Art Progressions

Okay…onto the final phase of this project.

After Sealant Added

I hung Sammie outside to add two coats of clear sealant.  Sammie seems quite happy hanging out on our patio.

Add the glasses & the bling

Just too cute for words.

After the sealant dried, Sammie came back inside so I could attach the sunglasses and the bling necklace (yet another madri gras bead strand).  I used the Beacon 3-and-1 clear glue to attach the glasses at the nose and the end of the ear pieces.  For the bling, I glued it at the top of the fish.  Later I added another plastic pearl to the front of the glasses on the nose ridge to cover the gap.

Side view of the sunglasses & bling

A better view of the glasses and bling.  Once the glued dried, the glasses and bling are on pretty strong.  Sammies is turning into a real cutie.

Just add water

Remember in the first part where I showed the supplies and mentioned the fluffy stuff?  Well here’s where it comes into the project.  I wanted it to look like Sammie was flying above water spray.  I put glue on the bottom of the three fins and tail, stretched out the fluffy stuff a bit and then attach it to the glued areas.

Another view of the 'adding water' step

Another view of Sammie.

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Happy Coloring!

Maureen, The Mandala Lady

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Here is today’s progression of the big fish, which I have named “Sammie.”

Sammie's Sunglasses

I added two plastic pearls to the top of the glasses.  (See yesterday’s post to view the supplies photo with the necklace).

Salmon Hanging

I rigged Sammie with two eye hooks so that I could hang it and work on both sides.

Light Blue wash

I painted a watered-down Carribean Blue wash over the body of the fish.  I added extra paint strokes on the tail & fins.

Blue Face

I painted a watered-down Blue Jay wash over the face area.

Yellow on Face

Then I painted areas of watered-down Daffodil Yellow.

Pearl shimmer on face, tail & fins

I painted a coat of the white pearl finish on the face, tail & fins.

Attach Scales

I wanted the scales to lift off the the surface by a small amount.  I decided to use the individual pieces of the purple plastic beads.  I glued the bead so that it’s under the left side of the scale and the right side glued directly to the fish.

Bottom Row of Scales

The bottom row of scales is glued in place.

Middle Row of Scales

The middle row of scales is complete.

Top Row of Scales

The top row is done.

Dots & Glitter

I found a strand of mardi gras beads and cut them up to use as dots on the upper part of the fish to mimic the spots on a salmon.  I also applied strands of glitter on the fins and tail to accentuate their shape.  I then turned the Sammie over to do the same steps on the other side.  Sammie’s tail and face are supported by plastic containers so that it’s about 4 inches above the table.

Hanging out to Dry

I’ve hung Sammie in the shower to dry.  What looks like an eyeball on the face, is actually the nose.  I used one of the spacers from the plastic pearl necklace.  (See yesterday’s post for the photo of the supplies used).

That’s it for today.  Tomorrow I’ll finish off the face and tail (more glitter), attach the sunglasses, cover the entire thing in sealant, and add the translucent stringy stuff to the bottom of the fish…to make it look like it’s jumping over water (at least that’s the plan.)

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Maureen, The Mandala Lady

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I’m doing a fish for the da Vinci Days Avenue of Imagination promotion.  I decided to photo-journal the process.  To date here’s what’s been done.

Sketch of Salmon

I started by drawing this sketch of a salmon. It’s 32×10.5.  Since most salmon seem to have sad faces, I gave this one a smiley face.  Hey, I’m the artist, I can take liberties if I want

Download Sammie sketch

Wood Cut-out of Salmon

From my 32″ sketch of the salmon, Gerry (my totally significant other), cut out the salmon on 1/4in plywood.

Primed Salmon

I then gave it 3 coats of primer, both sides.

Floppy Disks

You know those old 3-1/2in ‘floppy’ disks we all accumulated years ago but are reluctant to throw out?  Well I opened mine up (60 of them to be exact), pulled out the floppy part of the floppy disk and removed the center metal piece.

Primed Floppy Disks

I used rust-o-leum’s white spray primer that claimed it would stick to just about anything.  Lo & behold, it sticks to floppy disks…and quite nicely I might add.  If you should try this, you’ll need to temporarily secure them otherwise they blow away as soon as you try to spray them.  I used this tacky putty stuff that I use to post things on walls.

Some of the Supplies I used

Some of the supplies I used and will be using.  I went to a local thrift shop and bought the plastic pearl necklace and the purple & green beads for a total of $1.25.  Such a deal.

The little sunglasses came from one of our stuffed animals.  Since this photo, I added 2 small ‘pearls’ to the part of the glasses that stick up on top.  I added the glitter trim using the Blue Topaz Sparkly Glitter Glue.  I also have a bottle of Blue Moon Sparkly Glitter Glue.

Our local craft store, Creative Crafts & Frame, had Ceramcoat acrylic paint on sale, so I bought Caribbean Blue, Lime Sorbet, Blue Jay, Pop Pink, and Bahama Purple.  I also bought DecoArt Daffodil Yellow and Dazzling Metallics White Pearl.  I’m gluing things with Beacon’s 3-in-1 advanced craft glue.  Later I’ll show you how I’m using the Natural Accents (the bag of translucent fluffy stuff).

Painted Disks

I had six colors, so I paint ten disks of each color.  They needed two coats, the purple ones (lower right) needed three coats.

Whte Pearl metallic finish - view 1

To all of the disks, I painted one layer of the white pearl metallic finish.  In this view it’s hardly noticeable.

White Pearl metallic finish - view 2

When light reflects off it, it has a nice shimmer.  Hopefully we have bright sunny days for da Vinci Days so that this fish can really shine.

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Happy Coloring!

Maureen, The Mandala Lady

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