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D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas & Free Cut File

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas: Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet

Happy Monday, everyone.  So, for fun, I thought I’d review some of the crafting trends that I’ve tried my hand at:

  • Chalkboard – check!
  • Mason Jars – check!
  • Gold Accents – check!
  • Burlap – check!
  • Maps – check!
  • Subway Art – che–wait a minute.  {Gasp!}  We haven’t tried subway art yet.  What are we waiting for?

Apparently, “we” were waiting for my friend Gianna’s birthday {cough–which was in February–cough, cough}.  #betterlatethannever

Lauren & Gianna circa 2007 | The Thinking Closet
This “vintage” photo is from 2007 when I got to see a production of High School Musical that Gianna choreographed.

As I dreamed and schemed a gift for my dear friend, a friend I have known since my first Cuba mission trip in high school, I thought it’d be fun to create something for her using my Silhouette Cameo.  And since she’s a dance teacher and choreographer (and an incredible one at that), I decided that a piece of subway art could look mighty fine decorating her classroom or future dance studio walls.

Here’s one of Gianna’s favorite quotes:

“To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful.  This is power, it is glory on earth, and it is yours for the taking.” -Agnes De Mille

Now, if that’s just not begging to be put on a huge canvas in bright colors and in ten different fonts, I don’t know what is!  Let me show you how it went down.

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas Tutorial & Free Cut File

Step 1.  Paint your canvas.  I’m one of those people who always has a few blank canvases on hand for “such a time as this,” so I grabbed this 16″ x 20″ canvas, some of my most bright and colorful acrylic paints, and set to work.

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet

Basically, I had a field day, painting layer upon layer of color onto my canvas in various shapes and patterns, just following the whimsy of my paintbrush.  I also painted the sides of my canvas as I went along.

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet
I didn’t notice this until now, but I see a pink flamingo in there!

To add dimension, I used this piece of crimped paper (a.k.a. packaging material) as a “stamp” to give a splatter-painted look.

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet

After, I took the canvas out onto the grass and went all Jackson Pollock on it.  Here’s what it looked like in the end.

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet

I set it aside to dry.  Although it was tempting to stop here and call it an abstract day, I pressed on.

Step 2: Design your lettering.  I did a Google image search of “subway art” to study up on the characteristics of the genre, and these were the common threads I noticed:

  1. multiple fonts
  2. fills the entire space (left to right, top to bottom)
  3. freedom to play with word stacking and word direction

So, that’s just what I did!

Free Cut File

For those of you with own digital craft-cutter, I’m happy to share the cut file I created with y’all for FREE. It contains a 14″ x 18″ design of Agnes De Mille’s quote…subway art style! You can re-size it to your heart’s content.

You can sign up to download your free cut file using the nifty form below or by clicking HERE. {Fine print: this design is for personal use only and is not to be used for commercial purposes. Thanks!} 

"To Dance" Agnes De Mille Quote, Subway Art Style - Free Cut File from The Thinking Closet

Step 3.  Cut your vinyl.  This was my first attempt to cut vinyl on my Silhouette, and it worked seamlessly.  Oh, except for that one time I didn’t center my vinyl properly on the rollers and my machine decided to eat it.  (Note to self: make sure to properly center the vinyl on the rollers.)  Second time, it was all good in the hood.

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet

Step 4.  Prep the canvas.  Mark had the great idea to keep the edges painted as they were, so I blocked them off with painter’s tape, along with a 1/2″ border on the front of the canvas.

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet

Step 5.  Prep the vinyl.  This is probably the most tedious part.  I recommend an Aimee Man Pandora station to keep you company.

  • Remove the excess vinyl from your design by peeling it away using a hook (also known as “weeding”).  It’s best to peel at a 45 degree angle.
  • Apply transfer tape to your vinyl letter.  (No transfer tape?  I used clear contact paper, and it worked like a charm!  An inexpensive alternative.  Good to know, right?)
  • Use a credit card to press out the air bubbles and to better adhere the vinyl to the contact paper.
  • Position your vinyl onto the canvas and once it’s set, use painter’s tape to temporarily secure the top or bottom edge while removing the vinyl backing at a 45 degree angle.
  • Carefully press down the contact paper and vinyl lettering onto the canvas, using a credit card to press down the vinyl.
  • Remove the contact paper at a 45 degree angle, using a credit card to continue to press down the vinyl where needed.

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet

And I ended up with this:

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet

Once again, I was tempted to stop here, but I kept going.  And I’m so glad I did.

Step 6.  Spray paint the canvas!  First, I gave the canvas 3 or 4 coats of a gray spray paint primer to cover the bright colors.  (A recommendation by a very helpful employee at Home Depot.)  I allowed 10 minutes of drying time in between coats as per the directions on the can.  I followed that up with 10 or more coats (I lost count) of semi-gloss white spray paint, allowing only 4 minutes of dry time in between light coats as per the directions on the can.  I even had a fan blowing on it to speed up the drying process.

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas: Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet

Step 7.  Remove the painter’s tape and vinyl letters.  I used a combination of my hook tool and my fingernail to peel up the edges of the vinyl lettering in order to remove them.  I expected some spray paint to have seeped under the letters, especially with the really intricate and thin lettering, but nope!  There was not one bit that needed a touch up of paint.  Truly, this worked out better than I ever imagined.  Hooray for Silhouette brand premium vinyl!

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas: Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet

And there you have it, a d.i.y. subway art canvas.  Trend accomplished and belated birthday gift created!

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas: Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas: Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet

I can’t wait to ship my finished creation off to Gianna in New Jersey.  And while I’d like to think her students will enjoy it, I don’t think this quote will surprise them.  Gianna is the kind of teacher who empowers her students each and every day to claim the power they possess through dance.  That’s just who she is.

I suppose my hope is that this birthday gift can serve as a reminder to Gianna of what she already knows to be true…especially on those tough days of teaching when it can be easy to forget why we teach the creative arts.  Why we pour in so many hours and get paid so very little and why we put up with what we do.  We teach the creative arts because it is glory on earth, and it is ours for the taking.  

D.I.Y. Subway Art Canvas: Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet

The Silhouette Challenge - A Series By The Thinking Closet & Friends

Want to Check Out More Silhouette Projects?

Click here to see my past Silhouette Challenge posts.  Click on the links below to visit the projects shared by my Silhouette Challenge buddies.

Budget-Savvy Spring Sihouette Make – We Love Cards

D.I.Y. Canvas Date Art – The House on Hillbrook

Anchor’s Away! A Fabric Applique Silhouette Tutorial – Lil’ Mrs. Tori

“Different Is Good” Autism Awareness Tee – Tried and True

A Gift! – For ‘Just a Little Nutty’ – An Elegant Touch

Mother’s Day Celebration – Creative Turn

This is Lauren, signing off.

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97 Comments

    1. So glad to hear that you’re going to give it a whirl, Emma! And there are slew of free cut files out there. Google and Pinterest will be your best friend for hunting them down. Try searching for “subway art free cut file” or “subway art free silhouette file”! I bet you’ll find more than you know what to do with.

  1. Lauren, I absolutely LOVE this subway art piece, totally opened up a world of possibilities that i had never thought about in how to use vinyl. I’m just starting out with my Silhouette Portrait but very excited to get inspired by looking at your blog and seeing your creativity burst forth! Just a quick question about a practicality on your subway art piece – did you print the full text on two bits of vinyl? If so how did you get them onto the canvas without any line showing when you spray painted the white. Does that makes sense or am I totally missing something obvious!! ha ha! As I said, very much a novice and trying to get my head around how it all works! Thanks for sharing all your work, it makes me want to forget about everything else and just get creating, however am not sure my husband, children, house would totally go along with that sentiment! So many ideas, so little time! 🙂

  2. Hi!

    I don’t have a silhouette machine, so I am not quite up to speed on the vinyl and such…
    Does the contact paper stay on the canvas? Just not sure how the letters separated from the contact paper….sorry for my lack of knowledge! Just getting into canvas painting and I love this!

    Any input you can give would be awesome..thanks!!

  3. Thank you so much for this great tutorial! I had been having a hard time thinking of just what I wanted to do with my son’s newborn stats, and this idea was just the spark of inspiration that I needed….and his canvas turned out amazing! I linked back to here on my blog post about it (I’m a newbie blogger). Also, I’m glad you had success with the Silhouette vinyl….mine did NOT want to stick to the canvas, so I had to recut it out on some Oracal brand. Thank you again for this great post!

  4. Hi! I absolutely LOVE this project! Can you tell me what kind of vinyl you used? Was it an adhesive vinyl?

  5. Ooh so, so pretty! You have a talent for painting, Miss Lauren! I’m sure your friend absolutely loved it. What a perfect quote for her too! Thanks so much for sharing this at Get Your DIY On! I hope to see you on Sunday to link up your chalkboard projects! Have a wonderful week, friend!

    ~Abby =)

    1. Thanks, Abby! And you betcha I’ll be back with some chalkboard projects. Cannot wait to see what everyone else shares, too! (Chalkboard is one of my many obsessions.)

  6. This is a new twist on subway art. All the ones I’ve seen has been two colors, this one is full of every color under the rainbow. Thanks for sharing.

    1. I love me a wild color palette! In fact, I had such fun with this technique, I already have plans to try it again, but on a bigger canvas. Anyway, glad you found it inspirational, Trisha!

  7. What a nice friend you are! It came out beautiful! One question before I go try and get started… After printing out my vinyl, instead of peeling off the space around the words, could I peel off the letters/words and throw those out? If I use the negative space (if that’s what it is called!) and put that on my canvas, I won’t need to spray it after and peel off the letters, right? Maybe?.. I’m very new to my silhouette!
    Thanks for sharing your idea! Love, love it!

  8. Taking you through my thoughts/experience with this post- “Ooh pretty! Such colors.” “Yay for sweet friendships, like yours with Gianna!” “Subway art, what’s that? Never heard of it.” “Aimee Mann Pandora Station? Got to try that right now. (proceeds to open a pandora tab).” “Woah, I love how you continued to persevere, though it would have been easy to call it a day.” “The end product–fantabulous!” “I loved reading through the comments, especially Mom’s, Brittany’s, and Gianna’s!”

    1. Yay! I enjoyed hearing your thought process, Lisbeth! (In fact, reading your comment inspired me pull up Aimee Mann, too. It had been a while!) Thanks for taking the time to write such carefully-crafted comments time and time again. They are a gift to me!

  9. Wow, this is really a great DIY wall art tutorial, i enjoyed this easy tutorial and want to do this shortly, many thanks for sharing this easy peasy DIY project. 🙂

    1. So glad that you enjoyed it, Andrea, and that you’re eager to take it on! It was loads of fun to work on.

    1. Thanks for your sweet comment, Jenna! Gotta go bright and bold with the colors…especially now that it’s spring, right?

  10. I LOVE IT!!! Lauren…this is so cool. I love the finished product, but I would definitely have had issues not stopping earlier. I even loved the look of just your art canvas painted. You have a great artistic eye!!! :O)

    1. Thank you, Pam! You are so sweet. I used to love to paint with acrylics as a girl…and A.P. art was definitely my favorite A.P. class in high school. It was fun to dive back into that medium!

  11. What a wonderful gift of art on art! You are featured this week on Busy Monday at A Pinch of Joy! I hope you will stop by and grab a Featured Button from the Button Box on the top of the sidebar. Pinned.

    1. Wow! Thanks for the feature, Charlene! That’s quite an honor. And you’re right, it totally is “art on art…on art”! I’ll surely stop by for this week’s party and to grab a button.

    1. Thanks, Michelle! You have so many beautiful creations over at your blog. I’m anxiously awaiting the day I venture into the uncharted waters of quilt making. One day…when I have a bit more sewing experience under my belt! 😉

    1. Thanks for stopping by, Emily, and for your affirming feedback! I, too, grew rather fond of the background layer on the canvas…especially when the pink flamingo revealed itself (whenever a cute animal shows up in a craft, it’s hard to keep going and paint over it!). 🙂 Have a happy weekend!

    1. Thanks, Rachel! Yes, I had a blast with this one. I used to work with acrylic paints a lot as a kid, and so it brought me back. Isn’t that quote pretty stellar? It proved to be such a great candidate for Subway Art because each phrase was so powerful and demanded a font/design of its own.

    1. Thanks for your sweet comment, Buttons! (Coolest name ever. And I love your blog name, too.) Yes, I definitely had to keep my end goal in mind when I got to that step…and I definitely feared it might end up being a craft fail and not the “awesome” project you describe. But thankfully, it was a risk worth taking!

  12. This looks so great! I love all the colors, they fit together so great!
    And all the fonts and how you arranged the words – it’s simply just great!

    Love, Midsommarflicka

    1. That means a lot coming from you, my designer friend. I had a lot of fun arranging the letters…and I’m even dreaming and scheming other projects I can do with Subway Art. It’s addicting!

    1. Thanks, Megin! Yes, it took a bit of discipline to keep going after every step and trust that it would be worth covering up those bright colors with letters and white spray paint!

  13. Oh.My.Goodness!!!! I’m floored! I don’t even know what to say!!!! (Wait, hold on, I think I can find some words)…. WHAT?!?!?!?!? This is so beautiful… and I feel so honored! Thank you for making this and posting this and… just being Lauren. I showed it to Raj and his first comment was “Wow. On a scale of relative creativity, if Lauren was 100, I think I’d be about a 1!” He always finds a way to make something relate to logic. Anyway, I am just in love with this already. With every project you do, I am more and more amazed by your talents, creativity, and eye for all things beautiful. I can’t wait to hang this up in my dance room (which is in some serious need of something bright and beautiful) and tell all my dancers that my friend made this! They’re going to flip! There might be some picture taking involved as a blog update 🙂
    I agree with Brittany, she and I are some lucky ladies to have a friend like you. Wow. God has used you to bless me time and time again. THANK YOU!!!!!

    1. Gianna, I have read and re-read this comment throughout the day just because it brings me so much joy to hear your reaction (and Raj’s hilarious reaction) and to imagine your kids’ reactions! Of course I would absolutely love to see a photo of the artwork hanging up in your dance room or perhaps with a smiling student’s face nearby. Though this comment alone is all the satisfaction I need! So delighted that you’re floored. That was my super secret plan from the very beginning! Mwah ha ha.

      Now, if only I can figure out how to mail this big canvas to you…. Maybe you’ll just have to come to Orlando to pick it up! 😉 Sending a huge hug to you, friend.

  14. What a fun project and great quote! I love how there are so many places to add creativity to this piece, from the painting to the quotes to the fonts, it’s all great!
    Thanks for sharing the file!

    1. You are welcome, friend. And yes, I do love me a project chock full of creativity! And you clearly love yourself a challenge. I’m still in awe of those vertical files you created. Awesome work! #betterthanmartha

  15. These the coolest thing. The colors are just so cheerful and bright. I love how you gave me the set by step. I am going to do my best to make this. So wish me luck. 🙂

    1. Hooray! This made my night, Susan. Regardless of how it turns out, I hope you have FUN. (And send me pics if you do end up creating it or something like it. I’d love to see it.) Best of luck to you!

  16. Wonderfully winsome job, Lauren! Gianna is going to love it! It will be so inspirational in her dance classroom. I am especially thankful for your friendship over so many years!

    1. Yes! I’ll never forget that time we drove together to visit her at her parents’ nursery. That was such a key moment in the development of our friendship…thanks for being there to make it happen!

      1. Well, thanks to you and Lisbeth for being up to taking that little “side trip”. I enjoyed it and gained a “wandering Jew” plant out of it from their nursery…and also feel blessed to have gotten to know Gianna and her family through your connection to her.

  17. This is beautiful Lauren and the quote is as beautiful! Your friends are very lucky to have you as their friend! this is a great gift, I’m sure it will look amazing in her class room and her students will love it as well! the colors you choose are cheerful! 🙂 Hope you are having a great week! (you always impress me with this Silhouette)

    1. I’m very lucky to have YOU as my bloggy friend, Ingrid. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but you have such a gift for affirming people with specific feedback! Thank you for taking the time to read my posts and comment so thoughtfully. It warms my heart to no end. Have a great week, as well!

  18. Here’s the deal: I just came back from a run, the second half of which I nearly didn’t survive had it not been for the fabulous running mix you made me a few years ago. It was the only thing I knew would get me through (as much as I love Ira Glass, sometimes I just need Kanye). And then I read this when I come home and think, “What a gift this lady has for encouraging her friends so practically in the things they love.” YES. Me and Gianna, we’re some lucky women!

    1. It delights me to no end that you still run and sweat to that mix I made you…and it’s true what you said. Sometimes, it takes a sick beat to motivate us through those uphills, especially in the city of seven hills! I feel like the lucky one to have such encouraging, vibrant, and inspiring women in my life like you and Gianna. So much love to you, dear friend. xo

  19. um this is way too cool. How are you so cool? This is so professional and fun looking! I am really impressed at how well you got it all down – both the lettering and the awesomely happy looking background. Go Lauren! 🙂

    1. Thanks, Coley! I’ve been enjoying having it in our living room before shipping it off to my friend. Every time I look at it and read that quote, I get a burst of empowerment. 😉 Maybe I need to make one of these for me! Ha ha.

  20. It turned out great Lauren! Your friend is in for a treat:) It will look fab hanging on her dance room wall!

    1. Thanks for linking to your sock holder project. Such a cute idea! And although you may have not initially wanted bleeding beneath your vinyl lettering, it gives it that vintage effect we all go gaga over. 🙂

  21. Hi Lauren Your subway art is great, really love it. Sure think your friend is going to love it to pieces, what a great gift and made specially for her. She must be a very talented young lady.
    I don’ t have a silhouette but seeing how you made this art with yours makes me wish I had one. If nothing else to make art like this. I’ve tried making subway art with stencils but I seem to always get the spacing wrong and the stencil slips. Not real good at it obviously. My eyes and hands just aren’t what they used to be.
    Your tutorial is wonderful making me think I could do this if I just had a silhouette. Not gonna happen tho as I know those wonderful machines are really expensive. Either I won’t get to make subway art or I need to find another way to make it. I thought about typing it out on paper then transfer the words onto the clear contact paper. I’ll have to think on that awhile longer before I attempt that. You’ve really inspired me to at least try to find another way to make this art. Happy Week

    1. Jane Ellen, thank you for your sweet comment! I’m delighted to hear how much you’ve been inspired by this project and that you’re committed to finding a creative solution to your subway art problem. I applaud you for that!

      Hmmmm…let me think. I could see stencils being a real challenge because of the spacing issue that you mention…and keeping it level and all that. You could use an x-acto knife to cut the letters out of contact paper, but I see that being very time-consuming and a recipe for carpal tunnel!

      Here’s an idea that just came to my mind. I think you’re best bet is going to be to create your subway art in a word processing program. That way, you can easily tweak things and get them formatted properly. Flip the image horizontally so it prints out backwards (you can do that in Word 2010). Print out that paper (and if you want to get it blown up to a larger size at a copy center, you could do that). Then, you could transfer the text from that sheet of paper onto a canvas using artist’s gel medium, water, and mod podge, much like the person did in this project: http://pinterest.com/pin/273312271108433424/

      It’ll have a vintage look, which I think could look smashing for subway art. In fact, I may have to try this method myself in the future! I’m getting rather excited about it.

      Bottom line: don’t give up! Where there’s a will…. 🙂

    1. Ha ha. “Innies and outies” makes me think of belly-buttons, which makes me chuckle. Sorry, I’m 7 years old sometimes. 🙂 Glad you liked the painting! It really was so therapeutic to get outside and throw some acrylic paint onto a blank canvas. I highly recommend it!

  22. Gorgeous!! What a thoughtful and beautiful gift for a dear friend. I’m sure she will love it!
    One side note, as I know you would be disappointed if there was not one, the financial planner people always say we should not own credit cards. Apparently they have never tried to make a DIY Subway Art Canvas.

    1. Thank you for the side note, my friend! I do delight to read them as they never fail to give me a smile. Ha ha, yes, the financial planner people are seriously misinformed! Hopefully this post will be brought to their attention, and they’ll change their tune where credit cards are concerned. Especially Kohl’s credit cards!

  23. I love this, Lauren! And where were you (and your digital wonder machine) when I was struggling with all those quote art projects in my yellow nautical guest bedroom??? 🙂

    1. Linda, your struggle certainly was worth it because those quote art projects were so lovely and one of my favorite design elements in your beautiful home. Though next time we meet up, I’d be more than happy to bring my D.W.M. along with me for a craft-tastic time! 🙂

    1. I’m definitely drawn to bright and bold colors…and from the look of your projects, Stephanie, I can tell you are, too. As for the white on top of color, it works…just be prepared to use a whole can of spray paint. And for full disclosure, there’s a hint of gray peeking through in some sections, but my husband assures me it’s so faint, no one will notice! 😉 This is a gift for my friend Gianna, so I imagine it will land in her classroom or dance studio.

  24. Lauren, this turned out great!! I gotta tell ya…someday I am going to get a silhouette machine and it will all be thanks to you!! 🙂 And I totally see the flamingo!
    Kenley

    1. Oooo, I’d love to see what you’d whip up with a Silhouette, Kenley. Undoubtedly some amazing labels for your food jars and some glass etching on your casserole dishes. I can see it now! 😉

      And I’m glad to know I’m not crazy with my flamingo sighting. I suppose Florida is beginning to have an effect on my subconscious brain!

    1. Why thank you, Katherine! It’s funny, I don’t know about you, but I always picture projects in my head before tackling them. They don’t always translate well into reality. However, this one exceeded even my initial imaginings. Love it when that happens….

  25. Love it!!!!! And I totally LOVE this compared to the ones I’ve seen around- no wonder I’m your biggest bloggy fan

    1. Aw, thanks Jacquelyn! You are too sweet for words. The fact that you wanted to share all of our links on your blog today even though you weren’t posting a project of your own is a testament to your generosity of spirit.

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