Casting Resin

Resin continues to be a challenge for me. I've about conquered the poured resin that I coat photographs with, but the casting resin is a different story. Part of the problem is that there isn't a clear formula for mixing the resin with the catalyst. On Friday I tried using the standard formula from the side of the can. The results are above. It cracked to bits.

The formula (drops of catalyst per ounce of resin) depends on too many variables: 1) how many layers, and which layer it is, 2) the temperature of the workspace, 3) humidity, 4) depth of the cast. I am not a scientist and can't figure all this out.

The second casting did better -- when it cracked it didn't go all the way through to the edge. Since I was out of materials, and didn't want to try casting again, I taped off the edges and poured the other kind of resin over the top. It still sunk in the cracks, but it sealed the surface, and gave it a nice shine. And I am going to say that I intended for it to crack -- doesn't it look like ice? (wink wink)

Hey, it's art! Nothing's perfect.

Today I am resin-coating another cast piece to match. Thank goodness there are only two pieces in the project!

Summer Time

Time moves slower in the summer. Days are long, sunshine prevails, and it seems that I accomplish so much more in a day than in winter. I painted six commissioned paintings yesterday, from start to finish. Not small ones, either, they were 12" x 24" photo paintings. They dried overnight and I rolled them up, stuck 'em in a tube and shipped them off to Ohio ten minutes ago. I couldn't do that in the winter. Too cold, paint takes too long to dry.

And today I've been out at the pool in my swimsuit, sanding a cast resin piece in preparation for painting. This one was cast very shallow, because I'm going to mount it on matboard and frame in a shadowbox. It's another image for Verity, located in Texas Clinic. I got that powder all over me, but I just hosed off and jumped in the pool! And it's no problem since I have tile floors in my studio. I've been going in and out regularly since it warmed up.

One problem I have in summer that I don't any other time of year is my watermelon addiction. There's a big juicy one in the fridge calling me right now. It's best to sit outside and eat it so that when that juice runs down your chin you can jump in the pool to clean up.

Working it Out

After a flurry of activity, and many hours thinking I'd never wrap things up enough to leave town, I'm breathing easier today.

Yesterday wore me out, though.

I've had to clean my front and back studios in preparation for resin pouring. I can't believe I'm doing another two-sided resin box! Not only that, but it's 6 1/2' long! Instead of having a solid box fabricated, I took another route, and made an open box, with the other side separate. This way I can pour resin on both pieces at the same time. It will sit and cure for the three weeks I am away. When I come home, I will glue them together - and voila! That's my last project, and it's under control.

I painted the cast carved sculpture yesterday. My intention was for the fabricator to tint the resin to a dark brown color, thereby eliminating much of the painting process. That didn't turn out as planned, so it was me and spray paint out in the back yard. I like the way it turned out, and hope the designer agrees. I'll know tomorrow. She wanted a "rusted metal" look, and I think I've achieved that.


This one is for model room, so we won't get it back. So, I'll be painting another one today for reference when we get to production stage. There will be over 900 of these.

My project of 22 pcs for behind the registration desk of a local hotel is still in progress, I've worked a little on it every day, but thankfully, I got a deadline extension and it can be finished up when I get home.

Today after the resin pouring I'll be working on the abstract commission. My client is coming to meet me tomorrow, and it would be nice to hand over the finished painting. Hopefully I'll spend at least a few minutes in a lounge chair by the pool!

Mania Sets In

With six projects all in various stages of production I have run out of studio space, which now includes my living room, dining room, and third bedroom. And when a client calls to ask me to do just one more thing before I leave town on Tuesday I freak out! Too much to do and not enough time.

I went to visit my Dad in Harlingen this past weekend, and we had a lovely time watching golf on TV. Golf has been his passion for many years, and since he can no longer play, he watches. He's lonely though, and I wish we lived closer because I don't see him as often as I'd like.

This morning I am printing three giclees for model room for a hotel resort. Purchase orders will be issued for this job when I get home. I'm printing all three images, with quantities of 900 ea, so I need to get a move on - it will take forever and I'll use both of my 44" printers. Also for this project I am painting the casting that I've had made of the original sculpture I finished this week.

I have struggled mightily to get three good prints on aluminum. I've had different problems with every print, and it has cost me hundreds of dollars since I'm buying pre-treated metal from Booksmart. Yesterday I pulled my last sheet out of the package and it has a big gouge across it. I'm a little high strung right now and fired off an email which was quickly answered by Eric, offering to replace the product immediately, and he helped with the other problems I'd had, too. Thanks Eric!

Spring storms are wreaking havoc here in North Texas. Besides tearing up my beautiful flower beds, the high humidity makes it hard for paint to dry. I'm trying to heed all the cautionary labels that say "do not use in high humidity". Well I can't wait forever!

My medical clinic project is coming along nicely. I love working with Denise! We have all but a couple of pieces picked out.

I have a new project that's a large grid painting for a local construction company. I went to their offices yesterday for a photo shoot, and got lots of really great ideas walking around their back storage yard.


The new abstract commission the Glorieta series (above) is almost done, but it just hasn't told me so yet. It still needs a tiny bit of tweaking. Lucky for me the wonderful woman who ordered it understands the creative process and will wait.

This weekend I'm fabricating another photo box with resin so it can cure while I'm out of town.

With all these things in process, nothing will get finished before I leave town, but I sure will have a lot of work when I get home. There's some security in that.

Sculpture, Illustrations, and Berry Stains

The past few days have been full of extremes. Lots of different projects, with differing degrees of success. Here's the shells:

Pretty crazy, huh! Clear plexi cleats will be epoxied to the back, and they'll be cleated to the wall in a grid pattern.

And in the mail today came this:

That's one of my first paintings gracing the cover of this academic book. I licensed that image last year, and totally forgot about it until now.

The carving of the boot top is completed. I met with the designer yesterday so she could give it her blessing; instead she made a couple changes -- now it's done. Next step is the mold, then casting and painting, and it's ready for the model room.


While working outside on that piece I got berries stuck on the bottom of both feet, and thought I was tracking paint in the house, but couldn't figure that out since I wasn't painting. Nature's paint, I guess -- red berries!

Tomorrow I head to south Texas to visit my dad for a couple days -- for his 93rd birthday!

3d Artwork

High Density Foam Carving, 36 x 36

So far so good. I made alot of progress on this over the weekend. Consequently it's Monday morning I am am totally worn out! I wanted a massage last night but Royce was in a volleyball tournament and couldn't come over. darn-it-all

This is the rough out. All the holes are cut, but not shaped, and I haven't dimensionalized it yet. Just a start, really. At least I got smart this time, and instead of dressing in a jumpsuit and hanging plastic to isolate my studio and protect the rest of the house from this static-y dust, I did the whole thing outside. It was a perfect 72 degree sunny day, low humidity. Then used a lawn blower to clean it (and me) off before bringing it back inside.

As you can see, the design has changed dramatically (more than once). If you can't tell by looking, it's the top of a cowboy boot, from the side. There's the strap down the middle, and lots of stitching and cutouts.

This is the piece that will be cast in resin and placed in 900 hotel rooms in a resort in Central Texas.

I'm on hold right now, waiting for a response from the designer before I take it any further. The thing about sculpting is that once that material is gone, there's no putting it back. Except for the swirly hole cut by the Dremel tool when I yanked on the cord and the drill slipped! I had to spackle that!

Wouldn't You Know

The designer has finally approved the sea shell casting. I was in such a hurry to get the samples to her that I didn't even take a picture! I'll have time for that later, but for now, the one she chose was the first pour, the one with a distressed surface from using too much mold release! It did create an interesting texture, so I think it was a good choice. I just hope it can be replicated. We'll know today, when the second set comes out of the molds. (fingers crossed)

I did get a two month extension on my major project, the 22 pc installation for the registration desk, but since I was already in the big middle of it, I haven't entirely put it away. Everything involved has multiple steps. I'm getting as many done as I can, so every layer has a chance to dry completely before the next step.

Yesterday I got approval for the next carving, to replace the one I did last fall that was not approved by the hotel owners. This is the sixth design; it was a struggle to get something that was acceptable to both the designer and the owner. I hope to be carving it tomorrow. And with the experience I got the last time I did this, I'm doing it outside so I don't have that terrible mess in my studio. The dust from carving foam has a static charge that won't let go.

36" x 36" carving

Also yesterday my client called to ask if I had any photography of colorful bowls. I said no. Then she emailed me what she had in mind, and in digging through old travel photos discovered that not only did I have exactly what she wanted, it was as though the photo she sent me as reference was mine, since it was in the same market in Istanbul, Turkey!

Had a great meeting with my new medical clinic client, and we chose all the artwork for the suite in two hours. Amazing! She understands that I'm traveling and then she's traveling, so I don't need to stress about deadlines with this project.

Have another project in the works for a large grid painting for a construction company, will meet with them next week. It seems it's always like this before I take a trip.

In the Flow

This photo was taken outside Ste Colombe, France last year. I've been thinking of France since a couple of my artist friends just returned from a lovely visit there and I'm jealous!

We've all experienced times when our lives just flowed without conflict. I'm in one of those periods now, and things are good. I've completed a number of large projects, and have a couple of purchase orders in house for new things.

This weekend I attended the Healthcare Design conference, and made some contacts that seem promising. I printed tear sheets to hand out, and one person I met said "oh! You're "A Walker"? I just sold 25 of your paintings on a hospital project!" She promised to send me photos of the installation.

And Carl told me that he sold 50 giclees of my work for a hospitality project. Guess the check will be in the mail.

Solo Show at Scott and White hospital

Yesterday I took down my solo show at the Smith Art Gallery at the Scott and White hospital in Temple, TX. I met the art consultants that are just completing the installation for all the art in the new addition to the hospital. That's another company that might turn out to be a nice new client for me, too. They were already familiar with my work.

cast resin, 36 x 36

Today I got to see the final painted cast of the carving. The colors weren't exactly right so I made a few touchups, now it's perfect! Looks like rusted metal, right?

longhorn photography, 32 x 42

And the other thing that I haven't talked much about is the large photograph for a huge resort project. I sold the rights to the image, and someone else is printing it on metal. The color isn't right on that either, but it will have to do for model room, we can make adjustments after the purchase order arrives!

Get the Party Started

Last week I had a sad realization that I have sacrificed social interaction for my work. I have to call all this art-making "work" since that's how I make a living. It's my job. But in my quest for success and achievement I have completely ignored all the things that combine to create a balanced life. Mine is decidedly unbalanced.

I used to travel more. Lately I have not wanted to turn down jobs in order to leave town. I badly need to take a trip down to see my Dad, but I haven't been able to schedule even a day away with all the projects I've had going on.

It's all winding down now. I took the last batch of images for Texas Clinic to the framer today. I delivered the last originals for the huge resort project for model room. I went to the mold makers -- and the casting came out GREAT! My part is over. My client will work with the mold makers now, directing the casting and painting.

Today I'm finishing up the last originals for Texas Clinic, cleaning my studio, washing my brushes, and invoicing!

Planning An Escape

It's been too long since I've had a change of scenery, and I'm planning just that. I need to get away, I need to be alone, and I need some distractions. Luckily my artist friend Helen is going away over Thanksgiving and she needs a petsitter for her little dog Redford, and her two new poodle puppies! How could I resist the allure of northern California and two puppies?

Hopefully all these projects that have made me so crazy over the past few months will be installed and off my mind.

Today I am painting three abstracts (the ones I forgot about) and delivering the abstract I painted yesterday that will be turned into digital wallpaper.

Had some major complications with the carving. The casting estimator got the numbers wrong and now it's not even close to being affordable for room art. It's possible that we'll have enough time to get it to China for casting, but that's a long way off, and decisions can be made after model room (Nov 1). We're doing the first one here, that's for sure.

Still doing last minute prints for Texas Clinic. I have one 46' wall left to lay out, and I'm done with that. Can't wait to see what turns up in my inbox today.

Using What You Got

I'm in my last phase of printing images for Texas Clinic. Instead of starting over from scratch developing new photography to combine with paintings for digital constructions, I am using photography that I already created for a different job. Why reinvent the wheel, right? I am creating these the same way that I do digital mockups, cutting and pasting, really.

It's good to be working on something that doesn't have the level of anxiety of the carving. I took photos of the final piece before I delivered it to the mold makers yesterday. This is a nerve-wracking process. First I have never worked in that medium before (foam carving). Second, I've never had this company make a mold, and third, we have a Nov 1 install date. Yikes! Even my client called me last night (after work hours) for reassurance that it's all going to be good. How the heck do I know? We're all doing our best and trusting in a good finale.

Fresh Air

I've been cooped up in my studio for so many months that it was great to get out and breath some cool morning air with 26,000 of my closest friends. Race for the Cure has become a giant commercial venture. I'm wondering how much money actually gets donated. It was like a county fair with booths and hawkers. I didn't put my name on any mailing list. And I discovered I probably need to buy one size bigger shoes. yowch

On Sunday I took another day off (between coats of varnish) and went to the Edom Art Festival in East Texas. I was there years ago, but haven't given it much thought since. Then my artist friend Cheryl McClure recommended it and off I went.

Now it's Monday already. I've got one coat of resin on the back of the carving, and four layers of varnish on the front. I had intended to put resin on both sides, but then it occurred to me that the resin would level out and fill in the carving details. Glad I though of that before I did it!

So it's off to the mold makers today. Yiikes! This is the scary part for me. The carving will be destroyed by the mold making process. I just hope they get a good mold.

Thorough Clean-up

I'm almost done with the carving. I've sent off photos to the designer, will be interesting to hear what she has to say. In researching the process of making a mold from this foam I have discovered that I will probably have to coat the whole thing with resin. Otherwise it's just too fragile and will come apart when the first mold is made. Since there will such a volume of castings (930) we'll need multiple molds. They wear out. Who knew?

So since resin has to have a dust-free environment looks like I've got a heavy duty cleaning session ahead of me.

Metal boxes done. Have to antique and varnish the last ones.

Magnetic Dust

carved foam, 36" x 36" x 1"

It's not really magnetic, but it must have some sort of static cling to it. Carving this foam (Last-A-Foam) is the messiest thing I've ever ever done. Even more than sandblasting! I made the mistake of going from the studio to plopping down in a living room chair. Foam dust went with me, loosed itself from my clothes and attached to the chair. And the remote control, and the pillow, and the carpet, and my coffee cup. I got undressed in my studio last night, and bagged the clothes. Even with shop vac-ing every ten minutes, it's a huge mess. But as you can see above, I've made good progress. The design is an abstracted mesquite tree, which is native to central Texas. This is the original from which mold will be made and then cast in resin.


Also completed one of the metal boxes. The photos are printed on metal and adhered to a cradled wood panel (box). I've surrounded the image with aluminum tape which has been imprinted in a design. Can't really see that part on the photo. Also antiqued it a little with black ink, then scrubbed it with steel wool. I'm really happy with how this turned out. I have three more to do. These are for Texas Clinic.