Doodlin'

(Sorry, this might be a bit confusing, but the picture that was the last post and the text from this post were both supposed to be ONE post! Our email system does that to me sometimes. Wreaks all kinds of havoc. So here's the text that should have come with the picture.)

Over the last few nights, while my wife, Shannon, and I were watching some pre-recorded episodes of Criminal Minds (that's what we do in the evenings here in the bush!), I was doodling away at some design possibilities for Shan Skailyn's eventual paint job. All three incorporate a design that is used as a primary element, in one variation or another, in just about all the Mibu people's carvings. Since I live and work with these folks and feel a part of the community in many ways, I wanted to include artistic features unique to their identity. So here are my sketched out ideas. I'm thinking of just staining and varnishing the gunwale a dark color. One of my friends here, Lookas, is going to carve the pattern (very light relief carving) of the design seen on the lower of the two pictures here all along the gunwale. I'll then stain the whole thing, do a whitewash to fill the carving with some white for contrast and then varnish over the whole thing... the gunwale, that is.

I'm open to any comments as to what paint design appeals the most? My personal favorite so far is the bottom one. It's possible I could get some other ideas before actually painting Shan Skailyn since that time is obviously a long way off. But for now, the bottom one seems the best to me.