Contemporary Art

The contemporary Art piece is complete! 

I love the effects of the gold leaf under enamel and must say it looks a lot better in person.  This creation will be offered immediately on Etsy along with the Lion portrait I recently finished. 

These roots intruige me still but I have no idea what I shall call them.  I supposse I designed it to be a sort of coffee table decoration or mantle piece.  Some people may think it rather dumb... but I like them. 

They're for someone out there in this world. 

Contemporary Art?

I am not a fan of the contemporary art style.  I am a realist and I also like to dabble in impressionism when the subject calls for it.  I love to walk through the woods and on some occassions I bring home water-carved pieces of wood.  Some of this wood is pine and I do not like to work with pine.  However, once I dug up what I thought was a rubber chew toy, or a child's plaything out of the mud.  It turns out they are roots of some kind.  If you stand back and let them lay in the grass they tend to remind you of something a neighborhood dog might have left behind.  But other than that they impress me.  The lumps, the bumps.  

The wood is very very light and porous so I have sealed it to strengthen it as I work.  Over the next few days I shall wait for the inspiration on just how to complement these woodpieces.  I already have in mind to use copper, turqoise, and perhaps even fishscales.  This will be a very interesting project.  I don't even know what to call it.  

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Loon Commission Compeleted...well, Almost

I suppose with Facebook it has been hard to post as many pictures to my blog as I have to Facebook but here is an update nonetheless. 

The work is complete but this is the most updated picture I have been able to upload.  I have added a log in the background and more grass since then and signed it with my pyrocreation. 

I hope that Anna will be very pleased with the outcome and I will have one satisfied commission client.  I would not have burned a Loon otherwise.  Commissions force me to excersise, to branch out and burn something special. 

I was approached on Etsy by a kind member of my community who announced that a church in my area was hosting a Pre-Independance Day festival in which I could open a booth and sell some of my work.  I was excited and hope someday to do that, however, the cost was $50 dollars a booth and I hardly have enough to sell for it to be worth my while.  However, the thought appealed to me and I hope that one day I will be able to attend. 

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Loon Commission update

I found the perfect piece of basswood for the Loon I have been commissioned to do and have started working on it already.  Birds are always exciting and I'm loving the way it is turning out so far.  The picture says it all. 

I would normally start with the beak and eyes but since I have my line drawer hooked into the machine I decided to work on the feathering first.  The shading detail done with the ronded skew will be done later. 

I hope to invest in more pen tips in the very near future but I'm still working to pay off my workhorse.  The two tips I have are fairly versatile so they'll work for a long while yet.  I'm so excited to see the detail I'm able to accomplish with my Optima pens and burner.  It is truly the best. 

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Loon Commission and Lion update

       I am proud to announce that I have recently been commissioned to burn a Common Loon portrait.  Birds are always exciting to do and I love commissions because they encourage me to burn a variety of subjects in a variety of styles.  It's like being forced to exercise. 

       Since the temperature outdoors is always rocketing up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit I find alot of time to burn the Lion portrait.  I expect it to be done soon after my birthday at the end of the week.  While I would love to swim and burn away my summer I must find a "real" job, as my family puts it.  So that is what I am also doing.  I am employed with the job of...job hunting.  When I do land myself a small career my art will be put to the side.  But that does not mean that I will not be burning every spare moment I have. 

       Facebook has caused my freqent blog posts to become less frequent but I assure you that I will continue to post as often as I can.  And I hope to keep all of my followers fed with good pictures of steady progress on my latest burnings.  I'd hate to be an artist who simply has nothing to show after a month's time. 

      

       I wish I knew how to land a publisher for prints because as I've stated before I want to create burnings on large pieces of basswood that I can create giclee prints of.  I don't have a high quality camera to take my own photographs of the work so unless I can borrow a relatives camera I will need to find a publisher who can scan the work.  I hope it all works out.  So I will be very busy this summer. 

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Lion Portrait

        I've never done very well with felines and canines but I've never given up trying.  After much consideration one basswood round seemed to be asking for an African lion and I believe that will be my next project.  He is already laid out on the wood and I hope to begin burning today, however I caught a cold over Memorial weekend so the past too days I didn't feel like working much, especially over a smoking iron when my nose is and eyes were already irritated. 

        I love working with bark on wood slabs however I feel that once I clear out the last few I have I will only use them for custom orders.  I hope to find a publisher to make giclee prints of my work so that I wont have to burn anything more than twice.  I want to work more with basswood slabs for large pieces such as the cowboy at the cross that I hope to start at the end of the summer. 

        My biggest setback with my work is the perspective.  I feel that I have no talent for unique angles, settings, or portrayals of subjects.  I hope that within a short time I can work some uniqeness into my protrayal of wildlife, people, and whatever else I burn.  Thanks for coming, don't forget to drop a comment and feel free to ask any questions.  Also, take a look at my facebook page!