Have you noticed how popular mod-style rainbows are lately? This started as a take on that style, but then I had so many lucky clovers popping up in my yard that I knew I needed to add a bit of luck to this design.
I first primed Columbia Purebond 1/4" maple ply with white gesso, then water colored and sealed with triple thick clear spray paint for a super glossy finish. About 5"x5".
They are fun to get creative with and try out new paints on! I even made an ocean themed one, since apparently I have the sea on my brain. Too bad I can’t manage to remember to take photos of most things before they go in the mail!
Thank you for taking the time to leave such nice compliments, @cynd11, @RyanD, and @dklgood!
As far as I can tell, gesso’ed ply isn’t something many/anyone else is doing. I have seen watercolor ground applied to ply, or just watercolor to ply, which are both nice. But the gritty ground likely wouldn’t stay on puzzle pieces and would be a gross texture to touch
I have to say, the watercolors act veeeerrrrryyy differently than on watercolor paper! I’ve played around with watercolor tutorial videos, and some simple effects turn out near impossible, while others are the opposite
It is absolutely necessary to seal the watercolor with a clear coat. It also revives the color to the brightness of how it looks when wet. I’ve finished a painting and been unhappy how blah it looks, just to spray a clear finish on it and fall in love with it again
Thank you @awebs76 and @MakerMatthew! I’ve a small collection of wooden puzzles from modern cutters (mostly scroll saw!). I gather shape inspiration from them. My favortie puzzle maker right now is Chris Yates and his Baffler!s Here is a shot from his Instagram: Chris Yates (@superyates) • Instagram photos and videos Instead of watercolors, he uses spray paint on hand cut pieces. The arrows are directly from my experience assembling his puzzles, and he has told me that he got them from another puzzle maker too!
