Free printable art has become super popular in the last decade for styling your home. I mean, it’s easy to find, there are no shipping costs and no bulky packaging. All you have to do is print and frame.
And because there are so many options for printable art, I thought I’d help you sort through the noise so that you can find art you will truly love for your home – not so-so art you chose just because it was free!
Plus I’m sharing my tips for printing and framing too! Read on to find out all about free printable art – and get access to our free printables vault below!
What is printable art?
Printable art is a digital file – usually a jpg or pdf – that you download and print yourself. It’s a great way to get art for your home for way less – and often free!
Much of the free printable art you can find online is in the public domain. Everything from bird prints to landscapes to architectural renderings.
Tip: Printable art makes great gifts too!
What is the public domain?
Public domain art is art that isn’t copyrighted by the law. This means you can print, sell and distribute it as much as you want.
Work in the public domain is usually there and available because the original copyright has expired (copyrights expire after 70 years), it was created by the U.S. federal government or there was no copyright notice before March 1, 1989.
Can you sell public domain art?
Yes! You could totally find and sell the public domain art that you find in an Etsy or Shopify shop, or on Society6 for example. This could be a good stream of extra income for you if you’re looking for one!
Can you manipulate existing public domain art?
Yes! You could add text or your own artistic flair, change colors, and otherwise change up public domain art. The sky’s the limit! Use your imagination and have fun with it.
Now that you know what public domain art is, let’s look at how to choose, print, and display your printable art.
Tips for choosing printable art you’ll love
Choosing art for your home is just about as personal as interior design gets. That’s because art is very subjective – what one person loves, another hates.
Here are a few tips for choosing printable art you’ll love for your home:
- Pick what you like. There are certain rules with home decor, but art can be a place for expression and juxtaposition. Or it can be a way to tie all your decor together. The point is you get to choose what you like!
- Work with the style of your room. When you know your decorating style, you will be able to search for art that fits that style. And you’ll be able to coordinate your art with your decor (if that’s what you want to do).
- Take your walls and furniture into account. If you have busy wallpaper or furniture you may want to choose simple and calming art. Or if you have solid colored walls and furniture, you can feel free to choose art that’s a little more bold and busy.
- Consider the size of your space. You may want to choose smaller pieces for a tiny space. Or conversely, you may need an extra-large piece of art or multiple pieces working together as a gallery wall for a larger room.
- Take color into account – or don’t. If you want to have a uniformly coordinated space, choose art that fits the color scheme of your home. Or use art to create the color scheme, by pulling colors from a piece that you love to use on walls, accents, and furniture. Or if you want an eclectic look, don’t worry about the colors at all and simply choose the art you love!
Remember to choose printable art that you truly love and don’t choose printable art just because it’s free. There are so many options for free printable art out there, that you can absolutely afford to be choosy!
How to use free printable art
Free printable art is really easy to use. Just find a design you like, download it, print, and frame it. Then use it to decorate for the holidays, seasons, or every day.
Printable art can be used as:
- wall art
- shelf decor
- part of a vignette with other decor, like books or sculptures
- ornaments for the holidays (shrunk to smaller sizes)
- extra large wall art (if the resolution is good enough)
Where can you use free printable art?
Printable art can be used in:
- bathrooms
- bedrooms
- dining rooms
- living rooms
- nurseries
- kids’ rooms
- kitchens
- and more!
Sometimes you need to join an email newsletter to download free art, but it’s super easy. And if you love someone’s free art prints, chances are you’ll love their other home decor ideas too!
Where can I find & download free printable art?
You can find free artwork in so many places. Here are just a few of the best sources for free images:
- Free Classic Images
- Burlap + Blue
- Little Gold Pixel
- Morguefile
- Library of Congress Digital Collection
- The New York Public Library’s Digital Collection
- Pexels
- Pixabay
- Nasa Galleries
- The Met Museum Collection
- Unsplash
- Home Decor Blogs
*Always double-check for copyright. Things change and you want to be sure that the art you’re using is allowed to be used for free. We take no responsibility for your use of copyrighted works.
Get access to all the free printable art we’ve created
We have a whole library full of free art prints that we’ve created and curated over the last 12 plus years. Get access here:
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Where to print printable art
Printable art can be printed just about anywhere.
At home using your computer printer
To print at home:
- Just download your printable art
- Choose the size you want (home printers can normally print 5×8, 8×10, or legal sized)
- Print on cardstock or heavier weight linen or archival paper
- Hang or display however you like
*Note: If you choose to print at home using your home printer, you may end up using more ink than you bargained for. This is especially true if you’re printing saturated art like vintage landscapes or other vintage art.
At your local print shop
You may be able to save money by having someone else print your art prints for you (because you’re not using your own ink).
To print at your local print shop:
- Download your favorite printable art
- Transfer it to a USB or SD Card
- Take it to a print shop like Staples
- Choose the size and paper you’d like to use and place your order
Through an online print service
You can save money this way too. And you may also be able to print oversized and larger art prints that you would be able to at your home printer.
To print via an online service:
- Download the art prints to your computer
- Upload them to a service like Staples Copy & Print or Vistaprint
- Choose the size and paper and place your order
Tips for printing printable art
Double Check the Printable Size
After you choose and download your free printable art, you need to know how large you can print it before it becomes pixelized – aka too blurry.
To find out the size of your art in pixels:
- Download your art
- Open the file
- Right-click on your image and choose “file info”
- Look for the dimensions and jot them down
- Then look at the chart below to see how the pixels translate to printable image size
Try a test run
You won’t know what your image will actually look like printed until you print it.
Because all monitors are calibrated differently, an image online will never look the same printed – or even from one device to the next.
If you’re unsure, just print a small (maybe 4×6) copy of your printable to see how it looks. Then make any necessary tweaks from there.
Framing options
If you want to frame your art prints you can choose to spend a little or a lot. I typically just use store-bought or thrifted frames for my downloadable art prints.
Online Framing
There are plenty of places that will do framing for you online. Here are a few:
- PosterJack
- FrameBridge
- Frame Haus Canada – use SHANNON8 at checkout to get 10% off!
- Black’s
In-Store Framing
Some stores still do in-store framing too. Like Micheals. This would be the most expensive option and I wouldn’t really recommend it for free printable art per se.
DIY Framing
DIY framing is obviously the cheapest, fastest, and easiest method for framing your art prints.
You can find frames for your free printable art at:
- Amazon
- Walmart
- Home Depot
- Lowe’s
- Target
- Michaels
- the thrift store
- garage sales
- some grocery stores
More Art Ideas
- Extra Large Wall Art Ideas – How to Get Oversized Art on a Budget
- Downloadable Vintage Art for Your Home
- Make Art Look Bigger with a DIY Floating Frame
- How to Make a Gallery Wall the Easy Way with Your Own DIY Template
Where’s your favorite place to get free printable art? Have you checked out our printable art vault yet?
