Native Smoke

[Nickel Falls]

Another Botas pattern.

Give me your thoughts.

[FrankEV]

Interesting piece.  Nice cutting except for around the his right cheek.  Maybe the photo, but something does not look correct.

You asked, so the following are my thoughts, for whatever they may be worth to you.

I love to add color to my work also.  However, in this case I'm not overly enthused with your coloring efforts. The background staining is not saturated enough alowing the grain and backer board color to show through.  In some cases this might be nice but in this case it looks unfinished.  I can also plainly see white spots of the backer showing through the cutting or it may be the unstained edge cuts.  Why they are there should be addressed and corrected.   When adding color, making sure all the cut edges are stained is a stiff PITA.  I know, been there done that.

The yellowish stain you used on the cut panel is OK(maybe?), but the orange in the fire just does not work as I think what you were looking for.. 

AND, AND, the pinkish stain on the frame...no, nope, not at all, does not work.   A frame should complement and enhance the work, not overpower and distract from it. 

AND, the top and bottom of the frame is toooo close to the cut panel.  Portaits need to be framed twice, once on the panel itself and then with a pysical frame around the panel providing ballance and symetry to the entire piece.  In this case you are squashing the image. 

And, the width of frame rails and stiles just dont look correct to me, but that is a very personal opinion.  Look at commercial frames to get an Idea what width looks the best to you.

Also, your frame making needs improvement.  The right bottom corner looks bad, but I'm realizing it may be how the photo is cropped.  Photos can make a piece look better then in person, and can also make it look much worse.

Let me apologise in advance if my thoughts are not to your liking.  I find in this forum members tend to only offer positive comments to work posted even when not really deserving.  I've seen a number of you previous posts and I know you can do a much better job if that is what you really want and strive for.

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by FrankEV

[spirithorse]

I am a big fan of Native American cuttings and I like this one a lot.

God Bless! Spirithorse

[Nickel Falls]

2 hours ago, FrankEV said:

Interesting piece.  Nice cutting except for around the his right cheek.  Maybe the photo, but something does not look correct.

You asked, so the following are my thoughts, for whatever they may be worth to you.

I love to add color to my work also.  However, in this case I'm not overly enthused with your coloring efforts. The background staining is not saturated enough alowing the grain and backer board color to show through.  In some cases this might be nice but in this case it looks unfinished.  I can also plainly see white spots of the backer showing through the cutting or it may be the unstained edge cuts.  Why they are there should be addressed and corrected.   When adding color, making sure all the cut edges are stained is a stiff PITA.  I know, been there done that.

The yellowish stain you used on the cut panel is OK(maybe?), but the orange in the fire just does not work as I think what you were looking for.. 

AND, AND, the pinkish stain on the frame...no, nope, not at all, does not work.   A frame should complement and enhance the work, not overpower and distract from it. 

AND, the top and bottom of the frame is toooo close to the cut panel.  Portaits need to be framed twice, once on the panel itself and then with a pysical frame around the panel providing ballance and symetry to the entire piece.  In this case you are squashing the image. 

And, the width of frame rails and stiles just dont look correct to me, but that is a very personal opinion.  Look at commercial frames to get an Idea what width looks the best to you.

Also, your frame making needs improvement.  The right bottom corner looks bad, but I'm realizing it may be how the photo is cropped.  Photos can make a piece look better then in person, and can also make it look much worse.

Let me apologise in advance if my thoughts are not to your liking.  I find in this forum members tend to only offer positive comments to work posted even when not really deserving.  I've seen a number of you previous posts and I know you can do a much better job if that is what you really want and strive for.

 

Appreciate your input.

I'll take it all under advisement.

[Tom-in-Ashland]

I agree mostly with Frank. Also I find the grain pattern on the backer in the lower right distracting. It draws the eye away from the main part. I do like the irregularity of the backboard staining.  Looking forward to your next project.

[Dak0ta52]

Hello Chuck. First, to comment on what Frank saw as being unfinished areas in the cut piece, I believe that is actually glue that hasn't dried completely. If I have glue that squeezes out between the cuts, I'll let the glue almost set and then use a small pick or probe to scrape it out. It usually comes out pretty easily if it sets up a little while. If you try to get it out to soon, the glue is soft and just spreads. If you leave it alone it usually dries clear but will be very glossy which can sometimes clash with your finish project. I love the pattern and you did great on the cutting. I do see some "fuzzies" which is inevitable. I usually tackle mine with needle files or a strip of sandpaper. On my last couple projects I have taken the advice of some of the forum members and tried burning them off with a torch. This worked great as long as you don't leave the torch in one spot long enough to cause scorching to your piece. I've also found if I'm getting a lot of fuzzies when I'm cutting, the blade is probably dull and needs to be changed.

Understand that I certainly don't have the experience to critique someone else's work. I'm just passing along what I've experienced and how I corrected it.

[John B]

G'day Chuck.
I think you did a pretty good job on that. I don't know how much cutting you have done.
I'm not going to critique colours etc as that is a personal taste.
Staining the fretwork is difficult because of stains tendency to darken at edges (Especially with ply) and getting the stain into all of the cut outs evenly can be a real challenge.
I understand a lot people don't like sanding and finishing and do tend to rush these processes. The backer has machine marks very visible running horizontally. Take you time and sand with the grain using a variety of grits of paper until all machine marks have disappeared. Note: Be careful with ply as the top ply can vary in thickness depending upon the type and sanding through it will ruin the job.
Keep on keeping on. You are cutting one of the master pattern makers works.

[daveww1]

that's a very nice job

[Tbow388]

Love it. Great job!!