Painting Skateboards

Painting Skateboards

Christmas provided a much needed break and a chance to do something I love; painting! During the first lockdown, I took up skateboarding and so wanted to re-paint my old board with my favourite theme of fluffy white clouds on a crystal blue sky. This vision stemmed from my admiration of the sky's beauty on my daily walks and the thought of skating the clouds seemed fresh and exciting to me, a design I had yet to see on the market. Hence, how the idea to sell cloud-themed hand-painted skateboards on Etsy came about. I completed three more over the holidays and hope to sell them in the new year not only to gain some extra cash but because I genuinely find the task of painting them relaxing and rewarding when customers like the designs! 

The process is pretty straightforward, I start with a base coat of colour, i.e. blue and let that dry completely to ensure the Maple wood board is fully covered and protected. Building up that initial layer is hugely important because when the board gets used and scratched the design will endure. Of course, there are those who prefer the look of a well worn down board as it shows a dedication to the sport but I feel better knowing that my paintings will last that little bit longer with a good base coat as well as finishing the design with a clear protective spray. After applying the first colour, I jump straight into painting the clouds using a combination of two or three colours alongside white, forming swirls of clouds and colour to maintain that abstract painterly style that is unique to my brushwork. This technique is key because I believe buyers appreciate being able to see the effort and style rather than a hyper-realistic representation of the subject matter which can be predictable and mundane. My skateboards are one-of-a-kind because I embrace the imperfections of un-mixed paint colour to create an impression of clouds and sky. When viewed close-up, it is organic swirls of paint that make up the essence of the form of the cloud shape. What I like about painting clouds is that there is no pre-determined shape or distinct outline because clouds consist of water vapour so there isn't an exact physical form. Even though my skateboards are quite abstract in nature, they are directly inspired by the true characteristics of cloud formation with wispy entrails as the air pressure shifts and columns of vapour that bellow and rise up in a storm. It is merely the colour that I like to exaggerate and experiment with but the composition essentially remains the same across the designs. I believe there are still many more variations that I hope to try if I successfully sell this current batch and I would be open to requests as I feel I would be able to adapt my style accordingly. Watch this space!

 Esty shop name: SkatingTheClouds

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SkatingTheClouds?ref=shop_sugg

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Analysis of the Cheltenham Local Plan

Image
Analysis of the Cheltenham Local Plan Legislation and planning are key components in Landscape Architecture as they can underpin creative decisions. This blog post is a quick summary of Cheltenham’s Local Plan in relation to the North Place design project. (I’ve previously studied this document for a different module to do with Cheltenham’s housing demands) I have highlighted the key areas to consider on the contents page, see below. It is important to note that this plan, adopted from July 2020 till 2031, was written in compliance with the Joint Core Strategy (JCS), published in December 2017, as part of Cheltenham, Gloucester, and Tewkesbury, in order to deliver a cohesive future vision for the county. In addition, the policies have been informed by the National Planning Policy Framework as set out by the UK Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government in July 2021.  Along with the separate specialized sections, as highlighted above, there are three main objectives, A,...
Read more

AutoCad Process of CUT/FILL

Image
AutoCAD Process of CUT/FILL Step-by-step process of how I calculated the CUT/FILL volumes for Canon Park for the Sustainable Technology module AD6604  existing contours = dashed line  proposed contours = solid line pond = blue  red = CUT green = FILL 1. DRAW EXISTING CONTOUR LINES 2. LOCATE NEW POND 3. DRAW NEW CONTOUR LINES & JOIN TO EXISTING 4. ISOLATE EACH CONTOUR AND HATCH FILL/CUT  (BELOW = FILL = GREEN)  (ABOVE = CUT = RED) 5. ADD UP TOTAL AREAS X HEIGHT CHANGE (0.5m for contours & 0.25m for pond/swales) CUT: RED CONTOURS = 4074.73  x  0.5 = 2037.3650  m³ SWALES = 456.81 x 0.25 = 114.2025  m³  POND = 1826.64 x 0.2 = 456.6600  m³  TOTAL CUT VOLUME = 2608.2275  m³  FILL: GREEN = 3435.34 x 0.5 = 1717.67  m³ TOTAL FILL VOLUME = 1717.67  m³ DIFFERENCE = 890.5575  m³ As there is a substantial difference, consider increasing mound size...
Read more

Sacred Geometry

Image
Sacred Geometry What is 'Sacred Geometry'?  Sacred geometry when detached from its spiritual meaning can be described as "the underlying geometry found in nature" that is attributed to pure mathematics that causes recurring patterns such as fractals and spirals.  For example, the Fibonacci sequence is a form of sacred geometry.  It stems from the Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa who had the nickname 'Fibonacci' meaning 'son of Bonacci', who in 1202 published a book that illustrated how to calculate profit using the Hindu-Arabic arithmetic.  The Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers where each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers. For example, 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, … Spirals There is a special relationship between the Fibonacci numbers and the Golden Ratio. Equally significant, the golden ratio has impacted why we find certain shapes visually appealing because they appear to be perfectly balance...
Read more