Fauxhead: Life, Laughter and the Pursuit of Art

Father's Day

2012-02-24T07:16:00.000-08:00

I know it's a little early for Father's Day, but it seemed like the perfect name for this piece. This is digital marquetry, accomplished by scanning wood veneers and putting it together in Photoshop. My other digital marquetry projects were based on photos. This one was an old drawing that was originally supposed to be used for my paper art, but I never finished it.

Bumblebee Poison Frog

2012-02-22T07:44:00.000-08:00

Known in the hobby as a "Leuc", Dendrobates Leucomelas, or the Yellow-banded Poison Frog is a very healthy frog and easy to keep as long as you keep those fruit flies going. Some people call these frogs Bumblebee Poison Frogs, a name that's a bit more colorful. This one is definitely more colorful sitting in a black and white background.

Bison WIP

2012-02-19T06:16:00.000-08:00

I did this sketch over a year ago with the intention of making a paper sculpture. But polymer clay projects took over and this drawing was shelved. Looking through some of my unused art, I thought this would make a good digital marquetry piece. This work in progress will be finished sometime next week.

Orchid Petal

2012-02-15T08:06:00.000-08:00

Tater says, "Dad? Do hamburger buns grow out of the ground?" I replied that buns don't come out of the ground. Then Tater says, "Well, I think mine did because it has seeds on it."

Tater found this on the floor at the grocery store, so I took a pic of it.

Valentine Panda

2012-02-13T08:07:00.000-08:00

Here is another polymer clay panda pendant, this one is into Valentine's Day. He is also sporting a Swarovski crystal. Piercings on the kids these days is getting out of hand!

Olive You

2012-02-10T07:42:00.000-08:00

I did this paper sculpture several years ago for my wife for Valentine's Day.

Wood Samples

2012-02-08T14:27:00.000-08:00

In my quest to make more and better digital marquetry pieces, I got some rare wood samples. A friend of mine, Dave, let me borrow two boxes of wood samples he won at an auction several years ago. Pictured here is one of the box lids and one of the samples. I am in the process of scanning all the wood veneers into my computer. They look old and antique to me. These wood samples are beautiful and some may be illegal to obtain anymore.

Bracket Fungi

2012-02-06T09:08:00.000-08:00

I braved the winter weather to capture these two shots. The snow was done, but it was raining cats and dogs. Cold cats and dogs! After juggling my camera, tripod and an old umbrella, this was the best I could manage.

Buns of Wood

2012-02-05T10:34:00.000-08:00

This one is something a little different for me. I saw a commercial for "Buns of Steel" and the idea popped into my head to do a faux wood version made of polymer clay. It is 4" long and can be used as a pendant or a wall decoration in or out of a shadow box.

Beautiful Day

2012-02-02T05:52:00.000-08:00

I was invited on a hunting trip with a friend. But instead of bringing a shotgun, I brought my camera and bagged this shot. The title was inspired by the U2 song, Beautiful Day.

Beautiful Day, October 1985

Little Gilligan

2012-01-30T08:55:00.000-08:00

Here is another little person paper sculpture, this one is Gilligan from the TV show "Gilligan's Island."

Little Gilligan, July 2001

Baker Street

2012-01-28T22:05:00.000-08:00

I took this shot from the top of a building in Wilmington, Delaware. I don't think the name of this street is really Baker Street, but I love the song by Gerry Rafferty, so , well, there you go...

Baker Street, 1985

A Little Elvis

2012-01-28T08:13:00.000-08:00

Several years ago, I did a few paper sculptures of little kid versions of famous people. Here's one of Elvis.

A Little Elvis, June 2001

Lisa Sandwich

2012-01-26T05:39:00.000-08:00

This effect can be achieved fairly easy with an art program like Photoshop. But it was a little bit more of a challenge back in the "olden days." This was known as a slide sandwich. Take two (or more) slightly over exposed 35mm slides, remove them from the cardboard mounts, sandwich them together and put them in a new mount. This slide sandwich is of my friend, Lisa, and a sunset reflected off water ripples.

Lisa Sandwich, August 1988

Illuminated Leaf

2012-01-23T22:28:00.000-08:00

I held this leaf up to the sun to light it up and then tinkered with the composition a little in photoshop.

Illuminated Leaf, August 2006

Monkey Tribal Mask

2012-01-22T08:23:00.000-08:00

Here is another faux wood animal pendant made of polymer clay. There are a few things I would like to change to make it better. I will eventually take another shot at this one.

Shrooms

2012-01-20T06:32:00.000-08:00

I took this one at night using the headlights of my car to light 'em up.

Shrooms, October 1985

On Frozen Pond

2012-01-19T06:05:00.000-08:00

It looks like I will be able to post a new photo every Thursday. This one was taken at Lums Pond in Delaware and I can confirm that the pond was completely frozen over because I was standing on it!

On Frozen Pond, February 1985

Wizard illustration

2012-01-16T07:31:00.000-08:00

I did this for a magazine about comic books, called "Wizard". I felt it wasn't good enough, so I never sent it to them. This one was done in pen and ink and colored with markers.

Wizard illustration, March 1993

Faux Wood Butterflyfish

2012-01-15T06:14:00.000-08:00

I take all my photos of clay pieces outside because the natural light is better than artificial lighting. The weather didn't cooperate last weekend so my butterflyfish was a little late getting posted.

Amaryllis Stamen

2012-01-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

Here is another one of my "slides to digital" converts. Although not 100% sure on the flower, I believe it is an Amaryllis.

Amaryllis Stamen, January 1985

Asleep on My Tree

2012-01-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

I never finished work on a children's book I was working on called "The Mystic Tree." All of the art was to be created in paper sculpture. The story required 42 pages of art, and after finishing three pages, I decided not to go any further. The story focuses on the Geronimo doll the main character is holding. I had one of those when I was a kid, along with Jonny West and Odin the Viking. Anyone out there remember those action figures?

"A gust of wind kicked up and Stephen fell fast asleep on the great tree."

Asleep on My Tree, January 2003

Leafy Seadragon

2012-01-07T08:32:00.000-08:00

I snapped this one with my Canon Rebel at the Camden Aquarium in New Jersey. This was the best I could get shooting through the glass with a flash. This photo will probably not win any awards, but what an amazing creature! He looks like he's being shy.

Leafy Seadragon, August 2006

Japanese Beetle Elytra

2012-01-05T06:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a super close-up of the elytra, or wing casings, of a Japanese beetle.

This was a trick I learned with my old Minolta SLR. You need a 200 mm lens, a 50 mm lens and 2 threaded adapter rings that match the ends of these two lenses. Superglue the two rings together. The 200 mm is attached to the camera. Screw in the adapter ring combo. Then reverse the 50 mm and screw that onto the adapter ring combo. Congrats, now you have a super macro set-up. Actually, almost a microscope!

There are two things to remember if you want to try this. One, get as much light as possible to help with the depth of field. Two, I just said it, the depth of field is razor thin, so you want the highest f-stop possible! And, it goes without saying, a tripod is a must.

Japanese Beetle Elytra, August 1985

Bad Lions

2012-01-04T07:24:00.000-08:00

In my quest to make a better lion mask, I churned out some clunkers. Here are some sculpts that didn't make the grade.

Butterflyfish Sketch

2012-01-02T07:07:00.000-08:00

The sculpture and mold are also finished of this butterflyfish. There should be a finished butterflyfish by the end of the week!

Lion Mask Ornament

2011-12-31T11:50:00.000-08:00

I think the unwritten rule is that you can show Christmas ornaments up to the beginning of the new year. If that is the case, then I got this one in right under the wire. Get it? Under the wire? The lion's mane is made of wire? Ah, never mind...

Autumn Stand

2011-12-30T06:51:00.000-08:00

The Fall colors can be spectacular. Here is one of many Autumn pics I took over the years. It's my favorite season. Tater, looking over my shoulder, says, "No, your favorite time of the year is my birthday!"

Autumn Stand, November 1985

Fields of Gold

2011-12-29T13:36:00.000-08:00

I broke down and got my own slide scanner, because the photo lab I was working with could not get me a nice scan with their $4000.00 Nikon machine. That just goes to show you...The best of the best equipment will not deliver the desired results if the person working that equipment doesn't know what they are doing. Here is one of my old slides that I named "Fields of Gold" from the song by Sting. It was taken on Kodachrome 64 way back in October 1985 with my Minolta X-700.

Fields of Gold, October 1985

Dark Knight Persuasion

2011-12-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

This was my 100th paper sculpture, and a tribute to Frank Miller and his graphic novel, "The Dark Knight Returns". Incorporated into this paper art is the background from the original art, some fabric paint for the bad guy, illustration board, and a little string.

Dark Knight Persuasion, July 2001

Giraffe Weevils

2011-12-15T20:12:00.000-08:00

Here is another example of an amazing creature that you wouldn't think exists; but, honestly they do! Everything here is made of paper except for the out-of-focus background. And I'm not 100% sure, but I think the flower is a gardenia. I need to take better notes.

Peace on Earth

2011-12-09T06:54:00.000-08:00

I've been hanging on to this one till Christmas got a little closer and then almost forgot about it. It is a paper sculpture, but all the patterns were digitally created, so I refer to this as a digital paper sculpture. My lion polymer clay pieces are based on this lion.

Milk Frog Marquetry

2011-12-08T12:28:00.000-08:00

The photo of our Amazon Milk Frog was very popular, so I found another photo of the same beautiful frog and turned him into pieces of digital wood. I like it and I hope you do too.

Poison Frog Tattoo

2011-12-01T06:11:00.000-08:00

I love poison frogs, so here is my attempt to do a tribal tattoo. It's all freehand inking on paper. Then it was digitally added to a girl with nice skin. I wish I could find the time and the cash to get illustrator. I could design tattoos all day...and maybe even get better at it!

Grog and Oogle

2011-11-27T07:12:00.000-08:00

Here are two original characters, Grog and Oogle, I created for a story I haven't finished. One of these days, Alice. They are made of inked watercolor paper and the background is a cave painting from Altamira.

Grog and Oogle, January 2004

Ludacris Tribal Mask

2011-11-25T10:25:00.000-08:00

I want to do an art show of just these tribal masks, but it takes so long to do just one of them. Much of my time is spent on trial and error, so they should become easier to do as I get better. After making the original sculpt, a mold and a support are made. These are necessary to keep the faux wood from smearing. Three other Ludacris masks were scrapped because they weren't good enough. At this point in my progression, this one is not too bad.

Santa Caught

2011-11-18T08:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas is just around the corner, so here is a not-so-jolly old elf to brighten your holidays. It is made of paper, some of it airbrushed, and mounted on illustration board.

Santa Caught, November 2003

Rhyme Time

2011-11-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

Riding in the car last night, Tater wanted to play a rhyming game. One of us would say a word, and the other would guess a rhyming word that the first person was thinking. The category was 'Something inside Toys-R-Us'.

Tater says: "Mikes."
Me: "Bikes!"

Me: "Boys."
Tater says: "Toys!"

Tater says: "Legister."
I just cracked up.

Shine!

2011-11-11T06:46:00.000-08:00

This paper sculpture was originally done with a background painted on glass. The background would light up with a strong light source behind it. This digital version is slightly different.

Shine, August 2003

Sylvester Stallone

2011-11-06T06:29:00.000-08:00

I did a couple caricatures of Sylvester Stallone in the early 90's. The first one is brush and ink. In the second illustration, he got a haircut and was airbrushed on illustration board and cut out. The clouds were added today.

Sylvester Stallone, September 1990

Stallone cutout, March 1992

Metal Lion

2011-11-03T05:11:00.000-07:00

Here is the second version of my lion pendant. It's a little steampunky with the gears, but I don't know if my steampunk friends would consider this one steampunky enough. My newest lion is made of polymer clay, brushed with gold and copper Perfect Pearls. The gold chain tail was picked up at a yard sale.

Dragon Eggs

2011-11-01T08:29:00.000-07:00

I also did a paper sculpture of this one a few years later. My first attempt with this design was airbrushed with colored inks onto illustration board, outlined with black magic ink, and then cut out. The speckling on the eggs was accomplished with an old toothbrush.

Dragon Eggs, August 1992

Confused Chameleon

2011-10-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

I made stencils in order to airbrush the color designs onto thick watercolor paper. There were actually 4 or five different sets of chameleon pieces before I decided in these colors!

Confused Chameleon, June 2002

Friends

2011-10-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

I was watching a movie with Jennifer Aniston, when the thought occurred to me to post my Friends paper sculpture caricature. So, here are my takes on Monica, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe, Rachel and Ross.

Friends, December 2001

Coco Stolen in NYC

2011-10-27T05:53:00.000-07:00

My Coco (Conan O'Brien) Tribal Mask was on display at the NYCOCO MoCA Gallery located in New York City. I got the call yesterday that it was stolen right off the wall! Apparently, it was swiped even though the show had personnel on guard. Well, on the bright side, someone must have really liked it a lot!

Turtle Beach

2011-10-24T06:50:00.000-07:00

There was a lot of work involved with this one. I even made a template so the turtle's shells would be embossed. But the whole thing is just too...I don't know...sterile? It looks like the turtles were spit out of a machine or something. Anywho, this is a paper sculpture, although the shells and shark tooth fossil are real.

Turtle Beach, July 2003

Alfred!

2011-10-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

This is the last of my Batman cutouts, the big man himself. Looks like he needs Alfred's help again! I hope Al is getting properly compensated.

Batman & cave cutouts, June 1992

The Penguin cutout

2011-10-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

Here's the second of my Batman characters, The Penguin. It was inked and airbrushed on illustration board, then cut out and added to a watercolor background.

The Penguin cutout, June 1992

Catwoman cutout

2011-10-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

I did a trio of Batman characters, all airbrushed and cut out of illustration board. Here is Catwoman. I drilled small holes in the illustration board and stitched the costume with thread.

Catwoman cutout, June 1992

Concrete

2011-10-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

Concrete was a comic book character that I used to follow several years ago. It was a very well-written series by Paul Chadwick and published by Dark Horse Comics.

This version of Concrete was brush and india ink on illustration board. It was cut out and photo added for the background. January 1993.

My second shot at the character is paper sculpture with an airbrushed background. I think the butterfly adds to the feel of the piece. January 1996.

Hangman

2011-10-15T06:38:00.000-07:00

Have you ever played hangman on paper? Tater and I were playing last night and it was his turn to come up with a phrase for me to guess. He got stuck while marking down the dashes for the letters. So Tater says, "How many letters are in the word 'lime'?" I just go with it, "Four". Tater finishes his puzzle. Now it's my turn to start guessing the letters.
"L".
"I".
"M".
"Hey", Tater says, "That's cheating!"

Scarface again

2011-10-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

I posted my caricature of Scarface in January, but I wanted to resize the hands and gun. So here he is again with some slight changes.

Scarface, May 2002

Pappy

2011-10-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

My dad wanted me to do a paper sculpture of his dad (my grand-pop) in his fishing boat. Here it is with an amateurish watercolor background. The boat is made of real wood and even comes with a metal anchor chain.

Pappy, December 1996

I Heart Autumn

2011-10-10T07:23:00.000-07:00

I finished this heart design months ago, but never got around to making it into something. With the temperatures getting cooler and the leaves starting to fall, it seemed like a good time to use my heart design. It is almost 50mm (1 15/16") at the longest dimension and made of polymer clay extrusions.

Coco Does NY

2011-10-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

My Coco Tribal Mask was selected as one of the fine arts of the NYCOCO MoCA Gallery located at the world-famous Time Warner Center in New York City from October 24th till November 3rd! I mailed out the original polymer clay sculpture to the gallery and spruced up the digital version just a smidgen.

Top of the Key

2011-10-06T08:03:00.000-07:00

Continuing with my logo theme, here is a logo I designed for a sports clothing line called Top of the Key. The half basketball design is on all their clothes. What you see here is a paper sculpture consignment for the owner of the company.

Top of the Key logo, February 2002

United Way Jet Pull

2011-10-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

I work for USAirways in the tower in Philadelphia as a weight and balance coordinator. Every year we raise money for the United Way by playing a little tug-o-war with one of the airline's jets. I named our group and designed the t-shirts in 2009 and 2010.

Poison Frogs

2011-10-03T07:54:00.000-07:00

I love these little jewels of the rainforest. Here are four of my earlier attempts to illustrate them. Starting upper left and moving clockwise, they are Amazonian Poison Frog (D. ventrimaculatus), Strawberry Poison Frog morph (D. pumilio), Harlequin Poison Frog (D. histrionicus), and Red-Backed Poison Frog (D. reticulatus). All skin patterns were done in Photoshop and made into 3D paper sculptures.

Poison Frogs, August - October 2006

Razorback Musk Turtle

2011-10-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest addition to my Animal Pendant Series, a little Razorback Musk Turtle. As with all the other pendants, it is made of Premo polymer clay. I cut out a stencil for all of the shell segments and models and molds for the head and feet. Speaking of the shell, I also made a clay form, from which the turtle shell lays on and is molded and baked. Once again, faux wood and faux leather techniques were used to create this little creature.

Groucho Logo

2011-09-30T06:32:00.000-07:00

I did this brush and ink many moons ago to be used on a business card.

Groucho logo, June 1997

While watching Elmer Fudd tracking Bugs Bunny on TV, Tater says, "Dad? Do people really hunt rabbits?"

"Yea, I guess they do", was my reply.

Then Tater says, "Why don't they just get 'em at the grocery store?"

He followed that up with, "Anyway, I think rabbits are 'stinct."

Bluestone logo

2011-09-26T08:04:00.000-07:00

I've dabbled in logo making here and there. Shown here is one for the Blue Stone Landscaping company. This is the color version. There is also a black and white and another where just the stone is colorized. I'm teaching myself Adobe Illustrator, so these will eventually get better.

Bluestone logo, October 2009

Clem, a chameleon

2011-09-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Why do people give their artwork characters stupid, corny names? I've always kinda hated that. So, with that in mind, here's Clem, a chameleon. Also, I won't tell you what "he" is made of or what he likes to do in his spare time. Ridiculous! Okay, I'll tell you. He's made of airbrushed watercolor paper and doesn't like the taste of bugs. Because they're disgusting!

Clem, a chameleon, July 2004

Erin

2011-09-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

The paper sculpture of this little girl was a commission for a friend of mine. I also did one of Erin's sister, but for the life of me, I can't find it.

Erin, June 2004

Blue Hummer

2011-09-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

I posted the sketch a couple months ago. And I finally got around to finishing my hummingbird with a little digital background to dress it up a little. The body was sculpted using a 50/50 mix of Super Sculpey and Super Sculpey Firm and made into a mold. The wings and beak were made from stencils I cut from plastic blanks.
This hummer would have been the fifth in my Animal Pendant Series, but it became a pin instead.

West Quoddy Head Light

2011-09-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

This colorful lighthouse is located in Maine on the eastern most point of the United States. West Quoddy Head Light was originally built in 1807 and rebuilt in 1858. This shot was taken with my Minolta, a 50 mm lens on Kodachrome 64.

Wood n Leather Penguins

2011-09-09T11:57:00.000-07:00

I didn't have Photoshop to complete my penguins, so I used an old version of Corel Painter to finish the job. I used faux wood and faux leather techniques to make Wood n Leather Penguins out of Premo polymer clay.
Wood n Leather Penguins is the 4th of my Animal Pendants series. As with all my animal pendants, this could also be used to hang decoratively in a shadow box or on a small wall. It is 54 mm (2 1/8") tall.

Faux Wood Vessels

2011-09-08T19:23:00.000-07:00

My penguins are finished, but the weather has been so bad that I can't get a nice photo of 'em. I also lost Photoshop. Anyone out there have about $700 they don't need? In the mean time, here are a couple vessels I tried to make out of polymer clay. Not too shabby for a first-timer. They might look kinda cool in a doll house or miniature room setting. The tall floor vase is about 53 mm (2 1/8") and the water pot is 32 mm (1 5/16"). They are hollow and will hold water. Hope you're not too thirsty!

WIP Penguins

2011-09-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

I'm working on penguins to add to my Animal Pendant series. Here are the sculpts, which will be used for the basic shapes of the penguins. These were made into molds which forms the polymer clay faux wood penguin bodies. Faux leather polymer clay will be used for the flippers and dark areas of the penguins. You probably can't tell by looking at these gray shapes, but the finished product should be pretty cool.

Happy Meals

2011-09-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

Tater says, "Look at this Happy Meal toy. It looks cheap and it doesn't do anything. They don't care about us kids."

Shemp Howard

2011-08-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

Shemp is my favorite Stooge, so here is my paper sculpture caricature of him. He had a face with a ton of character. I tried something different with the paper, by soaking it in watered down paint and then crumpling and recrumpling and letting it dry out. I airbushed a little more paint after cutting out the face pieces to smooth the crinkles out just a smidge. Shemp's hair would look something like this right after Moe smacked him in the face.

Shemp Howard, March, 2004

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Irene has finally left our area, leaving behind high winds and extensive flooding. Tater had some thoughts during the ordeal. While watching news coverage, Tater says, "Why is that news lady smiling? Doesn't she know a hurricane is coming?! I would be like, 'A HURRICANE IS COMING! GET OUT NOW PEOPLE!' I wouldn't be smiling."

Tater: "Dad? What would happen if it rained like this every day?"
Me: "Well, I guess there would be a lot of water. Maybe we would need to move."
Tater: "That would be a huge puddle."

Petunia

2011-08-25T06:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a shot of our little red-eyed tree frog we call Petunia. I don't know why we named her that. To be honest, I don't even know if it's a girl.

Tater says, "Ants are weak. They can only lift a crumb." I explained that ants are strong and they can lift crumbs many times bigger than themselves. After some thought, Tater says, "I could lift a car if it was made of foam."

Joker Card

2011-08-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

This one is brush and ink on illustration board. The colors were airbrushed and I can tell you it was no easy feat to get the two sides to match. This Joker was inspired by the Jack Nicholson Joker of the first Batman movie.

Joker Card, September 1991

Angler Fish

2011-08-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the old Lindsey Buckingham song, "I Think I'm in Trouble"? That's what I think of when I look at this little yellow fish. The angler fish is an amazing creature, but I have to say that my inspiration for this piece came from the movie, Finding Nemo. If you haven't seen the movie (and who hasn't), it's worth seeing just for the angler fish sequence.
My original art was a paper sculpture, but when I did this version in Photoshop, I took the opportunity to tweak it a little. This one is darker, but has more contrast with the lighted "lure".

Anglerfish, June 2008

Tricky Dick

2011-08-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

I never called him that horrible name myself. I just heard it from time to time over the years from disgruntled relatives. This Richard Nixon was drawn, inked and airbrushed on illustration board, then cut out and scanned into my computer and placed on the front lawn of the Whitehouse.

Tricky Dick, October 1991

Coco Tribal Mask

2011-08-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here, at last, is the finished product. After trimming away the excess clay from around the bottom of the mask, it was baked. When it cooled to room temperature, the base of the mask got sanded with progressively finer sandpaper until the base is flat and smooth. To get an even nicer finish, it was rubbed on an old pair of jeans.

Holes were cut for the eyes and slots were cut into the head to accommodate the leather hair. The hair and eyebrows are velour leather straps, strategically placed to give that Conan look. Tiny spots of super glue keeps the hair in place. A little crook of a mouth was cut in and a faux leather bottom lip added. From the bottom of his chin to the top of his pompadour, it measures a little over 4 inches, so it is a rather large pendant. The digital background was added to give a little color and contrast.

Coco Mask WIP #3

2011-08-10T07:21:00.000-07:00

Here is the mixed, molded and baked Conan mask with eye positions marked. After the eyes are drilled and slots cut into the head, leather strips will be glued into these slots to simulate hair.

But how did I make the wood grain? Here it is. First, there are no set color formulas. I work up a new mixture each time I do a new project. The leftovers are saved for smaller projects. Most of my colors are earthy hues, such as raw umber, burnt sienna, and ecru. Black, white, copper, gold and pearl can adjust hues or add a little sheen. Experiment. You could uncover a really nice effect.

Secondly, I usually mix up 3 or 4 colors for the grain. For this piece I mixed the following. You can use this mixture as a starting point:

1 raw umber with 1 white

1 raw umber with 1 ecru

1/2 raw umber with 1/2 burnt sienna

The thinking here is that Conan is light skinned, so I use light color mixtures. The burnt sienna adds more contrast and interest to the faux wood mixture. The raw umber/white and raw umber/ecru are mixed completely and set aside as two separate logs. The raw umber/burnt sienna mix does not need to be mixed completely. The marbling in this log adds even more realism to the final faux wood effect. I would not do this with the raw umber/white, because solid white streaks would not be the effect I'm looking for. The marbling works better with colors that are not so contrasting. Now, push the three logs together to form one big log. Cut this log in half and push the two halves together. Roll it out into a big log and cut it again. As you keep rolling and cutting, rolling and cutting, the lines in the log will get thinner and thinner until it starts to look like wood grain. When the log looks the way you want, pick the best area to go on top and squash it or roll it out. Work slowly so the clay doesn't smear. One of those clear rolling rods is the way to go. Also, I have a pasta machine, but I do not use it very often for this technique because of the smearing factor. When it comes to faux wood, I'm antipasta. Get it?

Thirdly, as I mentioned yesterday, working with molds can be a challenge because the soft faux wood clay has a tendency to separate and pull apart when pushed into the mold. So, make sure to form a tent with the clay, but make this tent slowly to avoid smears. And, use a good release agent on your soft clay and in every crevice of the mold. I use Armor All or K-Y Jelly mixed with a little water. Slowly and carefully, push your faux wood tent into the mold. Gradually work your way outward until you have filled the mold. Pull the soft molded clay out of the mold and set it on a baking tile. Turn on your faucet to just a trickle and let the slow moving water cascade over the molded clay for a minute or two. Now daub the clay dry with a very soft paper towel or facial tissue. Be gentle! Just touch the paper towel to the liquid and the release agent will get sucked right out along with the water. Pretty slick, huh?

Lastly, carefully trim away excess clay with a tissue blade or x-Acto and bake for 30 minutes at 275 degrees if you are using Premo. If not, follow the baking directions that came with your clay.

I hope to show you the finished product tomorrow. See you then!

Coco Mask WIP #2

2011-08-09T00:20:00.000-07:00

Step 2 in the process of the Conan mask is making a mold. Sometimes, polymer clay artists proudly exclaim, "There were no molds used in the making of this piece." Sometimes molds are a necessity, especially when trying to recreate wood grain. The graduations in the grain can become muddy and smeared if it is handled too much. Depending on what the piece calls for, I use hand-cut stencils, molds (like this one), supports, or I "rough it" the old fashioned way.

Working with a mold can be tricky because when the clay is pushed in, it has a tendency to separate and pull apart. Pencil and paper handy? Two very important steps will help to solve this problem. One, form your soft clay into a tent, But, work very slowly and gently. Keep in mind the problem of smearing your wood grain and form the tent of clay with care.

The second tip is to use tons of a release agent. You'll hear about trying water or powder or a host of other things. I've tried 'em all with varying degrees of success. There are two products that work great for me, Armor All and K-Y Jelly (Astroglide also works just as well). Just don't leave the second one in your bathroom cabinet for your kids, or even worse your mother, to find. Here's another great trick; I add a little water to these products. It makes them super slippery. One little tug and your faux wood will slide right out of the mold. (This tutorial has gone downhill since the mention of the K-Y Jelly.) Smear your release agent all over the soft clay and inside every nook and cranny of the mold.

Start in the middle pushing your clay into the mold. Gradually work your way outward until you have filled the mold. In the case of my Conan mask, the faux wood was rolled flat, but more on that tomorrow.

As for the mold itself, I just use Super Sculpey. For this mold, I didn't have enough, so Premo leftovers were mixed in. No big deal. I also use metal oval rings, like cookie cutters, to surround the soft clay when the original sculpture is pushed into it. This keeps the soft clay close to the sculpture and makes a better mold. The mold for the Conan mask was too big for my metal rings, so I cut a 2 inch card stock strip and wrapped it in tape. Cut the tape and remove the card stock before you pop it into your easy-bake oven.

Coco Mask WIP #1

2011-08-08T09:04:00.000-07:00

Many of my followers on deviantART have requested tutorials for some of my clay techniques, particularly my faux wood technique. In order to accommodate those who wish to be in the know, WIP (work in progress) postings will become a regular staple here on my blog.

I am currently working on a Coco Tribal Mask. Coco, as many of you know, is late night talk show host, Conan O'Brien. When this is finished, it will be sent to the show to see if it might get some air-time, such as a graphic shown before or after commercials. Hey, you never know.

Anyhoo, here is my sculpture to be used to form the mask. Get your paper and pencil ready, here is my first tip...All my original sculpts are made of Super Sculpey and that block of cement they call Super Sculpey Firm! I've tried all kinds of clays and all kinds of mixtures, but a 50/50 mix of the two clays mentioned above is a perfect modeling clay. It becomes soft enough to work with and stiff enough to hold your designs.

Tomorrow, we'll look at molds and why we need them, especially when creating faux wood.

Leopard Gecko

2011-08-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

This one is titled "Too Late for Lunch". You can figure out why. It is a paper sculpture on a T-Rex fossil. I'm not sure if this is the dino the scientists dubbed "Sue". The photo was cleaned up in photoshop with some digital desert sand added.

Too Late for Lunch, December 2007

Tater is very fond of his cat that we call, "Kitty". Original, right? Tater was talking about how much he loved Kitty and how much he would miss him if he died. Then, after much thought, Tater says, "When Kitty dies, I'm gonna rename him "Kitty Crumbles". Yea, I guess that would fit.

Giraffe Tribal Mask

2011-07-31T08:07:00.000-07:00

My Giraffe Tribal Mask is made of polymer clay incorporating faux wood and leather techniques. The protrusions on the head are folded leather strips wrapped in hemp cord.

Amazonian Milk Frog

2011-07-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

This shot was taken of our milk frog clinging to the side of his terrarium. I liked the look of this guy better as a horizontal photo. Feel free to download this pic and make him vertical to see which one you like better.

Tater and I spotted a man carrying a "homeless" sign and looking for donations at a stop light. This is how our conversation went:

Tater: "That man is homeless."

Me: "He might be."

Tater: "He has a sign."

Me: "Sometimes people make signs when they're not really homeless."

Tater: "But look at his clothes."

Me: "Yea, he might be homeless."

Tater: "Aw, come on. He's missin' a tooth, dad."

Fiddler Crab

2011-07-19T06:33:00.000-07:00

My paper sculpture Fiddler Crab was added to a beach photo taken at Battery Park in Old New Castle, DE. The shadow was added in Photoshop.

Fiddler Crab, November 2007

Nesting Hummers

2011-07-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

I combined photography with digital art on this one, but I don't care for it. It's just too busy and it doesn't flow. I added and reworked and refined until it just didn't look right.

Nesting Hummers, April 2008

Tater and I were in the car driving to the Cape May Zoo (nice zoo, by the way) and he was reading the label on my bottled water. He was reading about how refreshing the water is and about the purity of the water. But when he came to the part about the water being imported from the French Alps, he slammed the bottle down and yelled, "Ewwww!"
"What's wrong?" I said.
Tater says, "This water comes from French Apes!"

RoboBear

2011-07-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

This is my latest bear, RoboBear. As is the case with all my bears, it's made to be a pendant, but it can also be displayed on the wall or in a shadowbox.

Clown Tree Frogs

2011-07-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

The full title on this one is "Clown Tree Frogs and Pitcher Plants". It was my first all-digital project.

Clown Tree Frogs, April 2008

Eric Lindros

2011-07-10T08:15:00.000-07:00

My brother is a Flyers fan and was a huge fan of former Flyer Eric Lindros. One of my first paper sculptures was a Christmas present for him, a big Eric Lindros trading card. The original has a white boarder and a Flyer logo. This pic shows just the paper sculpt of Lindros.

Eric Lindros paper sculpture, November 1994

Faux Leather Panda

2011-07-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

My Faux Wood Panda was well received, so here is a faux leather version of the same design. I did make some changes to the size and angle of the paws. The faux leather treatment is new to me, so I'm hoping to improve on this technique. This Panda is made to be a pendant, but as with my other animal clay sculptures, it can be displayed in many other ways.

Monkey Island

2011-07-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do a paper sculpture where the water color effects on the paper would really pop. The black background helps to make the sun and palm trees come to life on Monkey Island.

Monkey Island, March 2004

This weekend at a family function, my 75-year old aunt was saying she felt light-headed when she got up to leave. Later that night, we were talking about my aunt feeling dizzy. Overhearing part of this conversation, Tater says, “Why was she feeling dizzy? Is she a ballerina?”

Knight

2011-06-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

Here is another design for the Bible/Sunday School clothing line. The knight would have been stitched on a baseball cap or a small polo shirt.

Jonah and the Whale

2011-06-29T06:03:00.000-07:00

In my version of this story, Jonah catches the whale while fishing. It's more fun than getting swallowed by the great fish.
This is a paper sculpture with digital clouds added post-production.

Jonah and the Whale, December 2004

Heavenly Sunshine

2011-06-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

Let's do a week of Vacation Bible School, art style. Sorry, there are no snow cones or prizes for being the best-behaved. Here is another design for the clothing line I mentioned yesterday.

I posted this one a few months back, but it bears repeating. (Bears? Bares? Not sure.) Tater was all excited about a movie his class was going to see at school. Tater says, "I can't wait! We're gonna see Diarrhea of a Wimpy Kid!"

This Little Light of Mine

2011-06-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

I made some Bible/Sunday School illustrations for a group looking to launch a clothing line for children. Here is my first one, This Little Light of Mine. I imagined it stitched on a little toddler polo shirt.

Tater got the chance to see newborn kittens with their mother. Tater says, "Aww...look at those little kitties. They're drinking milk right from their mommy's pimples."

Shaman Bear

2011-06-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

I redesigned my bear slightly smaller, but much deeper with more peaks and valleys. This one was made with a new faux wood mixture. Faux malachite makes up the silhouette of the Native American Shaman. A leather strap was carefully glued around the outside of the bear.

Penguins cutout

2011-06-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

These penguins were inked and colored on illustration board, then meticulously cut out using x-acto knives. I must have gone through about a dozen or so x-acto blades with this one!

Penguins cutout, August 1992

While riding in the car, Tater and I spotted a very large groundhog. Tater says, "Dad! Look at that! It's a platypus!"

Tater says...

2011-06-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a new mini feature called "Tater says." Tater is my son, Stephen and he really comes up with some funny stuff. And I know if I don't write some of it down, I'll soon forget some of these nuggets. I know all our kids say funny stuff and Tater is not unique in that regard. But, hopefully, you'll get a chuckle or two from some of these postings.

Here is a shot of Tater breakin' bad in Gotham City.

Explorer Harrison Ford

2011-06-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

This character is loosely based on Indiana Jones, portrayed by Harrison Ford. He even has an embossed scar on his paper chin. Additionally, there is the leather jacket, artifact bag, and fedora.
As for the process, the explorer is all paper sculpture. There is also a miniature yellow light bulb wired behind the torch that actually lights up this cave scene. The background cave paintings, based on Altamira, were accomplished with stencils, sponges and inks. Many dark colored inks were dripped on heavy watercolor paper to make up the cave rocks. This piece is 20" x 16" and about 4 inches thick.

Caveman, Lighting the Way, July 2003

Clint Eastwood brush & ink

2011-06-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be airbrushed with colored inks, but I either never got around to it or I liked the stark black and white better.
I'll never win any awards for this one, but it was another step in my pursuit of art.

Clint Eastwood brush & ink, November 1991

Lucille Ball paper sculpture

2011-06-14T00:35:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, I posted an illustration board cutout of Lucille Ball. Here is an airbrushed paper sculpture of Lucy with an old black and white background of the Hollywood hills.

Lucille Ball paper sculpture, March 2004

African Wild Ass Tribal Mask

2011-06-12T08:20:00.000-07:00

Such language! You can call it a donkey if you want.
I've had the support piece finished for this mask for quite some time. The support piece gets wrapped in aluminum foil and the faux wood clay is molded over the support. This support was actually made to create a zebra mask, but the pinhead design would have gotten in the way of the mane. So, I looked for another ungulate and the African Wild Ass seemed like a good choice.

This mask was made to be a pendant but it has two antique copper-colored rings on the back so it could be hung on the wall or in a shadow box frame as well. The stems on the pins were cut to size and bent in half so that they should not slip out of the clay. This mask pendant is a chunky 3 3/8" tall.