Winter Sun: A Wood Cut-Out

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Last year I delved into monochromatic painting in earnest. Greyed-blues on top of a terra cotta primer became a favorite, although muted orange on top of chrome green took a close second. 

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Planned this one out using paper cut-outs arranged within the frame. You can see from the photo upper left that the original face was a sour-looking old-man-face, haha. That changed pretty quickly.

Once the proportions were figured out, the buildings and the sun were drawn with brush and black acrylic, thickly outlined, and cut with a scroll saw (which is a fun and deeply satisfying part of the process).

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And then I painted it, assembled it, and varnished it!

Don't want to add tedious details here, but if you have questions, I am happy to answer any. Just message me on Instagram: 

@tomsarmo_art 

(because Blogspot won't let me respond here anymore for some reason, and unfortunately there's no help or support).

Thanks!

Back at it: A Captain Ahab Wood Cut-Out

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It's been a full-calendar-year, and blogging got back-burnered until now.

This post gets back on track with a wood cut-out piece made for the Character and Narrative exhibition at Foothills Art Center. The exhibition closed at the end of October, 2019.

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The process in this case was sketching, measuring (not my strong suit), and cutting out the pieces.

I like to prime the wood with a colored ground--usually terra cotta, sometimes green chrome or ochre.

The monochrome blue-grey in this case was applied from dark shadows to middle tones with highlights last.

I finished Ahab, whale, and frame with crackle glaze and burnt umber ink wash.

Thanks for re-visiting my blog :)

For more of my artworks, please follow me on Instagram @tomsarmo_art

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Traveler: A Wood Cut-Out Painting and it's Process

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Traveler

Acrylic on layered wood cut-outs, 11" x 14" framed

One of many pieces being created for Character and Narrative, an exhibition coming to Foothills Art Center 

August 16 - October 20, 20019

Each piece of the cityscape and the three characters were cut out using a scroll saw. All of the wood pieces and the frame were primed with terra cotta primer. The paint is Maimeri Polycolor, a very light-fast and opaque sign-painter's paint.

I like this piece a lot. Below you'll find the process sketches...

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...which I began on my iPad. Initially this was going to be a traditional painting on canvas. Somehow these little guys with backpacks didn't hit the mark for me. So...

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...I began sketching some scary fellows, which weren't right either. But the little guys in the bottom center were promising. In the meantime...

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...I started thinking about the town--on paper. And I could finally...

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...start painting!

Thanks for checking it out, and please follow me on Instagram @tomsarmo_art

St. Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio

St. Francis and the Wolf. Mixed media wood cut-out.

It will be varnished, then framed in a shadow box.

Lately I've been working again on spiritual pieces for a local gallery. When asked to provide a St. Francis with wolf, I jumped at that. St. Francis was the name I chose at confirmation, because at the age of 12 becoming a veterinarian was at the top of my occupations list. 

Also, St. Francis has been a favorite subject of mine. His mission was always peace, and his life and teachings celebrated the natural world. He saw even poverty and death as friends rather than enemies to be feared. Best of all, St. Francis was a free-spirit--an eccentric--who rejected the greed and short-sightedness he observed in mankind, and he generously embraced those whom society rejected.

The image was first drawn in red pencil on toned paper, then inked. After highlights, I sprayed the drawing with archival acrylic spray. Mounted on wood, the piece was cut out using a scroll saw. The color--translucent acrylic inks thinned a bit with water.

The legend of St. Francis relates that he tamed a savage wolf that was eating up the folks at Gubbio. You can check out a fascinating and thorough examination of the story here:

Francis of Assisi and the Wolf of Gubbio

Thanks for checking out my blog, and supporting the works I do.