Guitar Bodies
So, recently I was asked to paint an electric guitar. I thought, okay, sure, why not…sounds interesting and I haven’t done that before. Well, I’ve gotten started on it and have found that I’m really enjoying it - it feels like giving a guitar a tattoo! So now I’m adding custom guitar finishing to my ever-expanding list of things to do. For the time being, this section and the things in it are works in progress. I’ll be adding more over time.
Keeping true to my roots, I decided to base this first guitar on the story of Thor fishing for Jormungandr the Midgard Serpent. I guess I’m a bit preoccupied thinking about Jormungandr lately, and this is sort of a quasi-companion piece to the sculpture I’m currently working on (Norse Series 2, No. 2). Forgive my phone snaps and remember that this is not only a work in progress, but a learning experience as well.
On the front of the guitar, there’s Mjolnir along with a band of runes depicting this passage:
“The venomous serpent swiftly up
To the boat did Thor, the bold one, pull;
With his hammer the loathly hill of the hair
Of the brother of Fenrir he smote from above.”
-Hymiskvitha 24, tr. Bellows
Here on the back of the guitar, I’ve depicted Jormungandr, the Girdle of All Worlds (which is what the runes on the actual dragon translate to), the sea, and the Icelandic staves known as the Vegvísir (“that which shows the way”).
I decided to base this first guitar on the story of Thor fishing for Jormungandr the Midgard Serpent. I guess I’m a bit preoccupied thinking about Jormungandr lately, and this is sort of a quasi-companion piece to the sculpture I’m currently working on (Norse Series 2, No. 2). Forgive my phone snaps and remember that this is not only a work in progress, but a learning experience as well.
I scuffed the existing paint on the back of the guitar as prep to add new paint, then drew off the basic part of my design and started laying down color. The paint is acrylic, and it will be finished either with Spraymax 2x Clear or Solarez polyester resin. Image one is the initial layout, and image 2 is progress on filling in the color.
Bamboo Tiger painted guitar body
The third image is just more progress with the background beginning to come together, and the final image is all the major paint complete. Details will be added or refined next, and then it’ll be time to clearcoat. This will protect the artwork, plus give the guitar a smooth, mirror finish. It’s a pretty straightforward process - draw, block, paint, refine, finish.
A few more guitar bodies in various stages, all nearing completion. The same process was/will be used for each of these - draw, block, paint, refine, finish.
Koi (sticker style), painted guitar body
Harley Quinn Tribute, painted guitar body (fan art)