New accomplishments: angled holes, core palette start....
This week is starting off well. Monday I was able to finish some angled holes that run evenly between two pieces of wood or metal. They'll enable me to hold a round rod of iron in the post vise at a 60 degree angle. What I learned will be useful in making holders for other angles too. Angled bars are in many of the designs in my maquettes and drawings and in my head - so I'm very happy to be able to make these angle holders.
Once I realized that I needed to loosen and adjust two aspects of the drill press table at the same time, and not first one and then the other, it all fell into place. My hands just kind of did it while I watched. I'd chucked a 1/8" carbon steel rod into the drill press chuck, long enough so I could see if the drill bit would run true with the drill press vise. My eyes watched that while my hands did the adjusting. Luckily I had done one good angled hole last Thursday, so I knew my drill press and vise were capable of running the hole evenly down the middle of the two pieces of wood or steel.
When I make my "real" website, I'll write up my notes on this kind of thing, with pictures, so that someone else won't need to struggle with things I've figured out the hard way. I tried to ask the metalworking news group for hints on how to set up the angled drilling, but wasn't able to make my problem clear enough. Pictures would help a lot!
My other accomplishment for this week is getting a good start on a core palette. Years ago, I tried a lot of acrylic paint samples next to heat drawn colors on iron, to get a paint palette for paper that would complement the heat drawn patina. Now I'm also working with copper mesh. To my delight, I discovered that the same palette works for both. I did the trials independently and got the same results for both. Now I'm working with a much wider range of acrylic color options, too. And I've studied color theory and palette theory to some extent. Yesterday and today I worked on this, so I'm well on my way to establishing a new core palette plus one just of transparent paints.
Spring colors
Once I get the core palette established, I want to try some color blends and palette expansions to get the full range of spring colors. Already here in north Georgia, the maple buds are red and daffodils are in bloom. Soon there will be wild flowers and leaves budding out. It all happens fast. By May the woods here will be leafed out and I'll live in a different world. I want to see it all - and learn how to paint the colors I see. It isn't that I want to paint representational paintings. I just want the colors.
Last year I read a book called Colorist (by Kobayashi) which suggested making a year-round photo journal to record the colors in the environment. This appeals to me very much. Spring seems like an ideal time to begin. I'll work with my digital camera and take the photos at consistent times of day as well. I'll take some morning pictures, some at midday, and some in late afternoon. The image management software I use, Thumbs Plus, will make it easy to organize the photos in more than one way. I'm excited about doing this project. Later, after I've completed a year here, perhaps I'll create opportunities to visit other parts of the world to record the colors there.
7:12:08 PM 
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