If you have a projector – something that is becoming more common these days, perhaps even on your phone – then you can convert a photo into a painting in an evening. Here is a run-down of what I did to make my dad’s secret Santa present this year:

I chose a photo I thought my dad would like: it’s a shot taken this past summer of him rowing me and Jax during our stay in Door County.

I then emailed the photo to Seth so that he could open the attachment and view the photo on the projector phone. I set up a canvas and lined up the projector’s beam so that what hit the canvas was how I wanted the final image to appear.

Then I traced the main shapes. It helps to squint to see the contrast and shapes. It’s not just about objects, but the color variations in the water and trees, too.

Using this pencil sketch as a guide, I colored in the image with oil pastels, using the original photo as a reference point.

I used a lot of blue.

This is what it looked like after just an hour. Voila!