Red Herring

Suddenly, something's a little fishy about this design. Sometimes I start with an orientation in mind, in this case a landscape. Along the way, there arrives a point where it starts to look better as a portrait (or vice versa).  The turquoise is a mix of three blues that just may have to be used again, probably with an ebony under stain and a hint of metallic.

Because of the abstraction, I'm not sure this qualifies as a visual pun, but it is what it is, a herringbone design in red. Some of the bricks had a tiny amount of red and yellow already on them, so I painted the rest to match. The turquoise is a mix of three blues that just may have to be used again, probably with an ebony under stain and a hint of metallic.

The main body panel is 12" on the short side, with the breakout pieces adding an extra ten inches to that dimension. 

22"x38.25"

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Canvas Prints

Herringbone

Instagram shot!

Familiar Structure

Someone told me once that, "repetition is the foundation of clarity." It was an eye opener then, and as it turns out, it really is an eye opener.

The human eye loves patterns. So, as an homage to some of the repetitive decorations that have stood the test of time I decided to try my hand at some of those proven patterns. First up, herringbone.

Dealing with a standardized piece made the assembly go fairly smooth. It was making so many of the same that was the exercise. It turned out to be the good reminder to pay attention to posture. 

At 48"x19" the ends have been left in a state so that the pattern could continue. Just another building block to be snapped into place, or was this ripped from some doomed site? A different form of architectural salvage, made from architectural salvage. 

With a bit of polyurethane it could make a nice bar top, finished at the edges of course. As for now, I like the idea of making another one... or two.

Process

I really like the soft, natural tones of this lath. I always cringe just before committing to color. Here's a look into the layering process.

Knowing that most of the paint will just get sanded off, I'm pretty loose about where it lands. After the sanding, it was oiled. Then I took a small brush of ebony stain into the recessed triangles.

I thought it was done, but the can of wax is whispering.