sk8b0rd

Some weeks ago, I accepted a skateboard deck from the Vault of Midnight comic shop here in Ann Arbor with the understanding that:

1.)  I would use what artistic abilities I have at my disposal to decorate it, so that
2.)  It would be auctioned or sold in a charity event to raise money for the planned Ann Arbor skate park and
3.)  It should be done by the end of April.

So, as of last Monday, the 19th of April, I'd not started.  I was still trying to figure-out how best to attach watercolor paper to a surface as irregular and rigid as a wood-laminate skateboard deck.

As I may have mentioned before, I've not been down with the acrylics scene since I ran with some during my high school days.  We lived fast and loved hard in those frenzied, halcyon days of glistening youth.  But I grew up, putting aside the playthings of children and taking up the tools of men.  But watercolor, my preferred medium since, has proven to be not without her limitations, God bless her.  Not least of which is the hard, cruel fact that she needs-must be confined to dried pulp and will not readily take to finished wooden surfaces.

I bought some acrylics last week (200ml tubes of Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, Cobalt Blue, Titanium White, Burnt Umber, and Mars Black) and a super cheap "Bag O' Brushes."  I sanded both sides of the deck and decided to paint just the bottom.  I had also purchased some Gesso...but ended-up not needing it.

Final results:

Hopefully my entry is one of the three that are selected to go to auction.  All others (I think there are 50 total) will be sold in a silent auction with "Buy it Now"-prices attached.  Apparently, the prices are still being discussed.  The event will be held on May 15th and I'll be forced to miss it because I'll be taking a trip to New York with Elin.

Ella Baker House T-shirt design

Original concept

Print preview

"917" and "923" are the street addresses of our two houses, which are separated by an enormous Quercus rubra (Red oak) with a tire swing.  The stag and the ringtail are representative of the types of wildlife we can expect to see lounging around our neighborhood.  Our house is blue, hence the shirt color.

Portrait

...of nobody in particular.  I hope to return to this theme and style in the future.  I'm actually quite busy right now working on little projects here and there for friends (two t-shirt designs and a birthday gift for a friend to give to his gf).  I'm getting compensated for one piece.

Form last week.

The colors are so-so in this pic.  I kinda like the composition, though.

2nd life for shoddy IKEA furniture (continued)

I like the basic idea here.  I think I'll return to it someday.

!UPDATE!

Yesterday one of Elin's colleagues bought this piece and took it home. Thanks, Dee. I'm so glad you like it! :-D

2nd life for shoddy IKEA furniture

This is a panel from a dresser I bought from a guy on craigslist.  The dresser cost about $5...which came out to about $1/day until it finally broke.  Oh well, at least I'm putting the materials to use.  This was done in Sharpie marker.  I really like the way the wood grain and drawings interact on this one.  I have three other panels from the dresser and they each have unique wood patterns that I've had fun experimenting with.  

The ships are modeled after those used by the vikings; I kinda like how they turned-out.     

First painting of March

"Billy George Jr."

I like how this turned-out, mostly.  I'm really beginning to appreciate the difference that good watercolor paper can make.  When I was in Iceland, Elin's dad, Tryggvi, introduced me to watercolor blocks.  I came home and picked-up an arches block (20 sheets, 140 Kb, cold-pressed, 9.5x12).  I am so happy with it!  No taping, no enormous boards...all I have to is run my Opinel around the edge when I'm finished.

The painting is unofficially named after a co-worker in the City of Ann Arbor.  Who happens to be an extremely enthusiastic vegetarian.