A Stencil Sequence

Below is a step-by-step walk-through of a simple three layer stencil process with some background printing and a final word layer. The image is a self-portrait that I first sprayed on canvas several years ago. Hope you enjoy the pictures and learn a bit about stenciling.

This is the first layer. The red background was spray painted and the block printing is done on top of that. 

The first brown layer is the midtone layer. Often this layer will be the entire outline of the shape. For this piece it has been reduced to save paint. The midtone layer is always sprayed first and is really the foundation of the image.

This particular stencil series requires that the shadow layer be sprayed next so that the white highlights in the eyes aren't covered up. Generally I prefer to spray the highlights now and the shadows last.

Here you see the highlight layer has been sprayed, as well as some touch up at the bottom of the black to fill the space at the bottom that was originally red. Touch up with spray paint is difficult and requires some tricky shielding to keep overspray from getting on the finished parts of the piece.

The final step for this piece, and many like it, is the DESPITE.