Owl Box

I owed a favor to a friend of mine.  Due to work he doesn't have a lot of free time on his hands.  He asked me to build an owl box for him since that would free up time for him.  So you might be thinking, "Why would he want an owl box?"  Well, that's a good question, but I have a good answer.

He spied some owls in his backyard.  So he knows that they are around.  He wanted a home built for them so when Spring comes, they will have a place to raise their chicks.  My friend also said his son was really interested in the owls.  So I was building the owl box for his son as much as the owls.

I looked online and found some really simple barn owl plans.  It's basically a 2 X 2 X 2 box with a ten inch square cut out of it.  Here's the photos.

I used Titebond 3 wood glue to seal the corners.  Then I reinforced the corners with at least 100 screws.  I also made sure to put air holes on the sides, and drainage holes on the bottom.

I sealed the box with Kilz 2 primer.  I've always had good luck with it.

I changed the plans just a bit.  I put an edge over the top so it would cast some shade into the box.  It would also help keep rain out.  Let's be honest, this is Florida and there is plenty of rain.

My next step was to paint it with a thick brown enamel paint.  Again, the enamel paint will withstand the weather a bit better.  After the brown paint dried I used specialty camo paint to camouflage the box.

The trick I use is to hold the can back away from the wood so it sprays more of a mist than a straight line.

I try to paint them so they will blend into an oak tree.

I must have done a good job because, what would you know, an owl showed up.

It seems comfy on the inside.

Unfortunately, he'll have to vacate the premises.  This owl house will be for my friend's backyard owls.  I'm hoping in the spring he will be able to take some photos of the owls and their chicks in the owl box.  I'll be happy to post those photos if he's able to take them.  But the hard part is now on him.  He has to find a way to attach the box to the tree.  Good luck buddy!

Hunting Season: Time To Paint The Treestand

Every year hunting season sneaks up on us.  In fact, this year we aren't even going on the quota hunt.  Since everyone's schedule opens up during Thanksgiving, we decided to go for a few days then. 

But every year it's a rush.  Oh goodness, we need to check the tires on the trailer for dry rot!  Oh no, we haven't practiced shooting a gun in two years.  Oh, where are all the cooking items, coolers, maps, licenses, etc.

I did happen to remember one thing I needed to do.  I needed to paint my treestand.  I've had it for a while, and it's gotten chipped and dinged up over the years.  I just don't want the places that have been chipped to reflect sunlight.  That would definitely give away my position. 

I've found that the most important thing about painting treestands is breaking up the pattern.  You could use the classic black, brown and green colors, but if the pattern isn't broken up, you are going to stand out. 

As far as color, I try to paint my stand in a mud and leaf type color.  I put my tree up in various types of trees; oaks, pines, palms, and maples.  All of them are a little different in color.  So I aim for a background of black and green, and then break it up with lighter colors. 

Here are the after photos.  If the paint looks glossy, it's because it is still wet. 

The piece on the left is where my feet go.  The piece on the right is where I sit. 

It's a little muddy in color.  I also tried to get it close in color to a pine tree.

Here you can see the backpack straps.  That's one nice thing about this treestand.  It folds up, and I can carry it on my back.  I actually used some orange to make it look like I have moss and lichens growing on my treestand. 

This piece has a lot of padding on it, so there wasn't much to paint.  I mainly did touch up on metal that was dinged. 

I know it's hard to tell, but the part of this piece of the treestand is where I put my feet.  Namely, the part that is facing the camera.  Since this side wouldn't be seen by anything, I didn't get too creative with it.  I just made sure the dings were covered, and broke up the pattern.

The base of this part is where it grabs the tree  (toward the bottom of the picture.)  So the paint gets roughed up the most around there.  So, I had to touch up a lot of bare metal there. 

I'll let this dry overnight, and see what I think of it tomorrow.  That's the good thing with paint.  If I don't like the job I did, I can just go over it with more paint.  However, I feel pretty good about the work I performed.  I think it's going to be just fine. 

New Bad Art Day: Someone Lost An Anchor

I have written a number of "bad art" posts before.  Lately, I have been working on a another coral reef type of painting.  It's kind of my thing.  I named this one, "Someone Lost An Anchor."  Namely, because it looks like someone lost an anchor. 


And here it is:

Like almost all of my paintings this one has a lot of layering.  I would paint for about 15-20 minutes, and then let it dry.  I would come back the next day and do the same.  So it took me about a week to complete it. 

Like a lot of my paintings, there are some things I like about it, and some things I don't.  But each painting is a learning process.  One thing I do like is just how "thick" the painting looks in real life.  I really do like to build up a lot of paint on the canvas.  The one thing I don't like about it is my choice of colors.  I'm not sure some of these blend well with others.

So eventually I will post another bad art day painting.  And it will most certainly be of, yet again, another coral reef.  Stay tuned and keep reading.

Adrian, Amateur Painter: The Front Steps, Part 2

Here's Part 1:  http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2013/10/adrian-amateur-painter-front-steps.html

I have been painting.  I have been painting.... a lot.  But it's something that needed done, and makes the house look a heck of a lot better.  I could spend some time talking about it, but let's just get to the pictures.

 

 

 

Again, it's quite a red.  It does have the tint of orange in it to look like Mario Andretti red.  My next job will be to paint the door.  Now I have to see if Lili (not her real name) wants it red or some other color.  So that will be another blog.  

Adrian, Amateur Painter: The Front Steps

Again, in a continuing series of me fixing broke stuff, I present another Amateur Painter series.  This time I am painting the front steps to my Girlfriend Lili's (not her real name) house.  I already tested out the paint primer and red paint on the back steps, and they turned out great.  So I got on a roll, and started to paint again.  (Sidenote: I'm actually starting to get good at this painting gig.)

So here's what I had to work with:

So first things first.  I put down the Kilz 2 paint primer first.  Again, I had it tinted gray so when I put the red paint on it, it wouldn't show up pink.  One thing to note.  Where there was already red paint, (in some places) I decided to not paint the primer over it.  I'll just put the red paint over it when the time comes. 

So here is the result of my hard work:

Due to the position of the sun, the photos can look a little washed out in places.  But overall, I got what I wanted painted.  Today was the perfect day to paint.  It was cool and dry, and those days don't come often in Florida.  Especially with a clear blue sky out. 

So here's the fun part.  I get to do it all over again tomorrow.  That's when I put the red paint on, and make it look really nice.  I'm not worried about the primer not being dry, as it was almost completely dry in places after only an hour.  And the other good news?  That means another great blog coming up. 

Read you then!

Amateur Handyman: Back Step Man, Part 2

Here's Part 1:  http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2013/10/amateur-handyman-back-step-man.html

So when we last left the back steps this is what they looked like.

So now that the primer was down it was time to paint.  Luckily, a few months ago I got some free paint.  The story of which can be found here:

http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2013/05/free-is-for-me.html

So now it was time to put the red paint down.

 

 

When the paint is wet, it almost looks like Mario Andretti red.  It has a touch of orange in it.  Once it dries it starts to look a bit more like Barn red.

I am really happy with the Kiltz 2 primer, in that, it made the red paint so easy to put on.  Since the red paint was in an old can I'm not sure what kind it was, but it was free, so I took a chance.  It's been pretty nice.  Despite it's old age, it went on just fine.  I wish all painting jobs were this easy. 

I know the pictures make it look nice, but in real life it looks great as well.  In fact, it looks so nice it's kind of making the rest of the house look bad.  Will I be put to work on painting the sides of the house?  Only Lili (not her real name) knows for sure.

But I do know this.  I will be painting the front sometime in the future.  Although I am going to have to put up some serious plastic tarps and blankets.  That job may take some time.  So keep an eye out for it. 

Amateur Handyman: Back Step Man

Yes, it's another new project given to me from my Girlfriend Lili (not her real name.)  As I've stated in the other Amateur Handyman posts, the people who lived in the house before Lili did their best to destroy the place.  So, little by little we are putting the place back together. 

In a previous post I showed how I added handrails to the back steps.  I had to do that before I painted them.  But in-between the build and the paint comes the paint primer.  We were in luck in that, the folks at Home Depot had a new converter for mixing the Kiltz 2 primer 2 gallon bucket.  Since we would be putting down red paint, we needed the primer to be a medium gray.  And they were able to do that.  It came out great.

So here's the back steps after the handrails.

Now it's time for a little paint primer.

I have to say, people either love or hate the Kiltz 2.  I love it.  It dries fast, and goes on easy.  I am excited about putting the red paint down soon.  And hey, that means I will get to post a "Part 2" for this blog.  Alright!

Adrian: Amatuer Craftsman, The Bathroom Cabinet, Part 4

So here's the great news.  The cabinet is finished.  Lili (not her real name) finished up the details on the vines and flowers that adorn the cabinet.  We then applied a layer of wipe on poly to seal the paint. 

Here's the photos:

So now that the cabinet is ready it's time to hang it up right?  Well, not exactly.  You see, it has been decided that the bathroom needs to be painted, and it wouldn't make any sense to hang this up, and then paint.  So, we will wait until the bathroom is painted, and then we will hang the cabinet up. 

Well, that also means good news in that, I get another blog or two out of this project.  Stay tuned.  More will be coming.

New Sloppy Art Day

I've done a few bad art/ sloppy art posts before, so here's another one.  Every now and then I get some time and decide to paint a few paintings.  But before I get into that let me explain my painting style.  Honestly, I can't paint life-like/realistically to save my life.  I learned that I am too impatient, and way too sloppy.  But then, I was introduced to impressionist art.  And it was perfect for me.  I found that the sloppier I was, the better I was.

So here's what I have been up to lately.

This one is called "Picasso's Blue Reef."  Of all the paintings I have painted, I think I like this one the best.  I wanted to do something like Picasso, where he had a "blue" period.  I thought, what if I took Picasso's blue thoughts, and used them to paint a coral reef.  So I used all sorts of blues on this painting.  It came out great.  Again, I am really happy with it.

This one is called "Around the Old Oak Tree."  I wanted to so something a bit different.  This was supposed to be part of a five part series.  I'm still working on the series, but this one was supposed to be "Earth."  The picture itself is a little brighter than it is in real life due to the flash.  I think it's a nice, happy painting that doesn't try to over think anything.  It's just nice.

This one is called, "The Little Red Admiral From Argentina."  The butterfly itself is called a Red Admiral, and the species that I painted makes its home in Argentina.  Again, this was something outside my comfort zone.  I actually started painting a butterfly, but it didn't turn out right.  So I painted over that painting, and came up with this.  I'm pretty happy with it.  It has a lot more detail than you can see in the photo.

This is part one of a two part series.  I made this painting and the following one as a "fire and ice" theme.  This of course, would be the ice.  I call it, "Busy Day on the Blue Reef."  Here's a funny note.  I had an idea for a brush I needed, but they didn't make that kind of brush.  So I went to Home Depot, bought a brush, and cut it to the needed shape.  If you see the "seaweed" on the bottom, that's what I used the brush to paint. 

This one is called, "Maroon 5 Clownfish."  Yes, I am a bit of a smart aleck.  But if you look there are 5 Maroon Clownfish in the picture.  I also used my special brush in the middle bottom of this painting.  It's come in really handy.  At first, I wasn't sure how this painting would come out.  But once the finishing touches were put on it, it really started to pop out. 

So that's what I have been up to lately.  Stay tuned.  I'm sure I will spit out a couple more works pretty soon. 

Adrian: Amatuer Craftsman, The Bathroom Cabinet, Part 3

Since the last blog here's what's happened to the cabinet.  I slapped a lot more white paint all over it.  It really needed the paint to be a little thicker.  I also had Lili come over, and start painting the decorative vines and flowers on it. 

She is halfway through on it, and it's starting to look really good.  So here's the pictures of the cabinet so far.  You can see that some of the flowers are finished, and others still need some work.  And of course, once it's finished I'll take some more detailed pictures. 

But here's the progress so far.