A Blank Wood Plate Transformed into a Wood Picture, Hand Painted With Garfield and Odie:

This is my first home decor project of the year (for my home, that is). This wood plate was purchased at a Painting Convention in Las Vegas several years ago. For the last few years I’ve been busy painting other stuff to sell and to give away as gifts. This year I am focusing on completing the projects for my home and then from there we shall see what I do next. So for the first project of the year I’d like to present my Garfield and Odie Picture that is now hanging happily on my office wall!

This month I decided to paint this wood plate which reminds me of my younger years, as Garfield was my favorite comic growing up. I had a Garfield poster (with this comic) on my wall, and over the years it got old and I wanted to do something with the comic and put it on something that would last for many many years….so I chose to paint it on wood.

The first thing I did was install a picture hanger on the back of the plate to make sure I could hang it on my wall. I then painted the backside two coats of black paint. To cheat and make it easy, I had traced (from the poster) and colored the design onto thin tissue paper (or drawing paper–can’t remember what the name of this paper is, but it’s very thin and see through), and from there I traced it onto the plate with a pencil using carbon paper underneath so I would line up the image just right onto the plate. Carbon paper is now called “Transfer” paper, but this is real carbon paper I had in storage in my file cabinet from years ago. It’s good to be able to put it to use after all these years.

I painted the background an antique white which almost looks ivory. Then I filled in the Garfield and Odie images with their appropriate colors. After filling in the colors, I outlined the images with black paint and filled in Garfield’s strips. I have to say, it was a very fun project and cheating cut my time down in half in that I didn’t have to “draw” the design onto the plate. I am very pleased with how it all came out!

After I gave the plate time to dry, I then sprayed several coats of clear acrylic sealer on both sides so it would have that glossy look. It also seals the paint into the wood so it won’t be ruined with water, moisture or dirt.

To paint on wood, use acrylic paints. I didn’t have orange paint so I opted to mix yellow and red paint together. So, for less than $20 I have a new art piece and picture for my wall and right now it is hanging in my office/craft room.

Click pictures to enlarge so you can see the details…

Garfield and Odie Wood Plate Picture Hand Painted

Garfield and Odie Wood Plate Picture Hand Painted (UP CLOSE VIEW)