Getting some work prepared for a woodland sculpture exhibition. The wood will be full of bluebelles at that time, and you all might know how I love my flowers- I've been inspired by the little snowdrops peeping their heads out of the snow, we've had a particularly harsh winter up here so everything else seems to be late. Anyway, this is the first one, its about 1m tall, I plan to do maybe about 7 of them, plus some other stuff I haven't even thought of yet

Now I can't decide how to finish them. Obviously they will all dwell outside so thinking maybe painting- but what colour- not sure if I went for the realistic green leaves and white flowers, sometimes i am not a fan of painted steel as it can look a bit cartoony. I love the look of steel itself but I've had limited success with clearcoating for work outside, and i also like a rusted finish, but as these will be for sale, customers don't necessarily like rust.. suppose I'd love if anyone had any suggestions. Perhaps I'll have to do some trials with paint etc. I am tempted to get them galv'd but I'd rather avoid the journey to the galv plant, although I do like the look of etched galv...and would be worth it for the longevity of finish... oh, what to do!! :)

what about powder coating?

HI Dennis,
Powdercoating is out on cost really, the closest place to me here (I'm like a zillion miles from anywhere!!) that does powdercoat has a £100 minimum charge... and that's on top of the galv, so it's a non starter.. plus of course then I would have to decide out of the hundreds of colours which colour!!!????

I know they are a little big and it could get costly but what about Copper and Stainless? Copper Stem and leaves with a Stainless flower- just a thought
Nice work too. Is that your back yard?

I love the idea of stainless and copper, fe-wood!!! Not sure I can do that for this project tho.. I've got a ton of steel that needs shaping, and business is a bit slow right now, hoping it will pick up in the summer, so will keep that idea in my mind. I've actually got a bin full of copper offcuts from some old projects but was thinking of using that for smaller works... there is just never enough time for all the ideas... is there????
Yes, that's taken in my back yard, that's the view anyway... attached some more pics of the view, it's pretty special!

love the snowdrops colleen! they are beautiful what do you mean by etched galvanised finish? i really like painted actually - i know what you mean about cartoonlike but i quite like it sometimes . Also the natural rust would look fantastic i reckon but not so saleable... will be interested to see what you decide! you could try painting one to see , natural green and white would look brilliant, but i like the idea of them in more out there colors too. if you paint some show us the pics! :)

Don`t know if you have access to 3M products where you are but they have a great product called Extend.It goes on over a lightly rusted surface and converts the rust to a black finish that really holds up under harsh outdoor conditions.
It makes an excellent base for painting too if you decide to go that way.
Far cheaper and easier than galvanized.

Oh My!!!
If I had a view like that, I don't think I'd ever leave.
Thanks for shairing.
If you do the Copper and Stainless sometime, do shair :)

Nice view indeed!

The flers look good too!

"Extend"? Don't they advertise that on late night TV?? :lol:

what about automotive paint? you can do it in pearl and there is alot of colors in pearl now. Another thing is enamel paint, not as durable as the enamel on say a 75 - 100 yr old tub but may work for what you need. One last thing, what about copper or stainless steel or other color metal flakes and lacquer the flakes in, like a metallic paint/pearling. That all I have, hope to see what you do soon.

DennisG`s post got me thinking(always dangerous,you could probably see the smoke from your place).
What about metal leaf?You could go with copper w/patina for the parts you`d like green,silver for the flower petals and maybe even a touch of gold on the stamen/center of the flower.
Except for the sizing it`d be all metal and reasonably durable.

Might check a marine hdw store. Here you can get galv in a spray can.
Ken

I have been using exterior latex house paint a lot. I put on a hi quality red oxide primer and then break out the water bowl and some base colors. I don't think it is the ultimate paint, I think since it will all need maintenance I'll go with something easy to use and duplicate. Here is an example, the leaves were left with the primer and oversprayed hi heat black. The branches were a chestnut bronze base then dry brushed with a white/bronze then took a little green and thinned it a bunch and dabbed it on at various places.

I have done a very large gate this way as well that is still holding up well 3yrs later. Can't find my pictures of that one though.

Nice work by the way and I envy your location.

I just remembered a product I used to use on my sculptural work- "One Shot" paint. Its sign painters paint. I don't know if you will have it in the land of pipes and kilts but its great paint. One of the last paints that has all the good stuff in it to make it last. Heres a link
http://www.1shot.com/

Thanks for all the really great replies. I think I'm going to have to do some test pieces to see which will work best as I still don't have a clue.. Hopefully it will hit me as to which is the best thing to do as I'm working on something else, that is usually the case.

Beth, etched galv is galvanizing that's been T-washed, usually done as a pre treatment to galv before painting but it can look good in it's own right.

Mills, that screen looks awesome, you did a really great job painting that. Makes me think I should try to incorporate my painting skills with my metal somehow.

Mainly Bob, the metal leaf I have used before - looks great for small items, but can be a real pain for anything big, but I hadn't thought of that for this, may be good for highlights...

Anyway, the view is great here, It'll do for now, but there's always a downside to living somewhere so remote.

Happy Hammering!!

Colleen,
You never cease to amaze me! More beautiful work. I happen to like Rust (provided it's not in my car ) There's always the option to lock the rust in with an application of Wax (Bees wax, Turpentine and Raw linseed oil made to a paste) over the top. Burnish it in and it turns orange rust to a much richer chestnut colour. It might be a bit difficult to apply as you have some restricive spaces on your flowers. In Austrlia we have a clear finish called Permalac which stands up well to the elements in arid and cold costal areas but is reasonably expensive.

I like DennisG's suggestion of pearl automotive finishes. That could provide an interesting outcome.
Cheers,
Chrispy

A new idea passed on to me from a local blacksmith for coloring. Go to a cement company, these days you can color your cement. What you do is mix the coloring powder with your bees wax then coat. I hear there are alot of colors to choose from.

Chrispy... You're too nice I like rust too... however, it just seems tricky to sell something that has a "rust patina". People just associate rust with bad... I've got a little squirrel I've made - I just waxed it after it had been sitting in my garden for a year. I love the colour...

I've still not decided on the finish for the snowdrops!!! I'll probably go the way of a clear enamel or something, I doubt I'll have time enough to get them to the galv plant...They've kinda gone on the back burner as I've had other stuff that has needed doing- after a long dead winter the orders are starting to fly in, and I'm killing my wrist to keep up, been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, so I'm trying to work just enough not to set it off. (on the waiting list with the ortho specialist and waiting list for physio... ho hum)

If the snowdrops were for indoors, I'd wax them, I always wax stuff for inside- and Dennis your idea of the coloured wax I've done before, but I've melted down crayons into a beeswax mix, good for small areas, sometimes the colour can be a little patchy on large areas, but i"ve not done this enough to have perfected it!

In some ways the finish is just as important as the rest. A good piece of work can be let down by a poor finish...

Well, I'm afraid I wasn't adventurous with my finish- I stuck to what I know- clear enamel. I just ran a fine flap disc over them to bring out some highlights, then clearcoated them. I just ran out of time to experiment! (yes, I know what a pathetic excuse!)
Here's some pics from the exhibition, unfortunately taken on the cloudy day when I set up- the Saturday I was too busy yacking and schmoozing and drinking the gratis wine that I didn't take pics in the sunshine, then when I went back today to restock my small flowers that had sold out, the sun was shining on the snowdrops, but my camera ran out of battery!! :angry:

Remarkable Colleen, A bit more sunshine wouldn't have made a skerick of difference. They look glorious out there - Like they were meant to be there. I hope you found a good home for them. :)