May 21

Wooden Feather Earrings #7 – Cherry, Padauk, & Purpleheart

These earrings are hand-made, one-of-a-kind pieces made from cherry, padauk, and purpleheart woods. The colors are the natural colors of the wood (no stains or paints). These are finished with a food-safe mineral oil/beeswax mix. 

This pair of earrings is available for purchase on the Laughing Mantis online shop.

 

 

The wood is initially cut to size and glued in the desired pattern. I then sketch out the design and cut it out with a scrollsaw. Finally comes a LOT of sanding by hand and then finishing with mineral oil/beeswax.

 

May 20

Wooden Feather Earrings #9 – Maple

These earrings are hand-made, one-of-a-kind pieces made from a piece of maple I milled up myself. The colors are the natural colors of the wood (no stains or paints) The darker color is actually part of the bark. These are finished with a food-safe mineral oil/beeswax mix. 

This pair of earrings is available for purchase on the Laughing Mantis online shop.

 

The wood was milled up from a single branch of maple I found. I then sketched out the design and cut it out with a scrollsaw. Finally came sanding by hand and then finishing with mineral oil/beeswax.

 

 

Apr 06

“Owl Earring Hanger #2”, Daniel D. Brown, 2017

I decided to make a simpler Owl earring hanger – One that takes less time to assemble and is much less unwieldy to ship. i.e. one that’s actually worth it for me to make and sell to people. This first one was an experiment with home-made stains using vinegar and steel wool.

Note the hanging basket in which studs and earring backs can be placed.

SOLD

  

Apr 02

Tridimensional Portrait of a Lizard in the Midst of an Existential Crisis, Daniel D. Brown, 2017, Oil and Glass on Canvas and Apoxie Sculpt

So this was an incredibly fun project to work on, which I apparently did over the course of about 6 months. I also featured this piece in the 20th annual Art All Night – Lawrenceville.

Original SOLD

“Lizard in the Midst of an Existential Crisis”
Detail
Art All Night 2017

It all started with just a small canvas and a little bit of apoxie sculpt.

Note: The eye was first painted on canvas – which I eventually cut out because I hated the canvas texture.
Only some of the scales are sculpted
Painting between scales
I went through many layers of oil paint over several months (oil dries SLOWLY). Note the canvas texture to the eye. Blech. I’m fine with canvas for some of the skin and how it contrasts with the sculpted part.
As mentioned above, I hated the eye. So I ripped it out and sculpted an actual iris (that pupil actually has depth including behind the iris)
Glass cabochon
There is pearl pigment mixed in the iris paint
lame
In the end, I epoxied the sculpted iris to the back of the glass with a crystal clear resin. I built the frame out of some 100+ year old reclaimed wood.

 

Dec 15

Oil Sketches #1-3

My amazing wife bought me a new oil painting kit for my birthday. It’s officially time for me to learn how to actually use them! I did a few tiny sketches (like 4×4″) just to practice this relatively new medium (I’ve only used once before on this 3D octopus).

Oil Sketch #3: Laguna Waves” (based on a photo from a vacation in Laguna Beach)
Oil Sketch #2: Double-Collared Sunbird” (based on my photograph in Cape Town, South Africa)
Oil Sketch #1: Shorebird (based on a photo from our wedding in Mauritius)