Mastering Acrylics: Paint an Easy Stunning Guitar on Canvas

1. Introduction: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the tutorial, where I will be taking you through the entire process of creating your very own masterpiece, step by step. We will paint together in stages, and I will share some useful hints and tips that you will be able to apply in your future creations. I am Tina Kater Pal, an artist, teacher, mother, and a soul deeply connected to nature and inspired by the beauty it has to offer. In the upcoming series of tutorials, you will learn different techniques, styles, designs, which you will be able to adapt and combine to create your own signature style by the end of the course. Today, you will learn how to paint a wintered style guitar. We will focus on the importance of prepping the canvas, creating depth with a background and layering paint. 2. Class Orientation: Get started, you will need falling out supplies. To start with, you will need a canvas. Here I'm using a 40 inch by 40 inch canvas, but you can use any size that you'd like. You will need a cup for water. I'm using a gesso here. I like to use this company, but you can use anything that's easily available for you. An old rag and some tissues, You will need paint brushes, some thick, somethin, some old, some new, basically a variety of paint brushes. Colors, you will need I will share in description the exact colors that I'm using for this artwork, but you can choose from whatever is easily available for you or the colors that you find most appealing. Palette, a simple palette is what I'm using, but you can use whatever is available for you. A hair dryer if you want to speed up the drying process. You will also need a cut out stencil for the guitar. You can see the reference for the same. 3. Gesso Layer: Before starting any painting with acrylics, I always start by prepping my canvas with Gesso. This provides a protective barrier to the canvas which stops too much paint from being absorbed. It also helps to create some stunning textures that will make each piece truly stand out. I find the whole process of prepping the canvas this way is really therapeutic and almost meditative. It sets the moods and gets me in the mind frame of creativity. But without too much concentration, so I just get lost in applying it back and forth. It is so satisfying and soothing for mind and for soul, you will see. Apply the Gesso at least 24 hours before you start painting. One, two ports will be perfect for the piece we are working on today. It is tempting to get carried away, but don't overdo it. Always use an old brush for this process as gives you a beautiful texture and multiple dimensions to the canvas. You also don't want to ruin a new brush as Gesso can be tricky to clean, wash your brushes immediately after the use. Also, be sure to protect your clothes and your space while working with Gesso. Traditional teaching methods say the background is the last thing you will paint as the main artwork is the focus. Although this isn't wrong, I prefer doing things a bit different and take a complete opposite approach by starting my artwork with the background first and then deciding what to paint all. Background inspires the overall tone of the painting. It is the soul of an artwork, where we add depth. It is also where we add a lot of drama, excitement, and mystery to the viewer's eyes and can often speak the imagination, triggering our creativity before we move on to the main artwork. To create an impact like this, I often paint my background and layers. A typical canvas that I paint has 15 to 20 layers, each layer helps build an artwork. But for the purpose of this video, we will only be working with four, five layers. Once you get a fair idea of this technique, you will add as many layers as you want. After the eso is dried, we will start with the first layer of paint. 4. Background: I have chosen these two colors for this stage to add a bit more flair and drama. My painting will have a very rustic vintage wife, so I have chosen burnt orange, brown, gold as my main colors. I will also add some hints of green in places. As this contrast will make the colors come to life. You can choose any color or color combination you like. It's your masterpiece, after all. If you are using more than one color, try not to mix them too much here as they may end up looking muddy, especially with as many layers we have. This is my secret weapon. I always always use this when I'm painting. Any old bottle for your spray, It's filled with water clean washed and filled with clean water. And I spray always spray my water from here. You can use any bottle. Just to make my surface ale wet before I get started. H 5. Splattering: I usually give it a day for the first layer to dry before I start working on my second lay. This also gives me an opportunity to think creatively. The one thing I like to do when I'm painting is to stop working and take a step back and to recess my work. It is too dark, it is too light, needs more details, add some color to it. There are many things that are easy to miss when I'm really focused on the details of the piece. Which is why we have to stop and look at the bigger picture literally. Should now have a feel for what is working and what is can be added and how your piece is starting to come together. This takes us nicely into layer two. I am choosing three colors to give a good contrast of colors. For this layer, we are letting go and allowing ourselves to be totally free by using the platter method of painting. I like to use this range of brushes, sizes to give different platter size to the overall look is not totally uniform. You will get different platter pattern if you vary the amount of paint on the brush. More paint will give you bigger platters than a drier brush. For example, so experiment to see what works for you. I personally prefer to skip the brush altogether, get stuck in, and get messy using my fingers to dip into the paint and flick onto the canvas. This is a lot of fun, so maybe you can just go for it. Add the guitar stencil and fill the area within the stencil, as much platter paint as possible to really get the full effect. If you don't want, remove the stencil, let this platter go in the background and have loads of fun. 6. Detailing: For Layer three, we are adding the details to the guitar. So we will be more controlled. You will review your work here and decide if you're happy with it so far, or if you think it needs more. You can move on to the next layer if you wish and can always come back to add the details if you are in charge of your mind. But for now, I will continue and show you this step. Using your stencil, draw the guitar and all the details. You can also do this free hand if you prefer. We will be using a diluted black paint here that I call it my magic portion. Unlike pure pigment, it's easy to wipe off with a tissue, if you make a mistake, it doesn't leave any trace marks. I will show you. S, it just disappeared like nothing happened. Using this magic portion, I'm getting painting over over the lines. I sketched each and every line I'm drawing inside the guitar needs to seem like it is a part of the canvas. Not just line drawn over it. Take a weight paintbrush, wipe it off, and get started again. You don't want too much paint on the brush as we are dragging the brush across the canvas to create texture. Let me show you this again. Gently draw the line, clean your brush and gently pull the brush across the line to make it a part of the guitar. Keep going until you finish all the details. Ho T Once you are done with your guitar, move the tencel a little and duplicate the outline of the guitar on one side. Paint that section white. I am now adding more touches of white to the guitar. The white creates highlights to really make that guitar stand out. It is the hero of the creation, or so should be the main focal point. The highlights will make the guitar feel more three dimensional. You will see it starts to pop out of the canvas. Oh Go back and look at your work so far, sit back and admire your creativity. It is so important for you to like what you have created before anyone else likes it. Once you're and satisfied with it, continue with the next. 7. Textures : I wanted to make the guitar stand out even more, but without adding too much, so that it is why I'm drawing a circle behind the guitar. The circle acts as a frame for naturally draws the eye to the center of the focal point, the guitar. What I love about this is that the circle subtly mirrored the curves of the guitar and brings the whole piece together. Oh When I look at the overall shapes, how they work together, I see that the canvas itself is a square shape. Paint the circle with a mix of black and gold. Here we shall add some texture to the circle before the black and gold paint has dried. Take an object like a knife or the end of the paint brush to move the paint around to create a rough look to the paint. Just push the paint in different directions. We wanted to look rough and textured, so you don't really need to overthink about this part. H 8. Completing the Artwork: Now we are close to finishing this artwork. The most important element to consider is the balance of colors. The guitar is a burnt orange with the splashes of green in contrast back round. These colors are looking a bit stark against the black and the gold circle. To finish my artwork, I'm adding some touches to the background. That will break the depth of the darker colors. First, I will paint the outside with gold, which reflects the gold I used earlier. This brings the piece together and creates harmony of colors. I use gold in almost all my artwork as it gives character and definition. And of course, I love the color. Oh I. Oh. Once the gold is dry, I mix white with a drop of black and create this beautiful gray color. Look at it. Such a beautiful shade of it. Isn't it? The gray is a perfect tone to add some highlight and without adding too brightness, so it doesn't away from impact of the guitar. We'll use a knife to apply this paint and scrape it into some areas while it is drying. Once the gray is dried, I will balance the entire painting with some ses of white all over the gray area. You clearly see I love the process. I'm sure you will do, too. 9. Final touches: After a few days, go back to your kindness and look at it with fresh eyes. Look for any areas you have missed. Anything that needs to be reworked, a few small tweaks that can make a big difference, so you don't be afraid to touch up those spots. I have mentioned previously that the guitar is the main focal point, meaning we want the viewer to notice this before the other details of the painting. We already made the guitar large, so it grabs the attention, but we need to be sure that it doesn't blend in the background. Focal point is important for the eye movement, and it's completely in the hands of the artist to decide that. This is a good time to add some more highlights to really make the out. To do this, I am simply taking my white color on a damp brush and applying it to the areas. I need to make the guitar pop out. Apply the paint and gently blend it in the background. You can use thin brush for smaller details. H I'm using a posca pen for the strings of the guitar. It doesn't need to be perfect, so some details can say unfinished, which adds personality anyways. Perfection is not the goal here. Oh And now a guitar is looking all ready to be displayed. Thanks so much for joining me in this tutorial. Hang your canvas where you can be pro to admire your creation, and appreciate the effort that went into it.