How to Make Prints Look Like Antique Oil Paintings

These oil painting portraits are so good! You may have seen the hack to brush Mod Podge over paper prints to make them look more like a painting. I tried that with my portraits, but they just did not have the texture and age of a true oil painting. I am so excited to share my upgrade to the Mod Podge method and show you how to make prints look like antique oil paintings! Plus, I am sharing all the links to these free portrait printables!

How to Turn Paper Prints into Antique Oil Paintings

Look how real this looks! Even in a picture you can see this has all the cracks and texture of an antique oil painting. My parents have a couple of antique portraits of my ancestors. I studied those and tried to mimic their appearance. Here is how I did it.

I printed out some free portraits on regular paper and cut them to fit my frames.

I bought stretched canvas on a frame and canvas on a board from Hobby Lobby to try. The board was quick, easy, and added some texture. But as you will see, the stretched canvas created an opportunity to make even more texture, so that is what I used.

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Glue the Print to a Canvas Panel

I drew around the portraits just so I would know where to put the Mod Podge. Using the gloss Mod Podge is a must for an authentic look!

Brush the Mod Podge on the canvas and the back of the paper portrait.

Apply the portrait to the canvas and smooth really well to get the texture of the canvas to come through.

Brush Mod Podge Over the Top

Brush Mod Podge over the top of the portrait. I created a pattern with horizontal and vertical brush strokes. On the larger prints, I used a little different method which I think I prefer. That method is shown below.

First I brushed the Mod Podge horizontally across the painting and let it dry.

Then I brushed a coat over that vertically.

Let dry and then cut out the portraits.

Create Creases and Crackles to Make Prints look like Antique Oil Paintings

Now here is the part that really brings out that antique texture. Bend and crease the portraits in a few areas, but don’t crease too hard.

Then kind of bend and move the canvas this way and that.

The bending cracks the glue in some areas, mainly near the creases. It’s a good idea to make an extra print and practice. Once you play with it a little, you will see what looks best.

NOTE: I found that the paintings crackle better if the glue doesn’t cure too long. I did it as soon as they dried.

To add a little more depth, I brushed some antiquing wax over the canvas. This is definitely optional. Then I just put them in the frame. I left the glass out, since most paintings are not framed with glass.

Note: To get some of the wrinkles out of the canvas, I quickly ran a hot iron over the back. You have to use quick, short touches because the heat activates the glue and it will stick to the surface it is on!

Create A Gallery Wall With Free Printable Portraits

I spent a lot of time curating this collection of portraits, so I thought I would share them with you. Of course collected paintings don’t have to match or coordinate, however I selected ones with shades of pink and burgundy to go with my room. The frames were collected over time from estate sales and thrift stores. It took quite a while to find them, so I also linked some vintage looking frames that could work for the portraits.

After I printed some of these out, I made copies and enlarged or reduced the size to fit my frames. Also, I decided the girl in pink was a little too wrinkly, so I ended up redoing her. That’s what happens when you are trying something new, but it was very inexpensive to redo.

1. Miss Grace Woodhouse / Frame

2. Mrs. Charles Deering / Frame

3. Portrait of a seated woman / Frame

4. Lady Carr / Frame

5. Peter A. B. Widener / Frame

6. Flower Bouquet

7. Mrs. Hugh Hammersley / Frame

I am still amazed with the way these turned out! It is unlikely that I will ever spend the money to have a collection of real oil paintings, but I think I will enjoy these just as much! And if you can make prints look like antique oil paintings, why not?

PIN IT FOR LATER!

Thanks for stopping by,

Janet