Gypsy Spelling’s innovative pencil on timber guitar designs usually feature at the Melbourne Guitar Show but this weekend marks a new milestone.
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For the first time he will have a design on display at the National Association of Music Merchants Show (NAMM) in California.
Mr Spelling who has lived at Warrnambool for the past 14 years said he was both excited and nervous for the big event in the United States.
“It’s the first time pencil on guitar has been shown at NAMM,” he said.
“It’s basically the biggest show in the world for guitars.”
Mr Spelling completed a “Knights Crusade” image in pencil on the guitar which was produced by Ormsby Guitars based in Western Australia.
The drawing took three days but the project was two years in the making.
It happened after Mr Spelling was asked to come up with an action-packed design by the Ormsby team.
The NAMM Show is an opportunity for music, sound and event technology communities to unite and features more than 7,000 brands, cutting-edge industry education, as well as exclusive special events, concerts and experiences.
Mr Spelling owns Double Bass Tattoo which specialises in custom pencil drawings, or ‘tattoos’, on instruments.
He has a 12-week lease on Liebig Street as part of the Shop in a Box 3280 project which helps promote start-ups and entrepreneurs.
The shop is called the Drawing Room and Gallery and is open until the end of February.
Mr Spelling said he had received positive feedback from the community about the shop and encouraged people to stop by for one of his classes.
“Everyday we’ve got people walking through,” he said.
He said he started using pencil on timber about a decade ago.
“I loved the way the colours showed on different grains,” he said.
Mr Spelling will teach a pencil on guitar course in Melbourne this year.
