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This project had two goals. First it was an experiment in presentation. The 10” x 16” cut panel is 1/8” BB Ply painted flat black after cutting. The backer is a 12” x 17” 1/4” BB Ply that was left natural except for the colored pattern that was hand painted with Acrylic Craft Paints. The glued up panel was further finished with multiple coats of Clear Gloss Spray Lacquer. The oversized backer creates a matted effect when placed in the Frame. The custom frame is made from Red Oak that was enhanced with Minwax Red Oak stain and finished with multiple coats of Wipe-On-Poly. This rather simple pattern was a free decal stencil that was found online that I converted to a scroll saw Pattern in Inkscape. I cut the panel in less than two hours with a Pegas #1 MGT R blade. Second, in addition to the presentation experiment my intention was to provide the members a simple pattern for those who might be interested in attempting to make a colored fretwork piece. A very inexpensive set with a variety of color Acrylic Craft Paints and a few cheap artist brushes will get you started. I know we have some budding artist, often the Scroller’s spouse, out there who has already added color to some pieces. For those, this would be a piece of cake. I’ll be uploading both the pattern and the original color version to the Pattern Library for those who may wish to give it a try. Just a little hint for those who haven’t done any painting like this is: You start with light tints and build up in layers to the finished darker tints letting each layer to dry completely before adding the next layer. This makes shading effects easier to accomplish. And JFYI, I don’t pretend to be an expert or even an artist as I’m actually just experimenting, practicing and learning myself. Here is the original artwork:

This colorful 12” x 15 1/2” fretwork portrait was made from a free decal stencil image by Henny Donovan that I found online and reworked into a scrollable pattern in Inkscape. I’ve uploaded the pattern to the Library. The pattern was cut in 5/32” solid core Maple ply using Pegas #0 spiral blades and affixed to a 1/4” hand painted BB ply backer. The coloring was done using acrylic craft paints. I used the original image as a guide to doing the coloring. I’ve attached the original image for comparison. The final panel was protected with multiple coats of Clear Gloss Lacquer. FYI, the painting process is a time consuming effort. The frame is a simple Poplar frame painted Gloss Black It should be noted that in the actual cutting there is contrast in the Parrots eye that is not visible in the photo because shadow hides the light grey color surrounding the black pupil.

This Sculptured Fretwork portrait of an Eagle Bust (my go to subject) was made from a slightly modified and resized pattern by G&K Woodworking to suit an 11” x 14” panel. I used nominal 1” x 12” Poplar purchased a Lowes as I did not want to invest a lot of money for any expensive wood as this was my first attempt at doing a sculptured portrait. The fretwork was cut using Pegas #1 Spiral blades and the panel was affixed to a painted Black 1/4” thick BB Ply Backer after sculpturing and coloring was completed. I would like to take this opportunity to give a big THANK YOU to Dick Mira for sharing information regarding the sculpturing and coloring process. I was his support and encouragement that gave me the confidence to try this kind of project. This first attempt was a very big learning experience. The first lesson learned is that the choice for an appropriate pattern is very important. Since I'm not capable of making my own patterns I need to utilize those made by others, and since most are not made with sculpturing in mind they may often need to be modified somewhat. I quickly learned that the sculpturing process is not easy, requires a lot of attention to details and a lot of hand sanding. I also learned that the sculpturing and painting process is very time consuming, especially waiting for the finishing materials to dry in between coats. I also made a custom Poplar Frame embellished with some premade decorative trim. The frame was stained with Minwax Red Mahogany and the trim colored with a light coat of gold(ish) colored paint. The frame is protected with multiple coats of Wipe-On-Poly. Edit 12/28/20: It will be a little while before I upload a new photo. Decided to take some of the comments and suggestions to heart and work on the background. Edit 1/3/21: Here is my Eagle Bust Portrait with a colored bacground. I saw a photo of a real Eagle with a blue background that had fuzzy stars. Could not figure out how to make my stars fuzzy. The two coats of the blue poly/paint mix over the original poly finish took forever to dry. Then the stars, using a stencil and spray can white, and another coat of Wipe-on Poly.