Featured in Scroll Saw Goodies

Mostly, I put up these LathArt sites because every once in a while, when I googled my name I would find people either looking for me or for information on Lath Art and Esther said it would be easy to put a lot of information on-line in Blogs. So here they are. I still have things that needs to be digitized before they can be added, but I can't give a schedule of how soon this will happen. In the meantime Chris has taken up the slack very nicely and posted his projects.

Thank you Chris, they look great.

Recently I noticed some visitors from a new source to my LathArt Paintings , LathArt How To sites, and to a project Chris has posted here, so I checked it out. This is the site if you want to see what they are about. Scroll Saw Goodies

Scroll Saw Goodies recommends http://www.panedexpressions.com/free-stained-glass-patterns-archive.html as a good source where someone can get a free start up pattern. FYI, I have also posted a free pattern on the LathArt How to Site.

Be sure to see the LathArt How To site, as well as the Progression that Chris has posted to learn how to make your LathArt.

Finished

Just wanted to post the finished result on this lathart project.

Chris

Painted The Sky And Barn

After I had painted the sky a shade of blue, I have to say that I was somewhat dissatisfied. The tone just wasn't working with all of darker shades in this picture. I've always loved to watch a good thunderstorm creep across a blue sky, and when I decided to give it a shot in this picture, everything just seemed to come together. I tried to give the metal roof of the barn in the background a rusty look. I think I am going to matte the picture with the grey from the sky, and I painted the frames the color of the hay field in the back.

Chris

Today's Progression

Painted the horse today, and will probably do the sky and barn tommorow. I am also considering a round hay bail in the back field.

Chris

Painting

I've been experimenting with the oil paints. Especially noticed that I have to be extremely conservative when I add darker colors while in the proccess of of mixing to obtain a desired color. It can change the tone a great deal, but with a little patience and some wasted paint from my failed attempts, I'm managing to get where I want with it. Once I get a paticular color, I dilute it with orderless mineral spirits so that it gives the wood a stained affect. Just learning and creating. I like to place the frames around the picture occasionaly as I go, in order to help me decide what colors I am going to pull from the picture for the small matte pieces and the frame itself.

Chris

1st lathart picture

Just wanted to post a picture of my first lathart project. I did this one for my in-laws restaurant. This is a family business that my wife and I operate with her parents. This picture is diplayed on one of the walls at the restaurant.

Chris

Sneak Peek

Just wanted to post a progressional shot of my latest piece. I stack cut this one so that I would have two finished pieces in the end. This is something I will elaborate upon more when I fine tune the process. I will also post a step by step on one of the pieces, but until then I want to give some sneak peeks of my adventures in wood lath art. I wish that I had more time, because I am thoroughly enjoying this stuff, and hope to create a collection and style of my own. I will be using oil paint on this one. Still missing a few pieces; have to finish the barn in the background. The color will really bring it to life.

Chris

Just Completed

The Ideas are really rolling in my head. This is something I put together last week. I've got about four other drawings that I am working with, and am going to start drawing up my rendition of Tom's plein air painting of the boat on the beach, which is located down a few posts on this page. I think I might post this in progression, with a pattern, to give a more detailed explanation of the process that I use to create my work, and to give interested viewers a chance to try this magnificent art form.

Chris

Just Getting Started

First of all, I would like to thank Tom and Esther for allowing me to be a part of this new adventure in the expansion of wood lathart. To me, Tom and Esther are two of the pioneers of this art form, along side of of Theodore Degroot. I have been visually studying their work since 1996, when I first came across it in Creative Woodworks and Crafts magazine.
The intriguing force behind all of this kind of goes back to my childhood. My father loved to fish, and instilled this within me. He used to call himself the "Old Man Of The Sea". Now I didn't grow up along the coastal areas of any ocean, and either did he, but I believe that he was facinated with the the old fishing villages, and the old men that gave their lives to this trade.
There were a few seafood restaurants back in Wisconsin, where I grew up, that we would go to, and as it is in many seafood restaurants, the artwork on the walls depicted the enviroment of these old fishing villages; boats, the ocean, lighthouses, lobster traps, and all kinds of other fishing equiptment. I was especially captivated by what the sun, and salty ocean air did to the raw and colored wood materials that were exposed to this enviroment. From what I've read about Ben Ploughman, this is also the captivating force behind his work; a lifestyle that he grew up around. Also, a large majority of Tom's work originated from these nautical themes, and as a matter of fact, it was his piece( "The Five Boats" ) that inspired me, and this can be viewed in the lathart picures section of this blog.
It's going to take me some time to accumulate a potfolio of my own work, but I will chart and share the progression of this process here in this section of the blog. Again, my thanks to Tom and Esther for allowing me to do this.

Chris

Invitation to Christopher Hildebrand

We are so impressed with the work of Christopher Hildebrand of North Carolina that we have invited him to post to this blog, which I hope he accepts.

Chris has created some very nice original designs, is very active in LathArt and is considering selling some of these as LathArt patterns. We think that would be great, and would like him to let our readers know how to reach him, where he and his art will be appearing, and how to buy his patterns.

Hopefully soon, Chris will be here speaking for himself.

Original Lath Art by Christopher Hildebrand of North Carolina

This is his original design and creation. Great job and great idea.

When some people first see LathArt, they know right away if they have a LathArt painting in them. Providing the how-to to people like Christopher is why I set up the main site.

Christopher started with a kit (not my site) I think, but quickly progressed to creating his own designs. This is his second design.

I hope he will continue to share. I've seen his first, and it is wonderful as well.

Make Extra Money with Lathart

Lath Art is so unique, it sells well at local arts and craft fairs and craft malls. In addition if you are a creator of patterns, you can sell them at wood shows. But be careful, the costs of these venues can easily eat up your profits.

Certain locations are more LathArt friendly than others. (The east coast and the great lakes come to mind), and location specific themes are usually more popular than general themes.

The easiest way to get started is to put some in local craft malls or consignment shops to see if you have something that people want. Yes, they take a lot of commission, but you get to try out the market without any investment, and it will give you a good idea of how to price your work in your area.

Amazing Lath Art from Ben Ploughman of Newfoundland Canada

Many of us can learn a lot from Ben Ploughman of Newfoundland Canada. While we struggle to get over $100 for a piece, he is asking (and getting) $400 - $1,500. And why not. Carvings, real weathered word (driftwood and lobster traps), and wonderful colors.

Any top notch landscape artist knows one way to make a stunning landscape is bright colors in a sea of lively gray, and what can be a more lively gray than naturally weathered wood.

Contact Here

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We check this post every week or two, sometimes less often, so please be patient.