Starcrafter's Latest Creations

Stained Glass Cross, COMPLETED, Day 32 (5)

2010-10-09T23:23:00.002-06:00

First of all, it has NOT taken me thirty-two days to finish this project! Well it Has, but while thirty-two real time days have gone by, I have only worked on this from start to finish, for about 10 hours (stretched out over five sessions). It looks nice, don't you think?
I have started another one like it, as i have the glass, and i think they might sell, or make a nice gift.
I am going to add rings to the top of this panel and loop a wire through the rings for hanging, but otherwise, this panel is DONE.

Glass Cross Panel, Day 26, (4)

2010-10-04T00:02:00.003-06:00

Back again after a long break. Have about 5 hours in the piece so far, but it is ready to solder. All the pieces have been individually cut and fitted to the pattern and foiled. The next step is to solder. 26 days have elapsed since I started this project, but this is only the fourth night I have worked on it.

Glass Cross Panel, Day Ten (3)

2010-09-17T00:17:00.002-06:00

It has been over a week since I last posted. this is the first opportunity I have had to resume work on this piece. The glass squares have been cut, copper foiled and fitted into the frame. This was the very easy part. It took two hours to get this far. These pieces were merely measured out and cut with my Morton Glass cutting system, using a straight edge and guides. All the pieces were pretty uniform this way and only minimal fitting and grinding was required. All the pieces from here out will need to be traced, cut and fitted. A little more work, but not too much more, I think.

Glass Cross Panel Day Two

2010-09-08T21:06:00.003-06:00

Have made the start. No glass cut yet, but everything else is now ready, as these photos show. I printed out and numbered the template - (photo 1). I then organized my glass - (photo 2). I thought I had a purple piece, to alternate with the dark blue, but I do not. I am going to use the light and dark blues to contrast the red, yellow, orange and green. Thirdly, I cut the template into individual pieces - (photo 3). I will use these to trace on the glass and cut out. Finally, I set up the assembly area - (photo 4). All the fitting work as well as the soldering will take place here. the frame holds the pieces into a rctangle shape, and the pattern will be used to fit the finished pieces.

New month, New project Day One

2010-09-07T21:50:00.004-06:00

I have a design for a stained glass panel I want to to. It is a cross with lilies. The piece will be avalable for sale after its completion. As envisioned, the cross will have a yellow center that will blend out to red. The background will be contrasting blue and purples. The lilies will be of a varigated green and white. The whole piece will be approximately 11 x 15. I have printed out the paper template and will begin work on it tomorrow. I have no idea how long it will take, but will use this project as a guide for future time estimation.

Day One Hundred and Nine Completed!!

2010-08-15T19:23:00.003-06:00

This project is DONE!!! Panel three was completed this afternoon. Here is a combined-via-photoshop photo of the completed work. It has been a long journey, but the end has been reached. I will try to get better photos of the pieces and show more details in the next day or so. Unfortunately, I have no place to display the pieces as they are meant to be... in their diamond form, so I am forced to just keep them side by side. but someday, I will hang them properly.

Day One Hundred and Eight

2010-08-14T23:55:00.002-06:00

Have worked sporadically on Panel Three, and have it about 3/4 done. Should be able to finish it tomorrow if all goes well.

Day One Hundred and Four - Panel Two Completed

2010-08-10T16:04:00.002-06:00

Panel Two is completed. Here is the final photo. I have also photoshopped the two panels together. I will add the third as soon as it is done.

Day One Hundred and Two

2010-08-08T23:42:00.002-06:00

Try as I might, I did not finish Panel Two tonight, but have only a little more to go. Filled in more highlight on the outer frame. The little white block in the lower left corner is for my signature.

Day One Hundred and One

2010-08-07T23:10:00.003-06:00

Finished the highlight on the knotwork on the second panel. Just have the frame to do and this one will be done. the highlight is really hard to see against the yellow, but it is there and looks nice. Some highlight can be seen already on the blue framework. It makes the entire design "pop".

Day Ninety-Nine Panel One Completed

2010-08-05T18:58:00.003-06:00

It is with great delight that I can say this day that panel One is finished! I had to enhance the black a little in the picture, because I could not get a clear shoot without glare. My plan is to dull all three panels down with a Matte spray to reduce glare and make them appear uniform. I will do this when they are all done. (What I probably should have done was to mix in a flatting agent into my black to eliminate the shine as I was painting these, but sometimes the ideas come too late. Now on to Panel two.

Day ninety-eight

2010-08-05T01:15:00.003-06:00

Finished all the highlight on the red knotwork on Panel one. It really stnds out now. Just the outer frame highlight and this one is done.

Day ninety-seven

2010-08-03T23:21:00.002-06:00

Although I have not blogged in two days, I have not been inactive. I finished all the black on panel One and now all three can be seen togther. I have also begun the white highlight on panel One as can be seen in the detail photo. It is all nearing completion. I can see them done in my mind and wish I could move a thousand times faster to make my hands catch up!

Day Ninety-five

2010-08-01T00:34:00.002-06:00

Finished all the black around the knotwork and started on the outer frame.

Day Ninety-four

2010-07-30T23:48:00.002-06:00

Made excellent progress today. Almost all the knotwork area is filled in with black.

Day Ninety-two

2010-07-28T23:05:00.002-06:00

Laid down more black today on panel One. I am starting to see the end, albeit distantly. I do believe that this panel will be the best of the three. The colors are going to be fantastic once the black is finished.

Day Ninety-one

2010-07-28T00:17:00.002-06:00

Made a lot of progress today. I finished all the shadowing as well as the rework of the knotwork, and made a good start on the black fill. The new photo shows the progress made.

Day Ninety

2010-07-27T00:04:00.002-06:00

Shadowed more of the red knotwork on Panel One. Discovered a small setback that involved a reworking of the knotwork, but am back on track. Will have a good progress photo tomorrow. stay tuned

Day Eighty-nine

2010-07-25T23:08:00.002-06:00

All the black work is done on panel Three now. All that remains on this piece is the highlight. here are the latest photos.

Day Eighty-eight

2010-07-24T23:44:00.002-06:00

Made more progress on the black on panel three. One more session should finish the black up.

Day Eighty-six

2010-07-22T23:29:00.003-06:00

More black fill tonight, but nothing that would clearly show up in a photo. So no photo tonight. I hope to make a substantial push tomorrow.

Day Eighty-five

2010-07-22T01:41:00.002-06:00

Quite a bit of progress made today, as can be seen by the new photo. the black is shiny and splotchy looking because the paint is still very wet.

Day Eighty-four

2010-07-21T00:09:00.003-06:00

Made a lot of progress today. Started on the outer framework. The photo shows the progress over yesterday. I am painting all from one direction for now, then will flip the panel over and do the other side. It is the easiest way for me, but may end up looking a bit disjointed in the photos. once I get the outlining done this way, I can rapidly do the fills.

Day Eighty-three

2010-07-19T23:41:00.003-06:00

More black completed around the center. Now it is time to move on to the outer frame.

Days eighty-one and eighty-two

2010-07-18T23:13:00.003-06:00

Did not post yesterday, so am doing a double today. the first picture shaows the progress of last night - the black filled in around the rest of the center. Today I shadowed all the red and painted more black on the middle ring of knotwork. Worked about 4 hours all told between last night and today.

Day Eighty!

2010-07-16T23:14:00.002-06:00

Wow! Eighty days. Didn't someone travel around the world in eighty days (at least in a book)? Started filling in the black at the center of Panel three. Will either do more black tomorrow, or start shadowing the red. Worked from 9:00 pm till 11:00 pm

Day Seventy-nine

2010-07-15T22:47:00.003-06:00

The shadowing is done on the blue knotwork. Worked from 8:45 till 10:30pm. The red needs to be done and then the black fill.

Day Seventy-eight

2010-07-14T23:16:00.003-06:00

Began shadowing Panel three. (Saving Panel One till last). Worked from 9:00 till 11:15.
Finished about two-thirds of the blue knotwork. The black line you see about a third from the bottom is a line of thread to indicate the light source. The light is coming directly from above, and everything that falls below the line gets shadows added.

Day Seventy-seven

2010-07-13T21:31:00.002-06:00

Your eyes do not deceive you, there was no blog yesterday. Today I finished the black on panel 2. All that remains is the highlight on all the lnotwork and framework and final touch up and this panel is done. All that will happen when the black is done on all three panels.

Day Seventy-five

2010-07-11T01:17:00.002-06:00

The black keeps growing. One more session and it will be done on Panel two. Worked from 10:30pm til 1:15am

Day Seventy-four

2010-07-09T23:43:00.001-06:00

Worked from 8:30 till 11:30. Painted in more black, as you can see from the photo.

Day Seventy-three

2010-07-08T22:32:00.002-06:00

Painted more black tonight. Worked from 8:45 till 10:15; not as long as I would have liked. Things seemed to go very slow, progress-wise. I had intended to get the entire corner done, but the best laid plans of mice...you know,

Day Seventy-two

2010-07-07T22:45:00.002-06:00

Worked from 8:15pm to 10:30pm. Painted more black. I am loving seeing the progress each day is adding now.

Day Seventy-one

2010-07-06T23:29:00.002-06:00

Worked from 9 till 11:30. Painted in more black.

Day Seventy - latest progress and some thoughts

2010-07-05T23:09:00.002-06:00

Painted some more black tonight. The photo shows the progress over yesterday and the day before. Seventy days may seem like a long time to have made only this much progress, and i guess it is. But what may not be known is that I am only working about two hours a night on these, and have not worked more than four hours on those rare days when I am able to do more. I generally am able to start painting about 8pm and finish about 10 or 10:30. So I have about 140 hours in all three panels so far. Another thing to consider, is that since all of the surface is being painted and not inked and colored, like my other pieces in the past, I am basically painting all the knotwork in from a 'negative space' standpoint. The background is being painted in LAST, and covering everything else, instead of as a normal background. This takes a greater amount of time, patience and detail than one would normally think. So all told, I think I am making very good progress. But I will not be making an end until I am finished. And that may take more time than anyone thought. I am going to make a good effort, however to finish in the next thirty days if possible.

Day Sixty-nine

2010-07-04T23:05:00.001-06:00

More black work completed.

Day Sixty-eight

2010-07-04T02:32:00.002-06:00

This took a lot of time tonight, but was able to get black down on a corner of panel two. The black in the photos have a shine because the paint is still wet. This area only needs a white highlight to be finished, but that will come later, when the whole piece is at that point.

Day Sixty-seven

2010-07-02T23:56:00.002-06:00

Finished the Blue shadow on Panel Two. Here are some pictures of the latest progress.

Day Sixty-six

2010-06-30T23:11:00.002-06:00

On Panel Two: The yellow is shaded, the red is shaded. I started on the blue shading.
Things are really starting to look good

Day Sixty-Five

2010-06-29T22:56:00.001-06:00

More shadow painting on Panel Two. About 3/4 of the way done with it. Should finish it tomorrow.

Day Sixty-four

2010-06-28T22:03:00.003-06:00

Made some good progress over the past two days. Am adding the shadow to the yellow knotwork now on panel two. This will probably occupy the next two days. Then I will do the red and then the blue, then the highlights on all three. Or I might paint in the black and leave the highlights till last since they will not cross over into any other areas. And and is starting to come within view, but still a couple weeks of work yet. The other colors will go faster.

Day Sixty-two

2010-06-27T01:57:00.001-06:00

Completed the yellow shading on panel three and some on panel One.

Day Sixty-one

2010-06-26T00:47:00.002-06:00

Started painting the shadows on panel three. Here is a close-up of the left corner.

Day Sixty - The color blocking is done

2010-06-24T22:26:00.002-06:00

The color blocking on all three panels is done. I played around with a few arrangements, and decided on the placement of the panels. (Sometimes it is different seeing them in color and seeing how the colors relate.) These photos show the latest progress. Now it is on to the shadows.

Day Fifty-nine

2010-06-24T00:00:00.001-06:00

Painted a little more of the blue frameon panel two. No new photot tonight. The progresswas not all that different from last night. Tomorrow the frame will be finished and I will post a new photo then.

Day Fifty-eight

2010-06-22T23:30:00.002-06:00

Painted in some of the blue outer frame on panel Two. I am painting from each side of the board, since they are all smooth lines. Here, i have completed two sides. Will finish it up tomorrow.

Day Fifty-seven

2010-06-21T23:25:00.003-06:00

Painted all the base color in on Panel three. Will do the same on panel two starting tomorrow.

Day Fifty-six

2010-06-20T22:45:00.002-06:00

Finished the red outer frame blocking. Technically, all the colors are laid down on Panel One. Now it is time for the shadows, which will make the over-under separations, the highlights, and the black background, which will even everything out.

Day Fifty-five

2010-06-19T23:38:00.002-06:00

More blocking in the red outer frame on Panel One.

Day Fifty-four

2010-06-19T00:10:00.002-06:00

Laid down more redouter frame on Panel One. Everything is drawn in now, so it is on to the color blocking.

Day Fifty-three

2010-06-17T21:48:00.002-06:00

Finished the red knotwork on panel three, and tinkered with all three panels. Here are the pictures of the end of night progress.

Day Fifty-two

2010-06-16T23:55:00.002-06:00

More progress on Panel three, as I almost have all the red knotwork base painted in. I believe one more session will finish it up. So far I have spent just at 100 hours on this project. This works out to about two hours a night, a few days missed, and a few longer days on the weekends. I think it is pretty good progress considering there are three panels being worked on.

Day Fifty-One

2010-06-15T23:21:00.001-06:00

Finished drawing in the knotwork on Panel Three. Now it can all be painted in uniformly.

Day FIFTY!

2010-06-14T21:58:00.002-06:00

Wow! Fifty days already. After re reading yesterday's post, I realize it was a mistake not to include a photo - even if things looked bad. If i only include the "good Stuff", Neither I nor anyone else can see that not everything goes perfectly. So here is a photo after tonight's work. Some of the badness has been covered up and fixed, but a lot remains. I reworked the path of a lot of knotwork directly on the panel. As can be seen, though, it is being covered up and no one will be able to tell where the changes were. In this photo the changes can be seen on the right side of the central design, and around the outer frame, which is not all finished. I used an orange marker to trace the knotwork. There is also a lot of pencil sloppiness all around. But all is being handled. Stay tuned.

Day Forty-nine

2010-06-13T21:29:00.003-06:00

A long session today. Made quite a mess of things, but I think I have it all sorted out now. Panel three needs more work, and right now, looks pretty rough. I became obsessed with getting the knotwork down to one single strand (Line) and went about it the wrong way round. Usually I design a piece, lay out the knotwork pattern the way I like it, try to keep it uniform, and then work out the over-unders of the line. Usually the line only needs to change course once or twice to all become one single line. Usually it is very easy to correct and sketch in. I completely overestimated the ease of erasability of these canvas boards. Once i traced the path of the knotwork and figured out where the cross overs would be, they had to be covered over and redrawn and the whole path traced over again. Even with a tracing paper overlay, this proved difficult, so I was forced to do a lot of background drawing on the board itself with a marker that would show up, but not contrast. So - right now, panel three is marked up to within an inch of its life and it is not a pretty sight. Once things are painted in, it will be perfect. But I did not have the heart to photograph it till things are cleaned up. It was a big - mistake? - no that is not the word because it was a major learning experience. Yes, that's it - a big learning experience.

Day Forty-eight

2010-06-12T23:26:00.002-06:00

Outlining knotwork on panel three, and checking over the path to see if it is one line. Right now two cross overs are required to make the whole pattern one line, so I am trying to fing the most discreet place to do it. This whole panel needs to be outlined because the main framework is going to be yellow. I need to get rid of all the graphite I can for it to work. There will probably be another two sessions of outlining to finish the knotwork. It is tedious, but all necessary.

Day Forty-seven

2010-06-11T23:55:00.001-06:00

Filled in the central knotwork on panel three.

Day Forty-six

2010-06-10T22:58:00.003-06:00

Here is a photo of the latest progress. Working on Panle three now, fleshing out the knotwork.

Day Forty-six

2010-06-09T21:21:00.003-06:00

Panel three - Drew in the base lines for the rest of the knotwork and started fleshing them out a little. It is very time consuming.

Day Forty-five

2010-06-08T22:29:00.003-06:00

Drew in guides for the knotwork on Panel Three. Will flesh it out tomorrow.

Day Forty-four

2010-06-07T21:43:00.003-06:00

Spent most of tonight evening things out and filling in the yellow base knotwork color. The yellow is transparent, so it can go over the lines, but the board ubderneath has to be clean enough so that the pencil lines do not show thru. I outlined all the yellow areas in brown and orange marker then wnet over the top. this seems to work out great.

Day Forty-three

2010-06-06T22:25:00.002-06:00

Lots of progress today. Finished the base color on all the knotwork on Panel One, and outlined the remaining knotwork on Panel Two. Will paint in the base yellow color next. Also reworked some of the framework on all three panels. The photos show my latest progress.

Day Forty-two

2010-06-05T23:51:00.002-06:00

All the knotwork is drawn in on Panel Two. I can start painting it soon. Tomorrow I believe i will drawn as much as I can on Panel Three, and get that in shape for painting.
The attached photo shows the latest progress.

Day Forty-0ne - back after being sick

2010-06-04T23:28:00.003-06:00

Lost yesterday by being a very sick boy. Exhaustion from the trip, a change of air and other conditions gave me what I can only deem is the flu. I have energy back tonight, but only just. Tonight's progress was only pencil work on panel two. but it all works toward the whole. Sorry for the absence, but doesn't it make the heart grow fonder?

Day Thirty-Nine - Back in town, the work resumes

2010-06-02T21:52:00.003-06:00

Back from my trip. Had a memorable and emotional visit, with everyone in pretty good spirits. Back to work. Started knotwork on panel Three. Drew in and rough painted the red center. I have included two photos from tonight - one is to reorient myself as to the overall progress of the project, and one that shows tonights detail. Once I fill in the rest of the knotwork on panels two and three, i will then be free to move back and forth on all three until they are done. It was exciting to get back and work on these.

Day Thirty-Three, Taking shape

2010-05-27T23:18:00.002-06:00

More progress on Panel Two tonight. Started some black oulining. I am liking the result.
A PROGRAM NOTE: I will be out of town from Saturday until Wednesday. Therefore I will be unable work on these panels or post about them. But things will resume when I get back. Stay tuned.

Days Thirty-One and Thirty-Two

2010-05-26T23:33:00.002-06:00

Did not get to post yesterday, so this one will have to do. Did a lot more work on Panel two, and started fleshing out some of the details. The yellow is blocked in and some of the other colors. All still need highlights and shadows, but this one is taking shape.

Day Thirty

2010-05-24T22:26:00.003-06:00

Roughly sketched more knotwok on panel two and colored it yellow. This has been mostly to get rid of the graphite on the board and have a nice clean yellow go down. While rough looking now, all this will be outlined and cleaned up in time.

Day Twenty-nine.

2010-05-23T23:22:00.000-06:00

The pencil work on panel two continues.

Day Twenty-Eight

2010-05-22T22:11:00.002-06:00

More pencil work on panel two. This is going slower, as , unlike panel One, this knotwork has to be drawn in completely and outlined before painting in yellow.

Day Twenty-seven, pencil work on panel two

2010-05-21T22:02:00.003-06:00

More fleshing out of the knotwork on panel two. Did not put in much time tonight, but got a little done.

Day Twenty-six. Panel Two progress

2010-05-20T21:48:00.002-06:00

Here are two pics frompanel two. I actually took the one without a center last night, but was too exhausted to get the photo ready for publication. Tonight I drew in and painted the center. None of the colors on any of the photos show the actual finished product, remember. There is still shadowing and highlighting to be added as well as the black fill around everything. That is when these things really come alive. But this underlying color is the first step. Stay tuned.

Day Twenty-five

2010-05-20T00:29:00.000-06:00

More pencil work on panel two. Making progress.

Day Twenty-four

2010-05-18T22:28:00.003-06:00

Pencil knotwork blocking on Panel Two tonight. It is a slow process, but will be worth it in the end.

Day Twenty-three

2010-05-17T22:15:00.000-06:00

Taking a break on this dark and stormy night to catch up on some much needed other things. Will resume tomorrow night. Stay Tuned.

Day Twenty-two

2010-05-17T00:06:00.003-06:00

Blocked in a little color on panels two and three. This helps me get my bearings, and establishes the color scheme for the whole work.

Day Twenty-0ne, more progress

2010-05-15T23:08:00.002-06:00

More progress tonight, as more blue knotwork is filled in. All of this knotwork still has to get divided into over-under patterns with shadows and highlights. Another good working session. stay tuned for more tomorrow.

Day Twenty A new color added

2010-05-15T00:47:00.002-06:00

Red has entered the picture - literally. Finished the inner blue knotwork and a little more yellow framework tonight and added a touch of the red outer border base color. This is the first time I am seeing this color scheme for real, and I find it interesting. A lot of work still to go. Stay tuned.

Day Nineteen, More knotwork progress

2010-05-13T22:35:00.002-06:00

Got a lot farther on the knotwork on panel One tonight. I spent about two hours on this tonight and got this far since yesterday. Should finish this central part tomorrow and move onto the outer framework.

Day Eighteen more color

2010-05-12T23:13:00.003-06:00

Just got hooked on color. I think I can control things enough to actually do these in color from this point on. My technique is as this: I draw in a guide - (this first panel has far too much drawing involved, so it will be a little different than the other two) - then i add the color applicable to the areas needed, then paint in shadows and a highlight to the colored areas. Finally, I will finich everything off with a black outline. I think it will work out well. Every time I do one of these, I find a different way of doing it. Soon I will develop a technique that is foolproof. Here is a pic of the latest progress. Stay tuned.

Day Seventeen

2010-05-11T21:56:00.003-06:00

No new photos tonight. Just some more simple 'fleshing out" of the knotwork on panel One. Just pencil work tonight, and hard to distinguish the new from the existing. Stay Tuned!

Day Sixteen, some experiments

2010-05-10T22:35:00.002-06:00

I took a bold step this evening, and added some color to panel one. I have been concerned about the amount of graphite I am laying down on this first panel, and decided to see if my paint could cover it over. I think it does a good job, so If I lighten up my hand on the rest, I should have no problem. This area has yet to receive both the highlights and shadows, but it is enough for tonight. The color scheme on this one will be: Blue Knotwork, Red outer frame and Yellow inner frame. The background will be either black or gray, I have not yet decided, but am leaning to black. Stay tuned.

Day Fifteen

2010-05-09T22:12:00.001-06:00

No progress today on the panels, too many other things took up the time. Will resume tomorrow after work.

Day Fourteen - Panel One blocked in

2010-05-08T23:45:00.002-06:00

All the knotwork guidelines have been drawn in on panel one. I am now fleshing them out and making the over-under interlacing. This will take the next several days, then the process will be repeated on the other two panels. Knotwork on those should go a little more quickly, as I have this one to follow. It looks a mess now, but won't when done.

Day Thirteen - Back to work

2010-05-07T23:17:00.002-06:00

Have begun filling in the central knotwork plan. This part is pretty tedious, so it might occupy a few days. First, I draw in a grid. Then I draw in the knotwork center line to points on the grid. Finaly, I flesh out the knotwork band and weave it over and under . The detailed photo shows the process. All this is still on panel one. The process will be repeated on panels two and three.

Day Twelve A major rework

2010-05-06T21:32:00.002-06:00

In order to proceed as I had originally intended, I needed to correct a major design flaw. I had originally placed the crossing circular section about an inch too far from center. Tonight I corrected this, and the pattern is back on track. As the photos show, the resulting correction is messy, but more balanced. The mess will go away when painting begins, and will not be visible.

I have always said that my celtic drawings "grow" on the page, and these are true to the rule. I make modifications depending on the way things look in the overall composition. I don't think there has ever been a time that a drawing has gone from start to finish without changing along the way.

I now have the rest of the knotwork planned out and can begin drawing it in.

Day Eleven - No posting today

2010-05-05T21:36:00.002-06:00

Was sick today, so am not able to post any progress. Therefore there will be no blog post today..........:)

Day Ten

2010-05-04T21:58:00.001-06:00

Working again "off the panels", working on designs in my sketchbook. When they are completed, I will transfer them to panel one and copy them to panels two and three. Stay tuned.

Day nine

2010-05-03T22:57:00.002-06:00

No photos to show for tonight. Am working "Off the Grid" on the central design. Am also working on my website a little. Will have something to show either tomorrow or Wednesday. Stay tuned!

Day Eight, A new week begins

2010-05-02T22:44:00.003-06:00

Wow! It has been eight days so far. I have only gotten to work about two hours a day so far, but it has been EVERY day, so that is quite an accomplishment for me. The outer Medallions are drawn in on panel One. The corners remain to complete the frame. I have traced the outline of the inner, circular frame on tracing paper, so I can work knotwork into the space left. The original design was much bigger, and the proportions have changed, so I have to re-design the knotwork. I did not want to just reduce the design from the original, so this new dimension is a challenge to make everything fit. The next photos might not be of the panels themselves, but the tracing paper design work necessary to do the fill. Stay Tuned!

Day Seven, more framework

2010-05-01T23:15:00.003-06:00

Day Seven Frame knotwork panel one is filled in. Will work on the other medallions and the center tomorrow and the next few days. Then repeat the process on the other two panels.

Day Six

2010-04-30T22:21:00.003-06:00

More knotwork on day Six. Started on the side frame blocks. Work tonight was difficult, as there was as much planning as there was drawing. Still a few tweaks to be made to the spacing, but this knotwork will continue around he framework and in the central areas. I am experimenting with other designs, but think this one looks the best. I am hoping to put in some serious time this weekend. Stay tuned.

Day Five. The knotwork has begun!

2010-04-29T22:09:00.004-06:00

Worked for only 2 hours tonight. Finished the framework on panel three and began the medallions back on panel one. There will be a total of four medallions on each piece, occupying the large circles, and smaller medallions in the center and the corners. This first went off without a hitch. It took about 45 minutes from start to finish, so you can imagine how much time the entire work will take. The newest photos show the latest progress.

Day Four, third panel

2010-04-28T22:35:00.003-06:00

Its day four, and I have completed about half of the frame blocking on panel three. Here is a close up the panel by itself and one of all three. should be able to finish this third one tomorrow, and then clean up and start planning the medallions and knotwork.

Day Three

2010-04-27T22:57:00.003-06:00

The third day of drawing has come to an end, and I have completed the framework on panel 2. I did not fill this second canvas in as much as the first because I was measuring and designing the first one as I went. With it as a guide, this one went faster and I needed fewer guidelines.

Tomorrow I intend to get as far as possible on panel three. Then it will be some clean-up and then on to the complicateed knotwork filler. I am very happy with the progress so far. So much has been accomplished in only a few days. Stay tuned for more.

Day two, lots of progress

2010-04-26T23:08:00.002-06:00

I have finished blocking canvas one and have started canvas two. Had a great session tonight.

Day One, It Begins

2010-04-25T20:50:00.003-06:00

Ok, here is what I am trying to accomplish: In 1998 and 2003, I design and painted some Celtic inspired Mandalas. They were 27" x 27" in the shape of a diamond, and I liked them a lot. They can be seen on my website. Unfortunately, they were partially destroyed in a flood we had at our apartment in 2008, and I was distraught at their loss. I considered them some of my best work. I have decided to recreate them, and add the third piece to complete the series as originally intended.
The originals were on 4-ply illustration board, painted in acrylic. For this new series, I have chosen to paint them on 24" x 24" canvas board. They will need some revision to accomodate the smaller size, so the new designs, while based on older pieces, will be different, and therefore, new works.
I bought the canvases yesterday, and started working on them today. The pictures above show my progress today.

Welcome to Starcrafters Latest Creations!

2010-04-24T20:08:00.004-06:00

Welcome! This blog will be dedicated to the online documentation, through words and pictures, of my latest artistic works. You will be able to follow the progress by checking in here regularly. So stay tuned. it will be an exciting ride.
Please visit my website at www.starcrafterscreations.com.