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Ride On: Stenciled Bike Frame

Ride On: Stenciled Bike Frame

Living in Brooklyn, biking is not just a hobby but also a way of living, whether it is to go to work, school, to grab a bite, or just clear your mind. Being a biker myself, I wanted to highlight this culture through a series of stencils. These stencils can be applied to messenger bags, water bottles, t-shirts, among other things. 


For the project, you will need a plate, FolkArt Multi-Surface paints, stencil and paint brushes, FolkArt Stencil1 Bicycles stencil and an unfinished wood photo frame.


First, begin applying black paint onto the frame from the edge using a paint brush. Make sure your brush strokes are consistent, vertical or horizontal. It will give the frame a clean look. I am later going to paint a layer of gray paint over this, sand the grey down to show some black underneath – going for an urban decay look here.


Once the black paint it thoroughly dry,  you are ready for the next step. 


I decided to give the frame a second color to give it a look that has been repainted several times.
This time, cover the frame with gray paint.


Once the frame is covered with gray paint, let that dry. You can speed this up with a hair dryer too.


Decide on which stencil you want to use, I chose a stencil that would give my frame the “Brooklyn look”. Corners of Brooklyn are starting to look like Amsterdam, tons of bikes!

Using very little paint and a dry brush technique you are ready to stencil. Dry brush means you dip your brush in the paint then remove a lot of the paint of the plate or even a paper towel. In an up and down pouncing motion OR a swirling motion, fill in the cut out areas of the stencil. 


One Bicycle is not enough,  I say create a pattern of sorts by adding more. 


Next, Repeat the process with another color on another section of your picture frame. Composition is up to you!

Once the frame is dry, it’s time to give it a little treatment.  Take a sheet or block of sandpaper and sand off some of the gray paint to show the black underneath. This gives the piece an urban look as well as adds a little motion to the overall feel of it. 

Now add a photo - I added a picture of a guy wearing a messenger cap I stenciled too! Ride on!
Posted: 8/16/2014 8:08:00 AM by LEAP | with 0 comments
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