Almost everthing I work is well-dried timber; it sits in the attic of the shed for a year or two before I get to it. They’re usually finished with either wax or friction polish.
I’ve only been turning since last December, but none of my finished work has blown up so far.
Here’s a little one I did during a couple of warm-up sessions, 6"X8", of the mountains near the Chiricahua National Monument. This is out past the backyard of an acquaintance who works there in the summers. I caught this image while couchsurfing, bicycling my way across the US about 3 years ago. The same guy who owns the lounging cat I posted waaaaay upthread. If I remember correctly, this is dawn, looking south while standing on his backyard wall.
I was going to sell it for $150, but I couldn’t sufficiently fix the corner dings (a little frame will cover them just fine), so if anyone wants to make an offer, I’ll make a deal.
I really need some groceries, cat food, turpenoid, you name it (I’m down to half a jar o’ peanut butter, and no bread).
It’s also a perfect size for a cubicle drone who doesn’t have windows, for a dreamy escape…
Note: Try stepping back from your monitor to find the best vantage point. In person, convergence occurs at about 4-5 feet.
Next up: some sort of gum tree. No idea what, it came from my slightly eccentric uncle who probably spotted it by the side of the road or something.
Good hard timber, but a bit prone to cracks.
this is all-around awesome, and including the dog as beastboy is brilliant
For the record, I couldn’t find a safe and ethical way of painting the dog green so that’s just photoshop. However, my wife really did learn how to harness cosmic energy to release starfire bursts from her fists.
Mow the lawn without a grass catcher, and let the dog roll around in the clippings? Food coloring?
Are you taking commissions?
”I don’t know what kind of example he’s setting," Dornheim said. “The other day, he picked up Emmy after school because I had a meeting. When he dropped her off after a few hours at his ramshackle house, Emmy said he let her paint his dog blue. Imagine it! Painting a dog! So what if it was just food coloring and it’ll wash out? They’re painting an animal!”
When I was a lot younger, I was on a ship that stayed in an anchorage where the fishing was really good. There were always people on the stern fishing. On a regular basis, seagulls and other birds would divebomb the bait and get stuck. We always untangled and de-hooked them carefully, and sent them on their way. Eventually, someone decided to start numbering the birds as they were released, to see if it was the same group.
We used a stencil set and an alcohol-based leather dye, which seemed to work well, and did not inhibit the insulating, weight, or aerodynamic properties of the feathers. It was also more or less permanent. It turns out that there were repeat customers. And a number of the birds stayed with us for quite a while.
And no, I would not advocate doing such things now.
Certainly! I have a short list of 4 right now, but if I can feed myself/cats and get turpenoid, my slate should be clear well before Turkey Day. A deposit can guarantee your place in line.
I’m finishing #1 in a day or so, and should be done with #2 by the middle of next week. Aside from supplies, things are looking up, and I’m humming along at a good pace.
Plus, with a commission, you have leeway on choice of size, rather than only what I have painted already. I have a few nice images from my travels, if landscape/cityscape is your style.
Addendum: I’ve been trying to get over a financial hurdle that would free me up to open a few other avenues to income. If I could make $400-$500 in sales (only 1 to 3 pieces) for the immediate future, it would be much better than just having some food for a while.
From what I could hear from inside the rear of the costume, it was a hit tonight. The dino ate a lot of candy.
Plattery dishy bowly thing coming along nicely:
And another bowl to go with it:
(just filling some cracks, not a blown rim)
I was showing your pictures to my girlfriend. She was super impressed! She really likes costumes and she’s desperate to have me do something like this with her next year. You did a great job!
