Popular Post Denette Posted June 20, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted June 20, 2017 While waiting on my Amazon order to arrive so I can finish my real project, I decided to finally make use of the growing mass of poplar scrap in my shop. I saw this project on Pinterest: And thought I could do one better. I designed my own mural on paper, then refined it in SketchUp, channeling my inner Bob Ross, and came up with this: I'll be adding colors in with something semi-translucent. Probably watered-down acrylic paint or tempera paint, or something similar, I'm not super sure yet. Milk paint has crossed my mind, but this is a super-low-budget project. I'm kind of making it an exercise in making something out of nothing. But it will basically be a tree on a cliff on the left, overlooking the sea and sky with a mountain range and tree line in the distance on the right. The horizontal strips are 1" wide, and the diagonal strips are a very odd fraction in the neighborhood of ¾". That meant that my stash of remnants from rip cuts could be put to good use. Yesterday I drew up my design, resawed, ripped, planed, and just generally prepared all my stock. I picked up a sheet of 2'x4' ¼" lauan from Lowe's (supposedly ethically sourced) to use as a substrate, and got a fresh container of Loctite CA glue because that seems like the simplest way to attach the small mosaic pieces. Today I cut out the hundreds of small pieces and arranged them on the plywood. It took most of the afternoon, but I made it to a satisfying first draft of the layout! This evening my wife and I will make a project of painting each piece individually. We will see if it all gets finished tonight or not. I know it's not fine woodworking, but it sure beats throwing it in the fire pit! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Miller Posted June 20, 2017 Report Share Posted June 20, 2017 Damnit! I just got rid of all my scraps! This looks awesome! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted June 20, 2017 Report Share Posted June 20, 2017 26 minutes ago, Denette said: afternoon That would have taken me much longer! I like the big tree.. It's your world... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted June 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2017 That would have taken me much longer! I like the big tree.. It's your world... I wasn't exactly striving for perfection, haha. Also, I exaggerated earlier. 165 pieces. Not hundreds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonPacific Posted June 20, 2017 Report Share Posted June 20, 2017 As an alternative to paint, and in keeping with the pinterest theme, I've had decent luck playing around with household food coloring on Poplar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted June 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2017 As an alternative to paint, and in keeping with the pinterest theme, I've had decent luck playing around with household food coloring on Poplar. Interesting! Yeah, whatever I do I want to still see the grain. That might work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted June 20, 2017 Report Share Posted June 20, 2017 RIT fabric dye works well for such as this, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 Colored pencil and spread with a damp brush 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rodger. Posted June 21, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 It's a happy little tree... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RHASG Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 TransTint if you have a vendor that carries it close by would be a great choice for this. You can carry the color tint easily and they have all sorts of options. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Denette Posted June 21, 2017 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 Keeping with the Bob Ross spirit, I'm doing wet-on-wet painting to color the pieces. That means that you wet the surface (in the case of acrylics, with water) then get just the tiniest amount of color on the brush and work the paint into the wet area. I'm pleased with the results. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Coop Posted June 21, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 I'll be banned from here for several days I know, but I really liked the pineterest example and like yours even better. You have a lot more patience than I ever will. Looking good dude! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 wow this is a pretty cool little project! How did you go about getting the sizing and angles for this? would have been cool to see some cutting and your cut list haha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted June 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 wow this is a pretty cool little project! How did you go about getting the sizing and angles for this? would have been cool to see some cutting and your cut list haha Thanks! It was actually very simple. The entire thing is on a 1"X1" grid, and all the horizontal strips are 1" wide. The angles are all 45°, and the pieces that run diagonally are just whatever the width was that fits diagonally on a 1"X1" grid. The strips in line with the grid were simple, all in even increments of 1". The diagonal pieces were less simple. Original drawing, SketchUp render, and cut list: Cut list detail: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonPacific Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 Looking forward to seeing the finished piece, great work so far. Also, very cute puppy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted June 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 Super speedy update! Finished painting. Decided to leave the sky unpainted to keep the wood grain more prominent. About to start gluing pieces on! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted June 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 It's done and now on the wall! I attached it to the plywood with loctite, and when that ran out I used hot glue. I had to use a block plane on a lot of the pieces to get it all to go together - the diagonal pieces were all just a fraction oversize, and cumulative error started to add up. Once everything was glued down I trimmed the edges of the plywood, cut a frame from some rough poplar and screwed is on from the back, and freehanded a keyhole router bit to make a couple points to hang it from. The finish is a healthy two coats of spray shellac over the paint and everything. As construction goes, it's pretty craptastic - my wife says rustic, haha! But it looks decent, and that's all you really need in wall art. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted June 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 Of course, the best part is that people who don't care about a blind mitered dovetail joint and the hours and hours of practice and patience that went into the casework of my serious project - those people are gaga over my scrap wood, pooped out in two days, shabby-chic, rustic piece of Pinterest fodder. Lol. This thing is getting a much better response on Facebook and Instagram than my serious work. I mean, the appreciation is nice, I just feel like people don't know quality when they see it. I'm not upset that they like this thing, just a little confused that they aren't as excited about another piece that is, to me, so obviously superior. Oh well! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted June 24, 2017 Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 8 minutes ago, Denette said: Of course, the best part is that people who don't care about a blind mitered dovetail joint and the hours and hours of practice and patience that went into the casework of my serious project - those people are gaga over my scrap wood, pooped out in two days, shabby-chic, rustic piece of Pinterest fodder. Lol. This thing is getting a much better response on Facebook and Instagram than my serious work. Bah, get used to that. My worst one was when I finished the Bed for Junior the same month as a batch of bandsaw reindeer a la @Llama (right around Christmas)...guess which one got all the oohs and ahhs? Yeah, screw the bed...check out these freaking reindeer! Made me sick. The mosaic is cool man. I can't get on board with the paint but the concept is neat. I really need to do a few of these "art" projects, because the walls in our house are desperate for some interest. I need a couple BIG pieces, and something like this would be perfect. You've got me thinking. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted June 24, 2017 Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 7 minutes ago, Eric. said: Bah, get used to that. My worst one was when I finished the Bed for Junior the same month as a batch of bandsaw reindeer a la @Llama (right around Christmas)...guess which one got all the oohs and ahhs? Yeah, screw the bed...check out these freaking reindeer! Made me sick. Yep... Same has happened to me though... Nobody gives a damn about my serious work, but reindeer/giraffe/cow/bear/bird... you name it... I sold those cows for so much money. Makes me not want to make serious furniture again. I can knock out reindeer so quickly now, the thrill is gone. But wow, they sell for a good amount. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye Posted June 24, 2017 Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 Denette, somehow I missed this thread until now. What a really cool piece of art you made. I think in the paint works in this situation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted June 24, 2017 Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 That's a nice addition to the wall. The next project to top it will be the Mona Lisa made from matchsticks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted June 24, 2017 Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 It looks kinda " cubist " . Make sure you name it and say it was inspired by...... they eat that crap up ! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted June 24, 2017 Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 That definitely is an interesting idea. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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