Building a Crate to Ship Artwork

As part of having my painting selected as a finalist for the Portrait Society of America's International Portrait Competition, it needs to be on display in Atlanta for the final judging. So that means I need to build a crate to ship my painting out there.

Just one problem--I've never built a crate before.

So after getting some very good tips and advice from Bill Whitaker, here's how I put one together:

I used 3/4" plywood since this is a large painting and I wanted extra sturdy sides to protect a painting of this size. Normally, 1/2 plywood will work just fine and would, obviously, weigh less thus saving on shipping costs. In the picture above, Natalie is taping cut squares of underlayment (bought at Home Depot) in the corners of the box. The corners of the painting will receive most of the stress during shipping so theses pieces will give them a little added protection.

Here I've added the remaining sides to make the crate box. I used 1 1/4" wood screws to secure the pieces together. I drilled pilot holes for the screws--which is very important because the plywood will split if you don't pre-drill. I used a special countersinking drill bit which is designed to pre-drill screw holes as well as cut an indention in the wood to allow the screw to sit flush with the surface of the wood. Not necessary, but looks nicer that way.

To protect from dust and such, we first wrapped the painting with a layer of clear plastic wrap. Then we wrapped the painting with a generous amount of bubble wrap.


One thing that Bill told me was to be sure to keep the measurements very precise so there is little to no room for the painting to move in the box. This makes sense since the less the painting can moving inside the box, the less chance it has of getting damaged during shipping.

After attaching the top panel with more screws, the crate is finished. Final touches were to add handles on the sides to help with moving and carrying the heavy thing as well as spray painting my logo on the top and sides. It should get there safe and sound, but it wouldn't hurt to cross our fingers... :)

Oil Sketch from Life

I talked my little brother into sitting for me while I painted a quick portrait, just under 2 hours. He stayed still for the most part. :) I would have liked more to time to work in some details(and refine the drawing), but I was happy with what I was able to describe in that amount of time.

Casey Childs, Alan, Oil, 10 x 5″

Al enjoying his soda in the studio.

A better kind of taboret table

I've been frustrated for quite some time with my painting setup--well, actually just my painting table. The kind of table or rolling cabinet I'm talking about is generally referred to as a taboret. A taboret is a small portable stand or cabinet, with drawers and shelves for storage. It is used to help organize a work area and is very useful to an artist.

The table I'm using now was given to me by little bro years ago which has worked ok over the years but it's missing a few things I would like. First of all, I need a bigger area on top to mix paints. Most artist taborets have a sheet of glass on top to use as a palette for mixing paint, which my currently doesn't have. And since I use an old phonebook along with paper towel squares to clean the paint off my brushes, I need compartments to hold them. And that's just to name a few things I want my taboret to have. I researched a few places online that sell taborets, but none are setup the way I'd like. In fact, none seem to work that great for an artist except that they have drawers and shelves for storage.

So I decide to design my own. With the help of my friend Jared, we are in the process of building a prototype of what I think is a better kind of taboret table. One that is setup for a working professional artist. I'll discuss more in future posts about what makes this table unique, but for now here's some photos of the prototype in progress...

studio550 Opening

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to come out and see my new studio. A special thanks to Mandy and her sisters, Kate and Emily, for tirelessly preparing the delicious food for the evening. And thanks to Mark for helping me get everything together (and finished) for the open house. And also to Jared, without whom the studio could not have been built.

We had a great turnout Friday night and I hope everyone had a good time. Be sure to be watching for more studio550 gatherings to come....

studio550 *Open House*

Well, after a year and a half of construction the studio is finally finished.

To celebrate studio550 we're having an open house on Friday, January 30th. So spread the word, it will be from 6-9pm. We're going to have artwork on display by some very talented artists around this area, you won't want to miss it. So please come by, check out some fabulous art and see the place that I've been talking so much about. We hope you'll come.

Although all are welcome, we'd prefer to have adults only please. MAP TO STUDIO

New Studio Photos

We're approaching completion on the studio. 

Here's some photos that my friend, Michael VaughAn, was kind enough to take for me--

Creating Concrete Countertops

One of the last big project for this studio is the counter tops. I decide I wanted to go with concrete. And I was told I could make them myself. Since I never attempted it before, I consulted my buddy Shane to guide me through the process of creating them.

There a few reasons I decided to go with concrete--

1) Cost. Since my budget for this project has gone out the roof, cost is very important. The actual material costs are quite low, I only spent around $200 total for all the counter tops in my studio. But, if you had someone do the concrete counter tops you would pay the same price as you would for granite. Making the forms along with mixing and pouring the concrete is very labor intensive which is the reason why having someone make them costs so much.

2) Appearance. Concrete has an industrial look that you can't get with other types of counter tops. Plus you can do anything you want with it--add designs, I put some small glass tiles in the ones I made, but you can do whatever you want.

Materials list (This is not a comprehensive list--but will get you started):

-Melamine

-Crack resistant concrete (I used 80lbs bags)

-re bar or wire mess or both

-sheet of galvanized steel (for hole openings)

-BLACK silicone

-screws & drill

-level

-concrete trowel & edge trowel

Here's the steps I took to make the counter tops:

1. Make a template for the forms.

I laid out some pieces of cardboard on the top of the cabinets to make a template that I would base the form from. 

2. Creating the forms.

I created these counter tops top down--so the bottom of the form is the top of the counter top. I used 3/4 in melamine to make all the forms. I used melamine because it's has a smooth surface which will in turn make the top of the counter top smooth. I bought a couple 4'x8' sheets from HomeDepot. (Warning: These babies are heavy. You might want to get someone to help you move this stuff.) I placed the template on the sheet of melamine and traced it. I then used a circular saw to cutout the bottom of the form to the exact width and length I wanted my counter tops to be. I decided I wanted the counter tops to be 2" thick so I made the sides of the forms 2 3/4" and screwed the sides to the outside of the bottom piece which left me a 2" depth for the inside of the form. Make sure to pre-drill the holes for the screws.

this is the form I created for the bathroom

3. Cutout sink hole.

On the forms where I needed to have round holes for the sinks(like the one above) I cut the size of hole I wanted out from the bottom piece of the form with a jigsaw. I then used a piece of galvanized steel(from the HVAC section in Home Depot) cut to 2 3/4" and wrapped it around the hole opening and secured it with screws. It might be a good idea to double up a couple pieces to reinforce the wall in some cases.

Here's an image of the galvanized steel screwed into the inside of the opening to create the sides of the sink hole opening.

4. Caulk all the edges.

I used Black 100% silicone sealant around all the edges and seams. This will give the top of the counter top a nice rounded edge. Although you can use any color of silicone you want, I used black because you can see it easily. Concrete will show everything. So it's very important to remove any excess, or anything for that matter, that you don't want to see because concrete will show it.

5. Add Extras.

I decide to put in these tiles for a more decorative/creative look to the counter tops. I put a dab of silicone on the front of the tile to make it stay in place.

 

I then placed them in form face down(since the top of the counter top is the bottom of the form) I made sure to squish it down flat with the surface so the tile would be flush with the top of top edge.

Here's the tiles placed in the bathroom form in the pattern I decide to do. The concrete will surround the tiles and when you pull out the finished concrete from the form they'll stay in the concrete.

Here's tiles in one of my other forms...

I decided in the form for the desks I needed some holes for computer cables and such, so I used some conduit pipe to make a half circle and placed it into the form.

6. Level the form.

I made sure the form was level before I poured. I placed a level across the top of the form to check and put shims under the bottom of the form where necessary.

7. Pour the concrete.

I mixed and poured enough concrete into the form so it was 1/2 full. I then used an electric sander around the outside of the form to vibrate out all the air bubbles. I paid specific attention to the corners to make sure the concrete filled them. After I got all the air bubbles out I place the rebar and mesh into the wet concrete and fill the remainder of the form up with mud. I screeted the top and then vibrated the edges once more. I only vibrated the concrete briefly when it was full because the rebar and mesh will actually rise to the top if you vibrate it too much. I know it doesn't make sense but it will. I then smooth out the top with a trowel for an even surface.

The freshly poured desk countertop.

And here's the finished bathroom countertop. 

I used a razorblade to scrape off the excess silicone that was left on the front of the tiles.

Studio Flooring

For the flooring of the studio we went with a laminate flooring that I ordered from builddirect.com. The nice thing about Build Direct is that you get quality flooring for cheap. The one drawback is that you have to buy it by the palette (which is why it's inexpensive), but since I had a lot of space to cover--it worked out great. We had to install it plank by plank which seemed to take forever and, not to mention was murder on the knees, but Jared and I (along with help from my parents and Brad) were able to get it all installed in a weekend. The cabinets are next.....