MadDog Mike's Platterful of Pupule - El Tiki/Ben Wilson Wall Finished

Thanks Wendy. I need to add those lime shadows and I am going to try to make a Witco-esque frame for it then I'll post a new picture (hopefully with some good lighting - daylight outside in the shade?) I'm going to enter it in the college art show - not because I think it's great but because they are begging for art :lol:

Started painting my 2 Birds of Paradise tonight. Decided to make the color shifted one a monochrome blue, kinda like moonlight. Just started the background and some color blocking tonight. I can already see I picked the wrong color for the background of the natural one - is should have been a dark rich green instead of a muddy green. Going to have trouble now getting enough contrast between the foreground and background :( I think they are going to end up looking like something you would see hanging on the walls on the set of The Golden Girls - 1980s Florida style :wink:

I've become a fan of your paintings. I love these step by steps. I had a few painting lessons and the best tip I had from my instructor was when painting foliage was to start with PERMANENT HOOKER'S GREEN DEEP HUE. Yep that's an almost black green. Then mix it with over greens as you move forward. It gives great depth. I always started with black but it did change things in a good way to start with this color. Of course it's an acrylic.

I'm looking forward to your next steps. Wendy

Mike,

I think the pineapple looks great. I really think that the leaves are impressive. When I saw it I thought, gee that pineapple looks good, THEN I read your commentary. So I think the lesson is that you are way harder on yourself than others are! I think that's true in general. :)

Thank you Wendy and Lori. Yes, I think that's true Lori - we are always harder on ourselves

I think I finished my first Bird of Paradise tonight, including darkening the background to give it more contrast. Next is the moonlight one.

You have have a very bold approach with your painting. To me that's a good thing. It shows you're not timid about your art and you just put it out there. I like the colors in the Bird of Paradise. Good luck with the next one.

Mike, when most people have a "thing" just a single thing that makes them, interesting
you have embraced all things, please stop making the rest of us look bad :lol:

MadDogMike the painting is beautiful. The colors just pop in the very best way. Wow you never fail to impress me. Wendy

Dang
I thought that was a picture

Looks great MadDog!

Thank you all very much. I like the way it turned out but I think my success was a combination on bright colors in the subject matter and beginner's luck :lol:

Up next is the monochrome "moonlight" bird of paradise. I finished early and had some class time left to kill, so I thought I would add a clouded moon. I'm not really sure it added to the picture. Need to do some more work on the clouds after this layer of paint is dry - I was starting to muddy it. I probably should have stuck with blues for the clouds instead of the greys, more in line with the monochrome effect. Nice thing is that I can paint over the clouds and try again on Tuesday.

Still not happy with the the clouds on the Moonlit Bird of Paradise but i guess it's done anyway

Is it wrong to do the same painting over and over again until you are happy with it? I did Monday Morning in Baining in 2010 with watercolor but wasn't really happy with it

Several months later I did the same again picture in watercolor and ink, better but still not the vibrant colors I wanted

So now I'm working on an oil version for my painting class, here is a start on the background

Color blocking the mask and hornbill. My plan is to do a sgraffito technique for the feathers; paint the base shadow color for the body and tail and let it dry (done). Then put dark gray on the body and scrape the paint off between the feathers to reveal the black below. We'll see how that works :lol:

I do so love watching you work. Wendy

Thank you Wendy.
Jon, how did you know what I was going to do?

Sgraffrito is a technique I have used in clay where you cover one color of clay with a thin layer of a contrasting colored clay then carve through one color into the next. Apparently you can use the same technique with paint. I tried it - it makes a cool texture up close but doesn't have much color contrast.

Getting better but a long ways to go still :wink:

Some shadowing and details, almost done

Oooh, I like the mood you are setting.

Way Kool
Very mad dog ish

Thank you Hilda and Jon :)

All done (only difference from the last pic is that I needed the paint to dry so I could finish the eye)

Looks great Mike. Each painting is better than the last. Looks like you are getting the hang of it.

It's embarrassing Mike.........how you are embarrassing the rest of us, seriously! :)
thanks for making me feel like I didn't do anything constructive today, guess I'll just see what's on TV now.

Nice!

You are really a multi-talented artist. I wish I could hear everything that Teresa says to you about your art. She must be so proud of you. This is right up there with the bird of paradise which was super. Wendy

Swizz and Cy, thank you
Wendy, Teresa is actually a much better painter than I but she acts like she thinks I'm doin' well :lol:
ATP you gotta cut the umbilical cord to the TV and get your router out. The flickering rays of TV light kills creativity

File this under "Stupid Mistakes" :lol:
Not Tiki (fortunately) but it underscores the importance of not getting too comfortable with a process. This Pokeman Bulbasaur planter had a closed off hollow head that I was going to drill a vent hole in later and forgot. I remembered when I open the kiln and saw that it had exploded

OH NO! So sorry. I worried I would do that with my balloon technique. How about Magic Mend? I've sure used that a lot since you told me about it. Hugs, Wendy

I hate it when my head explodes like that.

Ow... Looks painful

Still need to make a new Bulbasaur before Christmas, maybe this weekend?

Anyone know how to get rid of a pesky octopus in my fish pond, it's eating my goldfish! :wink:

Finished my last assignment for my oil painting class, "Reflections of Sepik River Spirit House". I'm happy with it overall but wish I had blended the background a bit.

Mike
One of these might help

New mug inspired by Shrunken Ned in Disney's Adventureland, complete with monocle.

I like it.

Nice! Love the enlarged eye via monocle. No step by steps?? :wink:

Thanks Hilda
David that monocle is the lid off a Trader Joe's pepper grinder LOL I made a form a few years back for a series of shrunken heads. I just slabbed over the form and added features

[ Edited by: maddogmike 2015-12-14 20:25 ]

Me like Ned

Merry Christmas to all!

Awesome Bruddah

Hahahaha! Love that shirt, Mike!

Thanks Jon & David. I forgot to mention that I put a magnet in Donner's crotch and can put a pair of silver "jingle balls" there on occasions when it is less inappropriate :lol:

That's the idea but not quite so big :lol:

I found a kiln controller for $400 from TheroMart in Canada and my sweetheart bought it for me for Christmas. My manual kiln WITHOUT an automatic shut-off was a pain in the butt. Normal firing schedule was to turn it on low at 6am, turn it to medium at noon, and to high at 2pm. Check on it every hour or so until it close to temp then check every 15 minutes until time to turn it off. Averaged about 10 trips to the kiln per firing and had to be done on the weekend when I was going to be home.
So I was looking forward to being able to set the kiln controller and walk away but it turned out to be rather frustrating. This controller is made for a wide range of temperature control application, everything from ceramics firing to beer making. So it doesn’t come programmed. That’s fine except the programming directions sucked. So did customer service. It always took 1-4 WEEKS for them to get back to me and they we’re very helpful when they did reply. Finally got it programmed and it still wouldn’t work. Turned out my outlet wiring couldn’t carry enough current and the voltage drop kept re-setting the controller. So I ran a new heavy duty circuit and a new breaker. 4 months and 3 days after Christmas it looks like it is finally working!!!

I really know your frustration. I bought a scale that would weigh up to 222 pounds. Perfect only the instructions said you had to calibrate it with weights. I called customer service and was told to go to a box store and ask to use their weights. I took it to the box stores in our town and was told "Oh we use a service to calibrate". I ended up giving the scale away and just weigh at the post office. Bummer. Wendy

PS glad you got it working, now you can do many projects to entertain us with

I just wanted to add this beauty to Mikes creations, He is the nicest person alive and he sent this to me several years back because he knew I like skulls. This is a long piece so I took picture of several sections. It is made of clay, it has weathered outside and from high winds some parts have fallen but I put them all together and it looks great. He even put a solar light in the skull and it would light up at night in red color. Thanks again Mike.

Hilda you're gonna make me blush! :blush:

That mobile has aged beautifully! Glad to see it has weathered the storms :)