Father’s Day Silhouette Canvas

Have you ever gone shopping for a Father’s Day gift and found yourself bewildered? Ties are too impersonal, tools are too common, and custom designed items are often too expensive. Right?

Now you can create a fun, mixed media collage using a silhouette of your very own father! And you won’t believe how simple, or how fast, it is to create.

Supplies:
1 – 8×10 Stretched Canvas (Item 97603)
1 – 9×12 Sheet of Canvas Paper (Item 97490-2)
3 – Torn tissue paper (Item 1192-27): red, green, white
1 – Liquitex Basics 48 Piece Tube Acrylic Paint Set (Item BS101048): Unbleached Titanium, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Deep Yellow Hue, Blue Permanent, Brilliant Yellow-Green, Cadmium Red Deep Hue, Mars Black, Copper
1 – Krylon Bright White Gesso Spray (Item7015)
1 – Aleene’s Tacky Glue (Item AR8-10)
1 – Matte Mod Podge (Item PLCS11302)
1 – Krylon UV-Resistant Clear Acrylic Spray (SW1305)
2 – 5×7 Black and White Photocopies (Choose a front facing headshot of father)
1 – Torn papers with text
1 – Napkin
1 – Old cloth
1 – Black pen

Tools:
1 – Wide tipped paintbrush (Multi-purpose Value Pack Item SB9561)
1 – Thin tipped paintbrush (Multi-purpose Value Pack Item SB9561)
1 – Comfort Grip Scissors (Item 1149-17)
1 – Soft-Grip Craft Knife (Item F1S12-6705)

Instructions:

Spray canvas paper and the stretched canvas with Gesso. Let dry.

Use Mod Podge to glue torn pieces of tissue paper to canvas paper. Let dry.

Brush Burnt Sienna paint over the canvas, then using a dry napkin, gently remove some of the paint. Let dry.

Dry brush Unbleached Titanium paint over the brown paint. Let dry.

Dry brush the following colors onto the canvas, allowing each color to dry between brushes (otherwise you’ll end up with a mud color): Cadmium Deep Yellow Hue, Blue Permanent, and Brilliant Yellow-Green. Let dry.

Dry brush Cadmium Red Deep Hue paint onto the canvas, but instead of dry brushing the entire paper, pick just 5 spots. While the paint is still wet, dip your brush into Mod Podge and go over the canvas. Spreading the Mod Podge while the paint is still wet will spread the color, giving the entire sheet a slight tint of pink. Let dry.

Grab a few sheets of paper out of an old book, from the sports page of the newspaper, or from father’s favorite magazine. Rip them into several large sheets of paper.

Use Mod Podge to adhere the papers to the stretched canvas. (You can choose to cover the entire surface, or as shown in the sample canvas leave some of the canvas untouched.) Let dry.

Mix the Burnt Sienna paint with water to create a wash. (Unlike a traditional wash, you want the mixture to be more paint and less water.)

Spread the Burnt Sienna wash over the stretched canvas, then using a dry napkin (or cloth towel) remove any excess paint. Let dry. (Think of this step in terms of staining a piece of wood, you put on a heavy coat, allow the paint to soak into the surface, then immediately remove the excess paint .)

Create a squiggly frame, 1/2 inch from the sides of the top of the stretched canvas, with Mars Black paint.

Paint the top of the canvas, from the squiggly lines to the sides of the canvas, with Mars Black paint. Let dry.

Use a thin tipped paint brush to paint a thin Copper squiggly line around the black framed area. Let dry. (This particular frame has the staples on the sides. Even with the sides painted black, I could still see the staples so I opted to paint the staples with the Copper paint to turn them into embellishments. You may want to do the same.)

While the stretched canvas is drying, grab one of the photocopies of father and cut around the face, hair, and/or body to create a solid silhouette. (This is template number one.)

Place “template one” on top of the collaged canvas paper. Trace the template to create an outline, then use scissors to cut out the outline. This will leave you with a solid silhouette of father. (In steps 17 and 18 we are going to call this a canvas paper cutout.)

Grab the second photocopy of father, then using a pen trace the dark areas of the image. Don’t worry about being too exact, or cutting out every little detail. Focus on the main features of the face: hair, eyes, side of the nose, lips, and if the ear shows, the ear. As for the clothes, stick to the folds or creases in the clothes. Carefully, and slowly, use a craft knife to cut out the traced (or dark) areas. (This is template number two.)

Place “template two” on top of the canvas paper cutout. Use a pen to trace the cutout areas onto the canvas paper cutout. Remove the template, dip a thin-tipped paintbrush into Mars Black paint, and trace the pen outlines with the paint. Let dry. (You could also use a sponge paintbrush, though I found that the lines weren’t as sharp as I liked. To use a sponge paintbrush, dip it into the Mars Black paint, place the second template on top of the cutout, then gently dab the sponge paintbrush on top of the template. Gently remove the template to see the finished design.)

Turn the canvas paper cutout over and slab on some tacky glue. Glue it, face side up, to the stretched canvas. Using your fingers, gently massage the canvas paper cutout to remove any air pockets, then firmly press it down into the stretched canvas. Let dry.

Hand paint a term of endearment on the top of the stretched canvas in Mars Black paint. Let dry. (you could also get creative with Cricut letters, alphabet stickers, or alphabet chipboard pieces.)

Spray with stretched canvas with clear acrylic sealer. Let dry.

Seal the stretched canvas with 2 to 3 coats of clear acrylic sealer, allowing each coating to dry before adding the next coat. Let dry.

Turn the canvas over, and sign the back. You’re masterpiece is complete!

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