One color work, do you think it would work?

[MikeyD]

I cut this out to test an idea I had. I was going to put walnut veneer between all the pieces. The blade cuts .02" and the veneer is .02" so I should get a perfect fit. Well I did but you could hardly see the veneer. So I gave up on this idea for now. So in wondering what to do with this cut out I did what any other intarsia person would do and started to shape the pieces. After I was done and put it all together I was intrigued with how nice it looked in just the one color of wood.

So what do you think? Is this something already done that I haven't seen? Do you think the piece could hold it's own on just the shaping of the pieces?

The light color wood is just where I had sanded for shaping. This is not finished , not even glued up yet.

Mike

[jlyn069]

Mike,
I really like the baby jesus piece. I don't know about leaving it all the wood color. That is just me, I use paint and stain on everything but with this piece, I am afraid the lighter color where you sanded will show up strongly when you put a clear finish on it. I do not do intarsia but I do segmentation so I am not one to give you a good asnwer, but figured I would give my opinion anyway. A true intarsiast would give you a much better answer.
Jackie

[Lou]

I love the piece. Mother and baby are a lovely shape and are set off very well by the frame. However, I personally think it needs some colour. You could get away with leaving the entire madonna and baby white, but I would do the frame in a medium shade and the "inside" area in a dark shade which would set off the madonna nicely. That's at a minimum. I think she would also look nice with some colour added, preferably soft colours (pale blue, pink or mauve, yellow for the halos), using either stain or water-diluted paint which would allow the woodgrain to show through.

Lou

[jim_mex]

Hi Mike - a nice subject and design and definitely topical with Christmas around the corner

I agree with Lou on the use of colours. For me the Madonna in soft greyish blues with the head cowl a darker slate blue, baby Jesus in white robes, both with pinkish beige faces and yellow halos against a darkish backdrop and a medium frame would look nice. I'd go for washed out acrylics to let the grain show through and keep the overall look softish.

Whatever you decide let us see the end result please

[jlyn069]

Hi Mike,
Just a little added note. From my experience, if you tried to put any paint or stain on it the way it is now. THe darker shades where it was not sanded, such as the bottom of the woman, will take it color differently. You would need to sand that part just enough to get it the same color as the shaped part of the skirt. I hope I made sense.
Jackie

[Spirithorse]

I agree with all the comments thus far, i.e., it should use some color, keep the color
pastel or soft, I love Jim's input as to a color scheme and it should all be sanded to
accept the thinned down paint or stains equally.
All that being said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the piece can be
identified as is without any stains, paints, etc.
Very nice pattern!
God Bless! Spirithorse

[MikeyD]

Thanks for all the input. I will think on it for awhile before deciding what I want to do. I will sand it all to get an even color, might post another picture then.
If intrested, I found this pattern online at a free stained glass pattern site.

Mike

[bubbantenn]

Hi Mike. Great job on the cutting. Personally I am a colorist. I just love color! However, I realize that there are some applications that just don't lend themselves well to color, such as scrolling portraits of people.
That said, I think this particular piece would look beautiful in color. It doesn't look like the pattern is too hard to cut, so why don't you consider trying it both ways and see which you like best? That way you can share both versions with the forum and get others opinions.

Bubba

[Rolf]

I like the simple elegance of it. The most important thing is Do You Like it? The rest of us are only opinions.

[lwn57]

Well put, Rolf. Mike, it is all about what appeals to you personally and what your artistic vision is. We all can tell you what appeals to us, but at the end of the day, you are the artist.

I have seen a few pieces done in a solid color, with just shaping. Such a piece takes on an embossed, bass relief, or even carved look, depending on the type of shaping. Below is an example such a piece, found on the intarsiadesigns.com website.

Whatever you decide to do, it is well cut and I'm sure it will be beautifully executed.