Fine Art: Sculpting HDU With Master Artist Brett Steeves

One of the most impressive projects we’ve seen at Coastal Enterprises is the hand-carved sculpture of wild horses sculpture featured on our home page. We’ve always marveled at the skill required to bring such a beautiful piece to life, and when offered an opportunity to interview its creator recently, we we were overjoyed!

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The artist, Brett Steeves, also known as “Somers”, is a freelance artist out of western New York. Largely self-taught throughout his 35-year career, Brett is also an Indiana University and Herron Art School alumni. His studio often collaborates with designers on a wide variety of projects. A client in Southwestern Florida mentioned to him that the high ceilings in their home left a rather large blank wall crying out for something to fill the void. As a solution to this issue, Somers designed and fabricated (entirely by hand) the magnificent sculpture featuring a herd of wild horses.

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Beginning with three 4″ x 4′ x 8′ sheets of Precision Board PBLT-15, Somers shaped and carved the herd of wild horses in Bas-relief. The final pieces were primed with FSC-88WB Primer/Filler and coated with PB Hardcoat, before a faux finish was applied to create the appearance of a stone carving.

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The sculpture was received well and fit right in the the designer’s vision and choices for the home. According to Somers, “Whenever I’m challenged with a sculpting project, my ‘go-to’ product is Precision Board. I can rely on it to withstand the elements and provide my clients with sculptures that will outlast anything else.”

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Many commissioned sculptures created by Somers begin with Precision Board. These life-size dolphins were shaped with PBLT-4 so they would be light enough to be held up with monofilament line.

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This multi-media sculpture required faux stones. Once again, PBLT-15 to the rescue!

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Currently Somers spends much of his time working directly with designers and sculptors creating innovative ways to infuse artwork into every possible application. You can catch up with his ongoing news at somerscreative.com.

A faux Precision Board wine barrel and wall art..

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Companion Products For HDU – Prime, Texture, Laminate & Bond!

Interested in trying out some of our Companion Products? Your local distributor doesn’t have them in stock?

No need to worry! We always have all of them in stock at Coastal Enterprises – TSF-45, PB Resin, PB Hardcoat, Adhesives, Primers and Fillers. As long as we receive an order from your distributor before 1:00PM PST, it will ship from our Orange, CA location the same day, right to your door if needed.

This means that you can put on that high-gloss PB Resin protective finish on your sign, or use the right adhesive to laminate those Precision Board Plus sheets because you will receive what you need promptly!

All of our Companion Products have been designed for use on Precision Board Plus HDU, and can also be used on many other materials. Trust what the experts use when crafting a professional sign. Want to try before you buy? Contact us for FREE samples!

Also be sure to check out our full gallery of step-by-step videos.

Also check out this Precision Board Plus sign made using PB Resin. Created by David Sherby at SherWood Sign & Graphic Design in Crystal Falls, MI.

 

 

Ten Tips For Working With Precision Board Plus HDU

1. Carbide cutters are not mandatory when cutting Precision Board Plus. Because it is non-abrasive, Precision Board Plus can be cut with anything that cuts wood, but much easier.

 

2. To maximize CNC efficiency and cutting time, and to minimize dust and increase chips, the Onsrud Router Bit Selector Guide provides guidelines for proper router bits, speeds and feeds.

3. After you have primed Precision Board Plus using FSC-88WB Primer/Filler, it is best to dry using a large shop fan. Do not place in the sun, as this will cause it to dry too fast resulting in blisters. The FSC-88WB Primer/Filler training video can be seen here.

 

4. Be sure to prime and paint all sides of your Precision Board Plus sign. Because it does not have grain, it has no beam strength and can be pulled in the direction of the drying paint.

 

5. When sandblasting Precision Board Plus, use a larger grit for larger texture. Similarly, a finer grit allows for finer texture. Aluminum oxide is used most often.

 

6. If something happens to your sign during the build process, it is possible to fix the damaged surface. FSC-360WB Crack Filling & Repair Putty dries quickly and sands easily, and can really save the day in the event of a mistake.

 

7. Optimize your Precision Board Plus purchase by bonding and laminating the excess using PB Fast Set or PB Bond-240 adhesive.

 

8. PB Resin can provide an eye-catching, ultra-smooth protective finish to your sign. Be sure to only add enough lettering enamel to the clear PB Resin that will hide text on a printed page.

9. If you do not have time to route in wood grain, or to sandblast, TSF-45 or PB Hardcoat are excellent time saving alternatives for simulating wood grain. Apply both directly to raw Precision Board Plus, eliminating the priming step.

 

10. If you have a question, call us! We offer free technical support and are happy to assist in any way we can.

Simulate Wood Grain, Stucco and Other Textures

Many times we talk to customers who are interested in giving their sign a wood-grain finish but do not have access to a sandblaster, time for their router to carve wood grain, or are looking for a more custom finish. Coastal Enterprises offers two different surface coatings: PB Hardcoat and TSF-45 for just this reason.

PB Hardcoat is a rock-hard protective coating that can be used to simulate wood grain, stucco, stone and other textures – all without needing to prime the substrate.

Check out our step-by-step PB Hardcoat video here:

TSF-45 is a tough, flexible coating that can be finished using the same methods for finishing cementitious-type plaster products. It can be swirl textured, skip troweled, stucco finished, stipple finished, or used to simulate wood grain. No primer coat is needed, and paint can be applied directly to it.

Check out the step-by-step TSF-45 video here:

Call us at: (800) 845-0745 or email us at: hdu@precisionboard.com for your free sample.

Crow Indian Head Sculpture – On Display at ISA Orlando 2012

Dan Keith, owner of Dan’s Foundry recently sent us pictures of a Crow Indian Head sculpture he made from Precision Board Plus PBLT-15. His father, A.J., was the original sculptor/designer who specialized in western bronzes. Using his NextEngine laser scanner, Dan scanned the original wax sculpture and then exported it into Aspire CNC software to cut with his router.

The result was an amazing reproduction of the piece his father had created years earlier, finished by brushing on Sculpt Nouveau Type C Bronze Coating, and spraying on a Tiffany Green Patina finish. When he found out how impressed we were with his creation, he shipped it to us so we could see it in person.

We were then about to see just how fast (and talented) Dan Keith was. We told him we were considering displaying the Crow Indian Head sculpture at ISA 2012, and he quickly offered to create a newer, and larger model using a higher density Precision Board Plus, PBLT-30. Not more than a couple of days later, Dan sent us pictures of the new sculpture. It was also similarly finished like the original using Sculpt Nouveau and a Tiffany Green Patina finish. He then made a plaque commemorating his father, and the result was a fantastic art creation, completed in record time.

Take a look at Dan’s blog at: http://www.dansfoundry.blogspot.com/ to see more of his impressive projects. His shop specializes in metal casting, welding, plasma cutting, wood working, CNC routing, digital design, stained glass, gourd art, mold making, metal fabrication, metal forming, prop making, blacksmithing and more!

The Crow Indian Head sculpture will be on display at our booth #2188 at ISA 2012 in Orlando, FL, from March 22-24 at the Orange County Convention Center if you would like to meet us and check it out in person!

 

Precision Board Plus PBLT-15:

The original sculpture (left) and the PBLT-30 version (right)

NextEngine Laser Scan:

Precision Board Plus PBLT-30: