Santos De Palo: La Madama | In progress | Images © Copyright 2012 Mel LV Ruiz
This is the bulto I was working on last month before all the holiday madness set in. A little bit more carving, then detailing, then sanding…then choosing finish. One thing is certain, I’m not painting her. When complete, she will reside alongside my Oya bulto.
…I’ll post more pics when I’m nearing the finish line :)
And then THIS happened. Wood putty, here I come…sigh.
Untitled “Semi Relief” | In progress | Images Copyright © 2011 Mel LV Ruiz ♥Ineffable3
Upside down…and still not giving away any surprise endings. I’ll eventually stop posting these progress shots altogether. I’m going to wait until the piece is near completion to do a mass picture post.
Untitled “Semi Relief” | In progress | Images Copyright © 2011 Mel LV Ruiz ♥Ineffable3
After almost 2 weeks away, I’ve finally come back to my little Saint and her 2 birds. I’ve made alot of mistakes with this layout - mainly because it’s turning into an full relief as opposed to a semi which was my initial intention. I was recently told, “There are no mistakes in carving, just design changes.” It’s true, wood has a mind of it’s own. As do the Saints. As far as they’re concerned, if you’ve decided to devote your time to them, you better devote your entire time…otherwise you’re hands won’t work for anything else. Case in point - our beloved Khaleesi *siigh* It’s not like I don’t know this rule, I’ve experienced repercussions for attempting to break that very rule several times this past year. So yea, that’s the story. More progress pics coming soon!
Untitled “Semi Relief” | In progress | Images Copyright © 2011 Mel LV Ruiz ♥Ineffable3
This is what she’s looking like so far. Slow progress and rough looking progress, but progress nonetheless. I’ve taken to carving a little here and there in the wee hours of the morning before the little one wakes up to begin his day. Other than the birds chirping, it’s super quiet at 6am, which is nice. Just me, a cup of coffee, and a kitchen table full of wood shavings :)
Untitled “Semi Relief” | In progress | Images Copyright © 2011 LV Ruiz ♥Ineffable3
Doing some feathering. I hadn’t planned on doing any…but it’s happening. Carvings tend to take on a life of their own, and with that life comes personality…and opinions. So yea, my Hawk wanted defined feathers, so I was more than kind enough to oblige him.
More progress shots coming sooooooon.
Hawking. Yes friends, new madness has begun.
3 bits of concept sketches for next painting. There will be a few really cool focal points in this one, so I’m pretty amped to get started. Once the idea is finalized (yea, fat chance) and all the images are layed out properly, I can then begin the transfer to wood. There will also be a nice little story to tell about this piece upon it’s completion. You shall enjoy :)
On another note - I’m SO happy to be out of the Ochun haze. I think my eyes were bleeding yellow and gold for a solid 2 months. I mean, Jeez Louise! Getting back to the gloomier side of life makes me feel alot more comfortable.
Bird (re)progressions as of yesterday. Pardon my brush stroke eff ups…Eh, screw it - they’ll be too tiny to notice anyway ;P
Progress shot of another piece I’m working on. I have a few projects on my plate at the moment. It’s a damn nice feeling - and hey, it might even pay off in the end :)
A snippit of this mornings bird progress.
When in doubt, carve it out.
So yea, I woke up pretty unhappy with things this morning. Wasn’t diggin’ how my bird/flowers were looking, so I said screw it, and sanded everything off (sans face). Oh yea, I also notched this little piece in. The cross is pretty important to the piece as a whole, so I decided to make it stand out the way it should.
There will be more of a mess tomorrow I’m sure…
I began painting yesterday, and the progress I made was pretty bad. I’ve gotten so rusty in the past year - but I have good reason dammit! Anyways, I sanded down my mistakes (sulked) and slept on it. This morning, I redrew my image, took a deep breath and got back at it. And I must say, it’s not too shabby!
