I mentioned in the last blog post about doing some mini abstracts on some oak blocks I have, well, I have finished a few with more to come.
They are cute little things and very solid being on the oak blocks, I would say panels, but block is closer to the truth as it is a small but thick piece of old oak that each is painted on.
I am very happy with them, the mini abstracts makes the blocks into lovely and unusual objects which is always a pleasure.
The oak pieces have been sitting in my art store for ages, literally years. I got them sawn up for me by my Dad years ago when I was wanting some light fittings and couldn’t find what I was looking for, I live in a little cottage, low ceilings and small rooms and wanted something simple and honest in wood, but found nothing on the market. So like a true obsessive maker, I thought I would make some and got these made for me from a piece of really old oak my dad had in his wood store. I never got to use them though as the electricians needed something quicker than I could make them and so had to go for a compromise option and used a bought set of lights which I customised to fit in more with what I wanted.
These little blocks have been at the back of my mind since then, I liked them so they weren’t going back to the wood store. They sit well in the hand, they are pleasingly heavy and nice to touch, I do like oak, so I knew I would find their use eventually, sad really it took me so long to use them.
I had to gesso them several times, but they have been a lovely surface to paint on, I love the way the paint scratches back to show the layers underneath and they look pretty good on the bookcase, a nice object d’art.