Olson Ink: Elvis Spray Paint

I was so excited when I got the call to do this painting. I have been listening to Elvis since I was about eight years old. I used to listen to Frank Sinatra and Elvis in my grandpa Calvins car all growing up. What excited me even more is when they told me that they wanted a spray painted portrait of Elvis and I could use whatever picture I wanted. This is also the first video I had ever done for this type of painting. I get asked all the time how I create these paintings so I decided I would do a video to show the process behind it all. First I ask what colors the client wants or what colors are used on the walls and in the room where the painting is going. In this case they were hanging this in their home in a room with soft colors so I decided to use a tan and brown pallet. Once I selected the photo to use I separated the photo into the darkest colors (black), all the way up to the highlight colors (white). I then draw them out to the size of canvas I am using and cut out the negatice space of the stencil. When I am spraying I always start with the lightest color and build up to black. When I lay the stencil down I put bolts on the edges so the stencil doesnt come up while spraying. This ensures nice clean lines in your painting. It is a fun process to watch because you dont see it come together until the final stencils.