Cosmos Wall Art - a Tribute to Stephen Hawking

How's it going guys? This time I'm here with a wonderful piece of art. If you're looking for something that is related to the cosmos, it cannot be complete without Stephen Hawking in it. Almost everyone of you have heard of the news that our beloved Professor Stephen Hawking had passed away a less than a month ago. Really sorry for the saddening sentence at the beginning of the instructable.

So it happened that I was remembering him after seeing a series narrated by him on TV and was shocked by his genius capabilities. If you want to watch it too, please mention it in the comments and I'll provide the YouTube link.

News apart, let's get to the topic. I actually wanted to make a piece of art as a tribute to Prof. Hawking. I'm a self taught artist and making art is a passion to me, not my profession. I was actually bored of those black and white portraits (which I drew :-p) and wanted to make something different. So ready to roll? Let's begin!!

To make this art you'll need,

Watercolor papers

Watercolors/poster colours

Pencil and eraser

Weights (I used magnets)

Paint brushes

Sponge

Correction pen (optional)

Scissors

Step 1: Making the Stencil

Here, as you can see, I'm busy with the basic outlines. Trust me, it takes a lot of patience to get it right. So, the easy way is to download the PDF from the link below and take a printout of it. Paste it on a chart paper with evenly spread glue. Then you may cut along the edges with a pair of scissors.

Download the stencil here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ydABOiRHGNVxQgA0cV9RTIUc0RflPj66/view?usp=drivesdk

Now if you're like me and want to make sure that the art is completely of your own, you can directly draw the image from your PC/smartphone rather than taking a printout. It's better to use some sort of hard sheet like a chart paper. Frankly, you don't need to be an artist to make art. Its as easy as baking a cake and as fun as playing with kids!

Fine, so we were drawing. Make sure to draw continuous lines so that it is easy to cut it out. When you're cutting, it's better to use a paper cutter because it results in a perfect shape. However scissors should work fine too. Make sure to keep it neat since this will decide how your final artwork will look. All done? Let's move to the next step

Step 2: Making the Silhouette

Here I'm setting up the 'stencil' for painting the background. As you can see, I'm using the inner part of the drawing. You can also use the outer part. It will also look good. It's up to you.

I would suggest you to use the inner part as it would look cleaner.

In the next image, I've placed some weights to make sure the stencil doesn't move while I'm applying the paint. I had found some old donut magnets lying around which were perfect for the job. Find something which you don't mind getting covered with paint for the weights. You'll know the reason in the next steps.

Step 3: Stephen Hawking, on the Canvas!!

Now we shall start painting. Make sure to keep the paper on some old newspapers because it's going to get messy. You may wear an old apron if you feel like. But I don't think you will need it. All fine, let's start to bring the cosmos on the paper!

Take a sponge and dip it on some black paint. Now run it around your stencil. Do it carefully taking care not to apply any paint under the stencil. Use less amount of water with the paint (by less I mean VERY LESS) so that it doesn't become runny and flow wherever you don't want it to flow. Make sure that the stencil doesn't move while you're painting. Since I've used magnets, I found that they slightly get attracted to granite. This helped me a lot to keep my stencil stationary since I used a granite table. After you're done painting, slowly lift the stencil. Oh yes, before you do that, wash your hands so that the stains of black paint on your hand don't ruin the silhouette.

Hmm... looks good to me (I actually mean awesome, just trying to be formal ^_^) add some extra details with a correction pen if you feel like.
Now to make the background (yay!)

Step 4: Making the Background

This is a small and easy step. Just take three paint brushes, dab two of them in dark blue and purple watercolor/poster paint. Take the third brush and dip it in water. Run it around the paper so that the paper becomes really wet.

Now here's the fun part. Take the previous two brushes and just gently touch its tips at different places on the wet paper. What you'll obtain is a collection of wonderful designs that spreads itself all over the paper. Fun right? Keep doing it until you get your desired designs. If you're using poster colours (like me) then it's a good idea to use some water along with the paint to make it runny. Watercolors would be a good option too.

Step 5: The Cosmos Is Waiting for Final Touchups

Now here comes the messy part. Trust me this one's going to be more fun than the previous step. Dip two of your fingers in violet paint and sprinkle it around the pair. Repeat the same with red and white paint. This gives your artwork a stunning effect. The white paint actually looks like starts! The cosmos have arrived on the canvas!! Now we have one last thing to do.

Step 6: Frame It!

After everything dries, frame your artwork and let the cosmos pull in visitors towards the wall! Just look at that thing, it's beautiful. Why don't you give it a try too?
Fine guys thanks a lot for viewing my instructable. I need to go and clean up the mess in my workspace, so good bye and yes, please vote my art for the contest. Thanks again, and see ya...