Metal embossing 2

This is my second effort with embossing, this time using a piece of aluminum. It has a brighter appearance but is slightly more difficult to work with than the pewter. For this one I filled in the background with some lines... looks a bit more finished.

I tried the same image on copper but if was a dismal failure. I poked the tool through the sheet several times. Not because it’s soft. In fact it’s so much tougher, I was using a great deal of strength to manipulate it... occasionally too much. Anyway that piece was a write off so I just used it to experiment with the tools. I’ll probably focus on pewter and aluminum for the future pieces.

Metal embossing

My clever wife bought me a set of metal embossing tools for Christmas. So guess what I’ve been doing over the holidays? My first effort is above. It’s a 6" x 6" piece of tin-coated pewter, extremely soft and easy to work with (but also easy to scratch and puncture). I used one of my tree doodles as the subject. Overall, I was happy with the result. When it was finished I filled the void in the back with caulking (for structural support). Then mounted it on a 12" x 12” square of plywood which I painted black and varnished.

There are various metals in the set. My plan is to do the same subject with each metal. Last night I did an aluminum version. Today I’ll try out the copper. Next phase of the experiment will be to acquire and test out some metal finishes to see what I can do with patina.

Orwell portrait

A recent portrait of George Orwell I did for a friend of mine who is collecting portraits of inspiring people.

SOLD

Merry Christmas!

After a lengthy day of stuffing my gullet with turkey and Christmas spirits with family and friends, my mind is wandering to the next painting(s). I thought I’d post this recent commission... a request for a Mickey Mantle painting. I had a lot of fun making it and was happy with the outcome (as was the recipient, I’m told). I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! Looking forward to starting some new projects in the next few days.

“Mickey”
Oil on Canvas
24" x 24”

SOLD

Open Skies #1

This is the first Open Skies painting I started last month. It may look innocent enough but it was an obstinate little beast to paint.

The first three of my (intended) series of 10 skies are in the shop now at $80 by the each.

I said “intended”, by the way, because 10 seems far away. If I don’t make it, I place the blame squarely on the shoulders of this rapscallion. (#1, I’m looking at you)

Santa’s got issues

My cartoon for this month’s Northeast Avalon Times (top) and a surly Santa from my iPad.

Open Skies #3

The third in my ongoing Open Skies series. I didn’t use any mediums this time... just paint, au naturale. Love the creamy texture. Though I’m sure it’ll be a week or more before it dries. Tried to focus on well-defined colour and shape for this dense bank of cloud.

Will start posting these to the shop soon.

Oil on plywood
12” x 12"

Open Skies #2

Finished the second of my series of 10 skylines. This one is based on a photo by Chris Hammond. Much happier with this one than the current state of the first one... clearly need to revisit it.

In other painting news I have two commission pieces underway. One big, one small. The big one was giving me tremendous grief for quite some time but we found common ground a few days ago and are getting along much better now.

Sculpey face

I found a few small blocks of Sculpey in the house.... bought them about 15 years ago and forgot about them. Got them next the couch in the TV room now so when I’m baffed out for the evening, I play around with it. Make a face, crush, repeat. Haven’t tried baking any of them yet.