Catching up

It's hard to know where to start, it's been so long since I posted anything. I see that I left you good folks in Battlemountain, NV on my way to Petaluma, CA for a screen printing and gilding workshop I attended at Letterhead Sign Supply. In short I will say that it was a great class. Ron and Kristi were great hosts and I came away with some fantastic knowledge that I have yet to use but am saving for when the need arises. I'll put some photos and video together on that little trip and get it posted.

When I came back I had a job for some sandblasted signs to do for Cresto Ranch, an affiliate facility of Dunton Hot Springs here in Colorado. Go to www.duntonhotsprings.com for more information on these two places. here is a shot of three of the six signs I did for them.

These were sandblasted out of cedar. I then stained the background and brushed some 1-shot color on the raised border and lettering. They wanted an old weathered look to them which I believe I achieved. I was down there last week and saw them in place and they fit in just perfect with the tent sites and natural landscape.

I've been busy here in the shop with lots of framing. Art sales have been slow but just today sold two oils. Maybe the drought has been broken.

Over the fourth of July week I managed to get away for 8 days and took the Harley up into the Sawtooth Range in Idaho. What a great trip that was. More to come from that as I get photos and video put together.

I know there isn't much detail in this but I thought I ought to get something posted before too much time passed. I'll cover these topics in more depth as I can. It'll give you something to look forward to and now that I've tipped my hand I feel somewhat committed to get it done. I'll try to be more diligent. Stay tuned.

Snowy Day in April

Here's the view outside of the studio/gallery window this morning. I can't believe it. Sure was a surprise to wake up to this morning. I guess I'll just spend some quality time in front of the easel.

This is a little piece I just finished up yesterday. It's all gilded in reverse (on the backside of the glass) with 23kt gold. The legs of the "A" are inlaid with abalone shell and the colors are painted on the back of the glass as well. A nice addition to my collection.

Earlier this morning I spent some time "tagging" all of my posts in this blog. In otherwords, now when you are looking at a post, down at the bottom you can see the corresponding tags. If the post has a tag of "paintings" you can click on that tag and all of the posts about or with paintings will be shown. The same goes for other tags. A tag of "motorcycle travels" will give you all of the posts of my motorcycle travels.

I haven't done much in the way of "fine art" painting lately. Can't really say why except that I've been busy with frame making and gilding letters on glass. Those distractions only go so far in satisying the creative urge.

Painting is my true calling and I'm begining to feel the need to give in to it. I've got a couple of pieces that I was working on last fall that I just put aside before they were finished. Time to bring them out and get to work again.

I've been followint the plein air painting convention on Facebook and I must say that it has sure got my juices flowing again. Click here for a look at the activities. I belong to a couple of Plein Air painting groups and unfortunately I haven't been very active with them. There are several plein air painting events that are coming up this summer that I'd really like to go do but it is difficult to justify when art sales have been so slow. Of course if I remove the monetary motivation then there is no excuse not to go. Maybe I'll have to revisit the invitations I've received.

In the meantime, I think I'll refill my coffee cup and squeeze some paint out on the palette.

I'll be in touch. Thanks for stopping by.

Art Nouveau On Glass

This is a test piece I just finished. 23kt gold for the word "leaf". I used 1-shot Lettering Enamel for the colors and design. The reason it is a test piece is because I will use this same lettering and design as part of  larger lettering and a design on the windows of my shop van pictured below. The reason I choose to use an "Art Nouveau" look is because of the lines of the glass and body shape of the van. The free flowing look and curves of the art nouveau period will fit well even if the van is of a modern era. If the van had been more boxy in design and look then a differrent design for the lettering would've been more appropriate.

Looking at the van, I think you can see what I mean. I placed the sample lettering against a piece of grey mat board to simulate the tinted windows of the van. Overall I'm pleased with the look. This lettering and design was done on the front surface of the glass as opposed to the reverse side of the glass when it is clear. The technique is somewhat different as is the resulting look but because the windows are tinted I had no other option than to "surface gild" the lettering. Consequently, with both pieces of glass fully lettered by hand and included 23kt gold, and on both sides, there will be no more trips through the car wash. I'll be washing this piece of art by hand. I think the shameless self promotion of this lettering will pop nicely against the dark glass and color of the van as I travel about. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. I should add that this is all done by hand.

More Gold

Just finished up this reversed glass 23kt gold leafed framed sign to go in the front window of the shop. I did this all by hand...no computers involved here. I'm luvin' it.

28th Conclave of Gilders

Here's a short video of what we're doing in Bakersfield, CA. A bunch of really talented people and a wealth of knowledge being shared.

http://youtu.be/2JupFOIfqA4

Busy in the Studio

Well, it a long ways from Winslow Arizona. It's been awhile too. While my typical framing business has been suprisingly slow these days I've been busy laying some gold for samples of different techniques in gilding and lettering styles. I've really been enjoying this time to get caught up on a number of things. Here is an example of my latest...

This is a vintage "S"  23 kt gold gilded in reverse on a piece of glass. It is two toned, in that I gilded part of the letter with a "bright" watergilded technique and then leafed the duller, matted look with a reverse oil gilded process, thereby giving the two toned look. All done by hand. Classic. I love it. I'm thinking that these might make for a special Christmas gift...a personalized monogram in the letter of your choice.

Also gilded my shop address numerals on the transom glass above the doors the other day.

Hard to see the burnished reflection of the gold in this shot. It looks like a matte gilding but trust me, it is watergilded bright. Again 23kt gold gilded in reverse on the glass with a black outline.

Although the numbers don't show up as well in this photo, the bright reflective properties of the gold are more apparent.

I've been getting these sample photos together because after Christmass I'm taking this lettering, painted and gilded, on the road to businesses in the area. I've become absolutely infatuated with this and lovin' it.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Antiqued mirrors have become the latest trend in home decor, from small decorator mirrors to larger more functional mirrors. This is a 23kt gold hand leafed mirror I just finished, with added "imperfections" for that "old" look. It is gilded on the back of the glass creating a warm reflective front reflection. I found the perfect moulding for the frame with just the right amount of distressing. Because of the unique reflective properties of the mirror and the challenges of photographing it, this photo has the frame in focus.

This photo has the mirror in focus. There are many sizes and finishes available. "Custom made" is the key wording. This particular mirror is 9x12 and framed like this is $195.

New Work

This is a new piece I just recently finished. It was started at a workshop I attended last month in Boise, Idaho with Noel Weber and John Studden, two masters of the art of reversed gold on glass and lettering. Everything was done in reverse on the glass, hence the term "reverse gilding and painting on glass". 23kt and 18kt gold were used along with some abalone shell inlays in the legs of the "A" and the "L". There is a small discalimer under my name that says "is not an"...don't want to get into trouble you know :)

This shot shows some of the detail work. Centers of the letters are 18kt gold in a matte, outlined in 23kt burnished gold.

A detail shot of the "A". Again the centers of the letters are 18kt gold in a matte finish and the outline is 23kt burnished gold with inlays of abalone shell in the legs of the "A".

Another detail shot of the fancy script and corner detail done in 23kt burnished gold.

Gold Leaf

Working with gold is such a joy. Several years ago I began gold leafing frames for myself, some artist friends and customers. While the demand isn't what it used to be, I still do some from time to time. Recently there has been a little ralley and I've had the opportunity to get into it again.

Gilding with gold dates back to the begining of time. My experience has largely been applying gold leaf to frames and an occasionally on glass or mirrors. Last year I did a mirror with some sandblasting, handlettering and gold leafing. I really enjoyed doing it and was pleased with the result.

With that in mind, I am planning on doing more gold work, primarily on glass and mirrors. I am starting a project doing monograms in gold on glass. My first one will be the letter "S" which is appropriate because it is my initial and also the initial for the name of my studio. Current plan is to gild the letter in gold in a reverse glass method  (which is nothing more than doing it in reverse on the back of the glass) and outline it in black. Clean, simple and elegant. Ultimately I would like to do each letter of the alphabet with each letter in a different font. The size I am going to work with is a 12" square piece of glass with each letter appropriately placed.

Although the first letter will be simple, I will gradually increase the complexity of the letters not only in design but also with sandblasting, glue chipping and inlaying with mother of pearl and or abalone shell.

Should be fun. I'll keep you posted.

The "Pony Express Lounge" mirror

This is a 20x24 handpainted and gilded mirror I recently finished for my sister. The "frosted" areas are actually sandblasted. "Pony" is done in a 23kt gold leaf and outlined in black. The block behind "Express" and the perimiter line is airbrushed. The words Express" and "Lounge" are hand lettered with One Shot Lettering Enamel.

Although I used to do a fair amount of hand lettered signage back in the day and work on glass, this is the first mirror I've done. I really liked the way it turned out and will do more. I want to do some of those old vintage style mirrors and glass work. There are some great artists doing that today and I hope to learn more about it. Look for more.

One of these images is photographed with the reflective properties of the mirror blacked out to see the design better. The other shows the mirror as it would usually look.