Earlier today I was talking with a friend who said she was in a "grouchy" mood... I decided I could help by offering to make her something. When I asked what she would like she simply said "Surprise Me". Debbie is a hard working mom that seems to do a lot for people and gets little in return. So I spent part of my evening making this piece to help show her some appreciation. I had lots of ideas I wanted to try out, so I grabbed a fresh piece of 15"x20" illustration board and drew out my friends name... stylishly. I got all the blank ink down first, then moved on to the outer 'border' by pouncing a custom mix of green acrylic paint with a plastic bag. I used a more diluted version of the paint nearest the lettering, and a more opaque version towards the outside. Then I used a low pressure sprayer with transparent black to darken and spatter the outer edges further. Custom mixing the same green with black and white, I brushed in all the little cracks around the borer. Once that was dry I moved back to the lettering where I made an acrylic wash of a very lime green, and went over all the letters with a brush. I went over them 2 or 3 times with the same wash in areas I was planning on darkening top build tone. Next I grabbed the airbrush topped with an acrylic deep green ink- I used that to shade some shape into the existing green. Next I topped the airbrush with a weak mix of acrylic black to make the outer drop shadows. Then I made a white acrylic wash that I used with a paint brush to start lightening the corners I wanted highlighted. I went over each highlight a few times and smaller each time until I got the highlight I wanted. Last but not least, I grabbed 1-Shot Bright Red Enamel and outlined all the letters. As with always, every step was done completely freehand. This piece is crazy cool- adding color like this is a little a-typical of me, but I'm glad I went this direction.
I definitely had a lot of fun making this piece, and I sure hope she likes it!
Got a name you'd like to have done as an illustration? Email me! Cruizin4customs@Hotmail.com
"Debbie" Sharpie, Acrylic, Enamel on 15"x20" on Illustration Board