Changing the look of eye screws

I like to take new eye screws and give them a tarnished and old appearance. It is a simple process of holding an eye screw with needle nose pliers and heating the eye end of the screw with my trusty pen torch till it goes dark and even red hot. Then I dip it in cold water to cool it down. I usually rub the cooled down piece with a paper towel to dry it and it give it a slight polish.

Depending on the metal the look is either a dull gray or a blackish color like the one on the right in the picture.

The butane torch by HONEST.

Priming surfaces

Starting a new assemblage box by painting a white primer coat. I’m being more vigorous with brushing this one. After this primer coat dries I will paint the actual colors using a brush and spreader card.

This is what you get when you hold the camera in one hand and brush with the other. At least I have the option of saying “cheese” to snap the image instead of using a finger or thumb.

A controlled still posed shot.

The finished primer coat on the inside and outside of the box.

Casting halves of bottles

I made a mold of a small bottle and cut it in half and have been casting these halves of bottles to use in a piece. I am using Durham’s Rock Hard Putty as the casting medium. It sets up very rock hard as the product name implies. To make sure they do hold up I inserted a piece of bamboo skewer into the plaster while still wet and pliable. I’m not sure what else I’m going to do to them. Stay tuned.

This is Clementine

Or at least it will be a version of Clementine the cat.

This is the initial drawing with colors quickly filled. I will rework the colors as the painting progresses.

How I start a picture

I thought I would show a picture of how I start a digital painting.

I start out by drawing black outlines of objects and shapes in the picture then quickly add flat colors to the shapes. These colors are starting points that I will add textures to and change colors by painting over them or refilling them with other colors.

Inspiration with some help from a library

Salt Lake County has a great library system as does the Salt Lake City Library system. I checked out a few books to read and look at. Since I don’t have an opportunity to see much art in person that I am interested in this will have to be the next best thing as well as what is available online.

All these books in the picture below are inspiring in various areas. The one titled Hand-In-Hand is particularly inspiring in that a married couple who were faithful and devoted to each other were able to work together successfully and stay married. And they produced fabulous products.

The older books about Robert Motherwell, Frank Stella, and Sonia Delaunay are from the Salt Lake City main library. The one titled Hand-in-Hand is from the Salt Lake County Library system and is one I requested be purchased.

Tools: Galaxy Tab S7

When it comes to digital work I use a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 tablet with S-Pen. I use Infinite Painter for Android by Infinite Studio. I also have a vector app called Infinite Designer also by Infinite Studio but I don’t use it much these days except for the occasional quick idea drawing.

Galaxy Tab S7 with S-Pen. I have the Infinite Painter launch screen open that allows me to choose current and recent projects I have been working on. From here I can also see past projects and create a new project.

The Cayucos Tiles Panels

During 2021 I created a few Cayucos Tile pieces. Here are two images of the same Cayucos Tiles No. 2 panel. The first image shows how I divided the panel into sections using green lines to illustrate.

I made an outline drawing in Inkscape that I used for measuring the various tiles for the panel. The green lines show the shapes of the individual tiles. I cut each shape from tissue paper then painted each piece of paper with multiple layers of paint using paper stencils and plastic cards to mask and spread the paint. After the painted tiles were dry I brushed thinned wood glue on the back of each tile and adhered each one to the panel starting at the top left corner working across and down to lower right corner. I used a rubber brayer to smooth and press each tile in place. After the glued tiles were set I removed any over hanging edges with a sanding block and stamped my signature mark in the lower right corner with metal letter punches. To finish the panel I brushed a couple of coats of UV varnish to help protect the surface.

An unobstructed view of the 12 x 12 inch panel. I also added my signature with the title, location and date on the back of the panel with a pencil, sometimes with a pen.

A closeup showing the texture of the paint and wrinkles of the paper.

Painted Paper Pulloffs

I wanted to try a different technique to create the Rock. I cut smaller shapes from the larger Rock shape then I painted the reverse side of a piece and quickly laid the piece on the surface and lightly tapped it down then pulled it off before it could dry. I added more paint to the pulled off piece and laid it back down. This gave me a mottled and uneven texture. The paint is a blend of gray blue, white, and a little black acrylic paint.

To see the finished painting click here to go to the recent works page.