Hello all,
Well, it’s been a few weeks and I had hoped to share a huge project with you, but I have a few more technical details to iron out. It should be finished shortly, but the trick with large pieces is that once the components are finished, they kinda come together backward — the hanging mechanism and backing board happen first, then the metal surface is laid on top. So the good parts are done, but the behind the scenes stuff still needs a bit of mechanical fussing around.
In the meantime, I do have a fun new smaller (okay, medium-sized) piece to share! Since the Cleveland-themed work has enjoyed such a positive response, I wanted to make some larger pieces to fill out the offerings. The new piece is based on this skyline, that I use for my small photo pieces:
…except instead of having a gritty, industrial feel, it will have a modern twist. I stylized the buildings a bit, giving them almost a stained glass look to contrast the detailed lower cut landscape. I cut most of the piece on my shear break, so it has a lot of straight lines and a strong sense of geometry.
cut & etched:
The picture is a little difficult to read because of the shiny surface, but Clevelanders might recognize the iconic shapes of the BP Building, Key Tower, Terminal Tower, and the curve of the stadium hidden within the shapes . Sheared pieces like this can be tricky because while they seem straightforward and representational, they have to be designed in a particular way in order to work. Since every cut spans the entire length of the metal, you have to plan out not just where they will be, but the order in which they will be made. If you look carefully, you will find the first three vertical cuts that divided up the large plate. The entire piece is about two feet wide, so once it has a bit of color I think it will make quite a nice display.
I’m not sure what colors I’m going to use yet, so I did a little experimenting with the original picture in photoshop. So far I’m torn between classic black and white, with the silver of the metal showing through:
…or dark skyline against a teal blue sky, leaving the tip of the Key Tower silver to mimic its shiny metallic top:
…or silver/ teal combination, to break away from the standard silhouette dark-on-light:
…or skip the realism all together, and paint it all shades of blue:
So, I’ve decided to do what I do best — ask YOU guys! ;) Which do you think will have the most impact? Does it matter whether it’s more or less realistic? Which is the most appealing overall? Leave a comment below, or shoot me an email — I’d love to hear your thoughts!!
Take care, and have a great week!
Chris