Ethan Lieser’s EVH 5150 Guitar
Ethan found my art through Instagram and asked if I would paint his beautiful guitar and I of course jumped at the opportunity! He found my work through a post about Bradley’s guitar, and he liked that design so I wanted to do something similar but very different. I utilized a lot of the same color pallet on the project and created a sun. His band’s name is Apollo Selena. Apollo is been recognized as a god of archery, music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases, the Sun and light, poetry, and more. I used the sun and natural accent design work on the guitar. It was really challenging and also fun pushing myself to bring the design to fruition.
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Guitars I’ve Painted
Bradley Turner’s Epiphone Casino
When Bradley asked me if I’d paint his guitar in Nov 23’, I was stoked! I’m a fan of his music and he’s a really awesome guy. He plays with Keith Allen who got Artist Series 01 for dotted guitars. We messaged back and forth about it and he wasn’t sure which guitar he wanted to have painted. In mid January we finally met at a show and he handed me his Epiphone Casino hollow body guitar. It’s the first one I’ve ever held and the first thing that I noticed was it was incredibly light for the size. And it was beautiful in the shape and design. I took it home and plugged it into my amp and strummed it. It sounded beautiful! And Jambaby grabbed her guitar and ran over and we had a little jam session. I decided that while I don’t play, yet, I want to play a hollow body when I do!
When I paint a guitar, I put it in a stand on my kitchen island. I look at it dozens and dozens of times to study the shape, appreciate the design, and play out some design and color ideas in my mind. It’s usually 5-7 days until I usually begin painting. Not so with this one! I woke up at 2:00 a.m. with a vision for the design and an epiphany on how to lay out my design on the guitar surface that would work better than previous methods.
I had the guitar for less than 12 hours and by 9am on Sunday I was laying out the design and immediately started painting the guitar. I spent 9 hours on it that day. The epiphany I had was understanding that I had a solution for my issues trying to draw a layout on a guitar with a pencil. Too slick against the lead. And grease pencils don’t work, paint hates grease. Dry erase marker…that’s what came to mind and it worked perfectly. I can easily erase and redraw as needed which is a lot. That was a bingo!
I envisioned a design style that complimented the shape and style of the guitar and I wanted to be a little more conservative, keep it sharp, and make it fun and bright. I used the warm colors on the outside and cool in the middle; with 3D glasses it wants to pull you in! I kept the headstock art conservative to balance with the body design.
I really had a great experience painting this wonderful instrument. I can’t wait to see it being played on stage for the first time; how cool to get to collaborate with great artists. To have my creative visualization transposed onto an instrument that is being played exceptionally by a friend while being enjoyed by many others. #blessed
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Brad Lackey’s 2021 Paul Reed Smith (PRS) S2 Vela
I met Brad through a friend that suggested I have him play at my house for a party. I’m sure glad I made that smart decision; he’s been an awesome friend. Brad saw my earliest art and has been a great supporter from the onset of my journey. He was one of the very first people to order a commission from me. When he asked me to paint his guitar I said yes immediately. Like, absolutely not question, yes!
I loved the lines on this PSR and the color is so unique. It’s a beautiful guitar so I knew I need to built out a tight design that was classy but fun.
I’ll build out the process more soon. For now, check out the photos below.
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