fun with three-dimensional art

This is four layers of art, each floating above the other.  Having two inches of depth gives plenty of room for the spacing of layers.  I just love making 3D art.  With layers, it's like Photoshop gone 3D.

8 x 10 x 2".  Bristol board, watercolor, color pencils, ink, plastic straws and Elmer's glue.  I've yet to come up with a name for it, which is unusual for me.

Side angle view.  This shows the layers a bit more clearly.

light-up art

"Fishing Around" is the name of this art.  The idea is very metaphysical; exploring the universe and it's energies.

This art is made of three layers of painted masonite board.  Between the raised layers is a string of lights, which in effect, backlight the art between the layers.  In daylight it is bold and graphic. In the dark it's ambient light becomes etherial and dream-like.

I always create such art while working outside.  This piece was made at least ten years ago.  At the moment, I have no place to work outside, so smaller 3D art made of paper are created in my studio.

There is an actual string connected from the fishing pole to the fishing hook on the edge of the art.  This was exhibited and sold during an art show.

I always create large art outside instead of my little studio.  This is an example.  I cut masonite with a jigsaw, then sand and paint.  This photo shows the process of adding the lights between layers of the art.

I would customize a string of lights to proper length and placement of the bulbs.  There have been several shocking experiences from doing something wrong while wiring the strings of lights.  Not fun.  The art can be turned on by a rotary switch that I would add.  A simple, effective design when done correctly.

Finished art.  Behind it is a clothes line pole that I painted.  There were years of time where I painted everything in sight.  I still paint objects, but have mellowed over the years.  I've come to appreciate the beauty of certain wood sometimes used to make furniture.

cribbage board art

I use colored pencils quite often.  It really bugs me when the tips break off.  To compensate, instead of it being a loss and a bother to resharpen, I save the broken tips in this little paper pouch you see in this photo.

I found this cribbage board at a second-hand shop, brought it home and painted parts of it.  It turns out that the saved pencil nibs fit nice and snug with a bit of glue. Recycled art it is.  It lost its function as a game piece but became a decorative wall art.

close-up

The rubber fish are embedded in thick ENVIROTEX-Lite polyurethane, which give the background a realistic look of water. This art is really sturdy. I think it would look great on a wall near a swimming pool.

fish art

The past couple of weeks I have had an underlying boredom with the daily black and white illustrations. The complacent ritual needs a change. I decided to take short a vacation back to my old roots of wildly colorful 3-dimensional mixed media art pieces.
This is made of a school of plastic fish (a thriftshop find), a cabinet door, glass "bubbles" , glue, masonite, spray paint and acrylic paint. It has been a great release to put physical as well as mental muscle into this. Although it's not finished, it was quick with lots of energy. It's not great art, but, man, it's been fun! This is just what I needed. Next step is a very thick coat of clear polyurethane to give it that water look.