Layer after layer of color

The Paul family crest for the Fox & Hounds Pub is coming along nicely. Yesterday we laid on the Coastal Enterprises primer, adding a little more texture with a small brush to the scroll, edge of the shield, crown and the letter ‘P’. This was allowed to dry before we painted the base color of a nice warm cream on the scroll and wood grain background. The shield received a metallic red. The outside border received a brown paint.
Today I added the gold to the fox & hound. Then it was time to start the first of the glazes. The shield received a purply red color. The wood and scroll got a yellowish tan for it’s first pass of glazes. Both glazes were gently wiped down to allow the under color to shine through. 
Tomorrow I’ll start in on the next glazes. working up from the lightest color to the darkest, gradually including more and more of the crest. By the time I am done it will look like it is 200 year old – just like the story we are telling. By carefully designing the project with lots of texture the painting process is relatively quick – less than two hours in total.
 – Stay tuned…
-dan

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.

More ‘brickwork’

We made good progress on another of the projects at the Fox and Hounds Pub today. The archway was painted up by one crew as Bec & I worked on the fireplace. She mixed wonderful batches of concrete while I spread it on the fireplace face. After lunch we carved in the bricks. Tomorrow we’ll polish off the bottom portion and the one ‘timber’ on the right side. The other timber on the left has to wait until the temporary bar moves to it’s new permanent home. And we have to jump back to the beams above the new bar to finish the concrete work on that on Friday.
-dan

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.

Signs at every turn

There are signs all around our shop. They are on the new easel I built a few weeks ago. Others languish on the table tops, the table saw and around the shop and studio. They are in various stages of completion.
With the Fox & Hounds Pub project proceeding at full speed the signs will soon be needed.  And with a Sign Magic Workshop now less than a week away the signs will be superb eye candy for the students and a little more motivation to get them done sooner rather than later. We’ve been putting in a few hours in the last days to add some color. They are coming together quickly and will be ready by next week for sure.
Stay tuned for more color…
-dan

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.

Another and another and…

We are doing four versions and three sizes of the Fox & Hounds dimensional sign for various places in the project. Two are under way, while the last two await a sign permit. The smallest version of the  sign is inside at the end of the entry. We test fit this sign in place, in order to build the barrel underneath. in this shot the tile man is fitting the border around the base. This sign will be returned to the studio shortly to be finished.
The next largest dimensional sign is for above the outside entry, It measures six feet wide and is about the same height. The two large signs for the front and back of the property will measure eight feet wide and be double sided.Each sign involves a fair amount of hand work which is being done a little at a time. First comes the carving, taking away and shaping the 30 lb Precision Board. The first phase was done with the MultiCam router including the lettering and cutting the sign layers to shape. The rest of the shaping is to be done with the die grinder. I’m applying a subtle texture to the sign face and scroll by hand. The ends of the scroll and the woodgrain on the end of the barrel staves is done in the same fashion.
The flag is also shaped by hand as will be the rough form of the fox. All this work will take about 1-2 hours per sign. Then we’ll mix up some Abracadabra Sculpting epoxy and add the dog faces and fox details.

The last stage will be primer, paint and glazing to bring them to their full glory. I’ll be documenting that process here of course.
Stay tuned…
-dan

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.

Instant ancient vine (frame work)

Work continues on many fronts on the Fox & Hounds pub project. Today the outside entry received the final coats of base paint, leaving the glazes to be done tomorrow. In the ladies washroom the last of the welded rusty steel stall dividers was installed today. With the bulk of the welding done it was time to do one last task before that equipment goes home once more at long last. The primary task fo today was to weld up the framework for the thick vines. 
It is my bet that at least one person will lean on, swing or climb on the vine in the next years. That means it needs to be sturdy. REAL STURDY. Anchor points were drilled into the floor to anchor the base. I bent and positioned a single rod for each vine from the ground, then screwed in heavy lag bolts at key points ensuring the vines will grow for many years to come. The vines intertwine around the brick post and wander up to the beam above, then down towards the beer dispenser below. A video screen will be mounted to the end, positioned perfectly for reference of the bar tender to access.
The next step will be to wrap the welded armature with diamond lath and then using sculpting epoxy to form the weathered and twisted grape vine. Stay tuned for progress.
-dan

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.