I don’t have a lot of exciting updates this week. Not that work hasn’t been done and progress made. It’s just that sometimes that work and progress don’t look exciting. They look like repetition, tedious, and boring. But they are a big part of getting a project done. Like building a brick house. There are lots of interesting and noteworthy events but when it comes to laying the bricks, it only happens one brick and a time.
That said, I did make some progress on both stippling pieces this week. Though after spending too much time the weekend before, I tried to pace myself better and set some limits.
For the Gretsch I managed to finish the next layer of the grey for the tail piece. I also finished out the bridge earlier in the week. The way I mixed the color for the bridge allowed for an interesting molting as the ink went down and dried. I like that. It helps to add a sense of age to the guitar and the bridge. The tailpiece got a good layer of a not shiny grey, except the badge area, or stamp area, where it says Gretsch. I haven’t gone over that. I’m still deciding if I want to use the color mix I have now or just go with what will be the next, and hopefully, final color layer.
Next up, while I think how I want to handle the final of the tailpiece, is to add another layer of black to the body. I have a couple of areas that in my reference picture have highlights and I’ve left the black in these areas rather sparse so it would be easier to stipple over them. I’m now thinking about filling those in much more so at the very least the highlight area will be smaller and more in line with my reference, and to make sure I get the background color thoroughly blotted, or dotted, out.
The Rhinoceros is also progressing nicely. I decided to start working on the back legs to give it more balance as I work on it. It helps with the shading balance. There are areas that I have intentionally started lighter or less saturated and as I’ve worked on other areas I’ve gone back and filled in those lighter areas a little more. Especially, as I’ve worked on very dark areas. The darker areas, for me, help to set the tonal structure so that I can see where something is really too light and not as dramatic as it needs to be. There will, no doubt, be more of this darkening of areas as I continue to work on the Rhino.
And now for something completely different. Sometime in the last six months, a string on my Cordoba (classical style acoustic guitar) broke. Just broke. For those who don’t play stringed instruments, you may not be aware, but this happens. It is not the first time it has happened to me. There are likely a variety of reasons for it to happen. They don’t really matter much unless it is consistent and/or frequent, then you look into it. For me it was frustrating because the brace I was wearing and the pain and stiffness I was experiencing meant putting a new string on the guitar was not going to be happening.
I’ve been using my wrist and hand more lately and have enough mobility, strength, and dexterity returning that I decided it was time to resolve the string issue. When I looked at my notes, I found that the Cordoba was due for a complete string change. So, all the strings got changed out. The guitar is once again fully stringed and playable. I realized, after I got all the strings on it, tuned it, played just a little bit, because I can’t play for too long, that I had felt bad seeing the guitar, sitting there for so many weeks, with the missing string, I had at least removed the broken one. Here was a guitar I love, and it was sitting there in a non-playable condition. Not that I had been able to play it all that time. Still, had I been able to play, I could not have just picked it up and played it. I felt I had failed somehow and that I had been neglectful.
I have had some opportunity to play the Cordoba. I do limit my time with it as well. I haven’t really been playing through much of the pandemic and my fretting fingers need to regain their strength, and dexterity. And there are some things that the wrist just doesn’t like to do. I’m ok with finger picking and classical style playing, strumming, not so much. Strumming can get a little painful.
There you have it. Progress on some art, and progress on some music. Oh, and another couple of books finished reading. I’ve got a full week of work for the day job this week and then I have the July 4th week off. I hope to do some clean out around my place in between more art, a little guitar, and for sure more reading. I’ll definitely have to pace myself.
