What Are Some Ways to Make Designs on Wood With Spray Paint?

Graffiti

• Although graffiti is often thought of in the context of urban blight, world-renowned artists such as Banksy (believed to be Robin Gunningham) and Marquis Lewis, known as Retna, have turned it into a highly desirable and provocative art form. It can also be used to decorate wood surfaces in a contemporary style. An ideal application would be the wood boards used as dividing walls in loft dwellings. Spray on a background color and then spray over this with bold shapes and words in large fonts.

Animal Prints

• Animal prints can give great interest to a room, if used in small amounts. You can achieve a leopard-like effect if you spray the surface with a neutral khaki tone and then spray a sand-colored tone in horizontal flourishes over that. Spray some black or dark brown paint into a dish and use a small piece of natural sponge to dab black paint over the top in clusters of spots. You can add drama to this effect by lightly spraying gold paint over the animal print surface.

Lines and Stripes

• Use masking tape to mask off areas so you can spray lines, checkered and gingham effects onto wood. You could recreate the look of a classic 1950s car by detailing the wood surface with pinstripes and flames. When using masking tape, the paint must be dry before peeling it back. Doing so minimizes the risk of bleeding.

Stencils

• Stencils are available in many designs and can be used to create a uniformity in your designs. They're especially useful if you aren't particularly artistic, yet want to make a design on a surface. A subtle way of creating designs with stencils is to spray paint the surface in one color and then apply the stencil and spray paint it in a shade or two lighter of the same color. This creates a very simple design that adds depth and interest.