Wednesday, July 30, 2008

After-thought


OK, guys...

I am looking again at the windmill, and I have to say: it looks vaguely phallic... Painting it with a light flesh-tone brown didn't help, either. I tried to hid this fact by changing the angle of the photograph, but I am growing more and more uncomfortable about the whole affair.

I think I will go back and repaint it in some darker, grey-ish color. Or maybe I will just decide to be blatant about the similarity. I need some thinking on the issue.

5 comments:

DestoFante said...

And if you really want to make a comment, keep in mind I have a PG-13 rating on Blogger, and I want to maintain my status, OK?
[Yes, this message is particularly for you, and you know who you are!]

Bluebear Jeff said...

First, it would probably help if the sails were covered with canvas . . . it would pull focus and change the overall shape awareness.

Next, I suspect that the roof is supposed to be terra cotta tiles . . . but could perhaps be painted as thatch I suppose (although I'm not sure that that would help much).

The smooth portion of the windmill would probably be plaster . . . and white might be less evocative than a color closer to flesh.

As for the rougher sections, it is a bit difficult to tell . . . but might that be ivy?

Anyway I agree that a change of colors would be beneficial.


-- Jeff

DestoFante said...

Jeff, you are right - the rougher sections are ivy, I haven't had time to paint those yet.
As for the color - it looked like a non-descriptive beige when I first mixed it. Maybe because of the black prime, it turned much more fleshy once painted on the building. And the lighting for the photo did not help, either.
I would keep the roof in a Northern European grey, rather than a Mediterranean terracotta; but white for the plaster portions is definitely a good idea.
What would you suggest to use as canvas for the sails?
Thanks for the great suggestions!
Adolfo

Bluebear Jeff said...

For canvas I would first ask you to decide what kind of condition you wish the windmill to be in.

If you want it to be a bit run-down, you might go so far as to use some sort of bathroom tissue . . . very light weight, but it can suffer some tears. Not sure if I would use white or go for a soft cream-colored tissue.

Another option is to use actual scraps of cloth. Unbleached muslin might work well . . . although don't get too heavy a grade. If you go to a local fabric store, you might even get them to give you a few scraps (enough to cover the blades) for free.

A final option is to use paper. This could be newsprint (the unprinted edges would work well) . . . or light-weight typing paper.

I think that I might play with the newsprint first . . . after all, it wouldn't cost anything.


-- Jeff

Anonymous said...

well..i've never seen a blue tipped one! =) windmill that is...