Badger & Firkin

[rales]

Here's a piece I just completed - I don't often get to do caricatures so this was a lot of fun. The project was an Irish Coffin Box (Tap box) for a pub in Ontario Canada called the Badger & Firkin... don't ask me what a Firkin is - I have no firkin idea! (Actually it's a British term for a 1/4 barrel of beer)

I reworked the client's logo into a design 30" by 6" to fit on a 36" box. They specified a gloss black finish for the box itself - for which we use maple with a catalyzed lacquer finish. Now if you have ever tried carving relief in maple - it ain't fun... I'd rather carve white oak any day. I don't care how sharp your tools are - maple is a sticky wood - grabs your tools... However since the final carving was to be painted - a basswood insert was the solution. I routed out the area in the maple to a depth of 1/2" and finished the exposed edges with gouges in a pretty loose manner. For the basswood - I started with 1/2" material and went down about 3/8" - leaving a scant 1/8" for the bottom. I used a subtle #2 to finish the surface of the letters otherwise they would really stick out - being the only thing in the carving without a tool mark on it... This also applies to the sides of the letters which have a slight bevel to the ground. I used a 1mm #11 for the lines in the letters and banner. Background was carved to look like old barn boards. Next the finishing...

[rales]

For the finish I started with a few light coats of Matte fixative. (One of the rules in sign carving is always cover the back with the same stuff you put on the front – helps prevent warpage from moisture) For the paint I used acrylics… starting with a black undercoat and working forward, building color with a dry brush technique – really shows off the facets of the carving. A side benefit with this method is built-in antiquing… your darks are always there from the start. Since pubs are usually low light situations I also worked in some subtle metallics to catch some of the highlights (hard to see in the pics)… for instance the top half of the letters is a bronze – the barrels also have a very subtle glint to them. (23K gold will catch any light that can be had - but it wouldn’t have worked here) The red of the boards in the background was a specific PMS color that I was planning to have to mix… but the Delta Ceramcoat Barn Red was perfect!

Sign finishes differ from other painted carvings in that they are usually selling something – and the object is to get people to look at them. Therefore, they usually a little brighter in order to stand out – this is by need and not choice. I love the subtle finishes I see in carvings all over this board and I do try to tone down things as much as I can. For instance, the client wanted the carving with a gloss clearcoat – I wanted a satin – we compromised on a semi-gloss…

The finished carving was epoxied into the box and I added a small pinstripe that defined the recessed area – picking up the colors in the beer mugs… guaranteed to sell more product! And yes – the stripe is supposed to be a bit crooked – it was not sampling the product!

I welcome any comments and/or critiques – especially from you caricature carvers. I envy you guys/girls for getting to do this all the time!

Peace, rales

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Now that's clever! Really well done. It's great to see something original.

[MackTheKnife]

I'd say you have no worries in the caricature department. Those badgers are great. Very nice work.

Bob

[fpace]

Beautiful... nice warm color too!

[Merle Rice]

Very well done. The colors realy grab your attention. Merle

[cannuckcarver]

Awesome work....Love the idea and the design.
Thanks for sharring.

[Simplyme]

I tell ya.........

AMAZING.......

Love it

[Ed Redwine]

Thanks for sharing...interesting piece! Well done.

[catbird]

I liked it before you painted it...and then, WOW, the finished product is amazing! Excellent job!
TFS