room because I found something else to use in there that I liked better and this dresser works well in here. More storage makes me happy, but I’m thinking of staining this piece a little darker more espresso as I think that would look better against the walls – not sure on that just yet. Anywho, the lighting today was not great for picture taking, but I had to snap these quickly because they did this to my family room today.
Goodbye carpet……hello bamboo! I CAN’T WAIT!!!! So, what do you all think of this fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants project? Sometimes it’s fun to just see where a project takes you instead of mapping out every single detail before hand. I love Big Lex, but framing him this way leaves me the opportunity to change the artwork whenever I want. And you know how often I change my mind 🙂
WOW! That is so awesome friend!!! I love it. What a serious statement piece!
What a great idea. What a difference it made.
nice job! and oh so jealous of your to be bamboo floors! 🙂
Great idea and it turned out great. How exciting getting new flooring.
carmel that turned out soooo wonderfully! i love the impact it makes! very equestrian chic!
I think it looks great! And who doesnt like a blue horse! I'm all about it! Loves
ummmm, LOVE IT! It looks very high end!!! Great job!
So cool and I love that you can change out the art! Great frame too! Exciting news on your bamboo floor – can't wait to see how it comes out!
I don't think I have seen our Big Lex looking so good. Great job!
From another Lexingtonian
Oh… LOVE! I do projects the same way… flying by the seat of my pants {per se} I always try to start off with a plan because it makes a better blog! But really.. I never follow plans or instructions!
WOW! That is so awesome friend!!! I love it. What a serious statement piece!