Steps

After I had varnished the Medicine Wheel painting I realized I had a board completed for each step of this process. So I lined them up and took a photo.

On the far left is the board covered in plaster. I use joint compound but there is a whole lot of different kinds of things you could cover the board with. Plaster of paris works. So does paper mache'. Caulk also works. Artist medium (gel medium) also works but is the most expensive option. I've used each of those before.

The second one from the left has the background colors. I paint a solid background. Then I add an explosion of color. Squiggles, hearts, geometeric shapes, numbers, letters, dashes and dots. Anything to give the background a lot of variety.

The second one from the right has my stencil painted. Just the basic outline. Next I'll add my detail. In the case of this picture, it'll be in black.

My last step is to outline in white. Sometimes I'll add a little white detail. For my Koishii painting I added her white spots on her toes, face and belly.

And that's that. Easy-peasy.