Here’s my Word-of-the-Week image for “Solid”.

The crate is made from a wooden box and six very small window mats. The rivets are from the Michael’s jewelry crafting department – they are self-adhesive faux pearl halves. My original plan was to spray paint the box black and then use a drybrush to add rust and grime. I also wanted to add a cold, cloudy and gray, windswept sky.

The class discussion was great and I came away with a bunch of ideas to improve the concept. Gary says that since I took the time to make the box I will have to actually put it in one of my still life paintings.

This exercise meshed nicely with my theatrical set building experience and got me thinking about the possibilities in constructing sets and dioramas to use as source material for paintings.