Arcadia Ales gets new Tap Markers!

I met the owner of Arcadia Ales at a local restaurant in the end of 2008.  Through casual conversation, the request for my input as to why his tap markers were breaking (I had on my Plastics Engineer hat at that time) turned into a conversation of how we could bring that manufacturing home from China to here in the states, let alone Michigan, let alone Kalamazoo.  3-4 months later the first set of markers were installed at Arcadia Ales this weekend.  What a great opportunity for both companies.  

This is the beginning of a long, solid relationship.  There are many more projects already loaded in the hopper between the two of us.  Check out Arcadia Ales, this beer is amazing!  

Glazing

The color is added slowly.  It takes a long time to build up all the layers, but it definitely adds a depth and detail that can't be achieved otherwise.  The pic above is two or three layers of glazed color.  I glaze with straight liquin as the medium, usually.  
You can see some differences in this pic from the previous.  This is about two additional layers worth.  Each layer takes about 48 hours to dry.  Like I said, it takes a long time.  A great glazing trick is to wipe the entire panel with a very thin layer of cold pressed linseed oil prior to painting.

More color to come...

Under Painting

The under painting is a mixture of burnt sienna with a fair amount of 50/50 liquin and linseed oil.  The paint is brushed over the entire panel then removed from the lighter areas.  This is not a great photo, but sometimes this stage alone could pass for a finished painting, and I'm telling ya', the wiping away process is key- far more important than you might imagine.