76: Giraffe bookshelf

A friend wanted a bookshelf extension to go atop her built-in cabinet and asked me to build something simple.

I finished the project pretty quickly, so I decided to add a little something. The plans called for a higher side on one end (to be used as a bookend), but I thought I could do something nicer than just a square piece of wood there.

I decided to make a giraffe that would look out over the top of bookshelf.

I slightly carved the end piece before I painted it, to make the drawing stand out more, and give it a realistic effect.

You can see how the carving enhances the shadows. Cut-out paintings are pretty cool. They always look more 3d than they actually are.

Right after I finished painting, I mistakenly picked up my red paint lid, and moved it over the painting to the red paint jar, leaving a long drip trail right across the font of the painting. (Yep, if you’re reading this now, Susanna, the bright red paint stripe was not an intentional design choice.)

I couldn’t get rid of it without redoing a big section of the picture, and after I looked at it for a while, it seemed like not a bad mistake. So, I just drew a shadow in, and now it’s part of the picture. Maybe it’s a red telephone wire, or the top of a fence at the zoo. Who knows?

And here’s a finished picture. It was a total surprise and she loved it.

See ya next week.