MrDan

35 minutes ago, Sarah S said:

Fantastic artwork! Graphite is a tough medium, IMO, when you eliminate color it's tougher to get shading and perspective right. Thanks for sharing, it's a treat to view!

Thanks! 

Its funny, because when I try to work in color I get so confused, lol. I can do maybe two colors, but that’s pushing it. Candles has been the first real use of color in awhile, aside from some of my paper mâché works.

Also, it’s only if you choose UPS ground as your shipping method. It just made my order about $15 less!

And since I had more wax left than I thought I would, I finished off the family. Ok, that sounds like I snuffed them. I guess technically I do plan on snuffing them, don’t I?

@Jcandleattic

Yes! That is the best cake ever! lol

I rewatch The Big Lebowski about once a month. It’s my way of trying to channel my inner Dude-ness!

@Jcandleattic

If that’s the case...

My niece and I have always had this deal: if you buy the supplies, I’ll make you one. She wanted some candles so she bought me a couple new plastic molds. 

And it turned out ok! I took all the scrap paraffin I had (Country Lane) and now there’s a 12 oz quail on my counter!

Testin to take place later today!

9 hours ago, Hopie said:

Ahhh...yes, it was Jeff Bridges. I am thinking about a different movie...the one where Nolte played a homeless guy?

Down and Out in Beverly Hills! Now that you mention it, they are kind of similar looking! Another good flick too, lol

9 minutes ago, Hopie said:

REALLY beautiful, Mr. Dan...yep, we wanna' see MORE! I think it was...Nick Nolte that played The Big Lebowski? 

Oh my...no! Jeff Bridges was Lebowski. A must watch for those who haven’t yet, or haven’t in a while. I think everyone should aspire to be like The Dude, lol

And thank you!

7 minutes ago, Trappeur said:

Really!  Omg, the expressions of the facial features are unbelievable.   That little girl is so precious.   The one at the top with the wild hair doo looks like me first thing in the morning....

 

Trappeur

Thank you!

That precious little thing is now my 10 year old monster, lol. I only mostly kid.

And the wild haired one is Beetlejuice! I’ve always liked to say the only person with worse hair is my mother in law, and that’s not just in the morning!

14 minutes ago, Trappeur said:

Your drawings are beautiful Mr. Dan....I especially liked the one of the guy holding the drink.  What is graphite?   Pencil drawings or chalk?

 

And that is great to show who you are and what you do.   We LOVE pictures....  Got any more?

 

Trappeur

Thats The Dude from The Big Lebowski! 

Graphite is pencil, or what most people call lead. I do add a little charcoal or chalk now and then.

And I’ve always got more! Maybe next I’ll share some of my paper mâché sculpture!

10 minutes ago, Hopie said:

Ohhh, the picture looks like the rustic one is black. I still like it, great texture! Green is one of my favorite colors. Orange is really cool, too. You are truly on your way with these candles, I like them all. Nice work!

You can barely notice the green if you look at the bottom, where I haven’t cleaned it up yet. I have a feeling it’s going to give off a nice green glow! Or I hope it is, lol

Right now I’m just working with red, yellow, and blue dye chips and mixing my own colors. It’s fun making all these odd colors, but not very consistent.

How tall did you say he is? 6”? I think yours is almost twice as tall as mine (3.5”). Mine take about 4.5 oz, which is kind of a pain to make, lol.

Love that lavender color though! 

3 minutes ago, Hopie said:

Oh! I just love them! The black one is particularly cool! Good rustic finish, too! The pillars are BIG! Nice smooth finish on them, too. I finally got my very first owl done, and another one is in the can. I'll post it here, as well. He is soooo CUTE! Looks to me to be the exact same size owl that you have! You have been BUSY! 

Oddly, it’s not black! It’s a really dark green with some Pine fragrance. I think if I’d left it smooth the color would have been more noticeable, but that’s an experiment for another day.

The pillars are little tiny guys! 2” x 3.5” and 2” x 6.5”. I’ve got a larger pillar mold somewhere, but that takes a pound and a half of wax. Not that I’m against making them that big, but the smaller guys are easier for this round of experimenting and testing!

Now let’s see that owl! lol

So a couple people on here know already that I’m also an artist. I generally work in graphite and tend to do portraits that make me happy or remind me of a good time in life. 

Hopefully I’m not posting too much; just wanted to share.

Enjoy!

56 minutes ago, bfroberts said:

Love the owls.  I'm partial to that green one in the back.  The color is perfect for that vintage style owl.  Is that Hobby Lobby wax the Country Lane wax by Candlewic?  If so,  I'm sure it's a great wax.

Oddly enough, that green owl in back is the only one made with the IGI 4625. But the other owls are made with the Country Lane wax! You get a completely opaque product, but you still get that nice paraffin shine!

The IGI 4625 is slightly more translucent, which I love on the pillars. 

I still have plenty of experimenting to do with both waxes and multiple types of molds. That’s the best part though!

49 minutes ago, Trappeur said:

Wow Mr. Dan you have been busy....and they are just beautiful and sooooo flawlesss!  No frosting or anything but just so perfect!   I hope they burn well for you.  And I love owls.   Matter of fact there is a store who's name is an owl I just made up some labels for that I have to bring in.

 

Trappeur

That premium wax (I think it’s Country Lane) really does work wonderfully with plastic molds! Pour at 175-180, and no release agent needed!

These little guys burn pretty well, if a little disturbing. It usually stars “bleeding” from the eyes, and then the head splits open. Most people I’m selling or giving them to aren’t burning them of course; they’re just too cute!

I made one that’s blue on the outside, but deep red on the inside. I’m hoping it’ll give me a “bleeding” effect, but I don’t think it’s going to work. It’s still fun though!

The first photo is the little

pillar I made last night when I couldn’t sleep. I used one of my foil coils (kept in the freezer beforehand) to get a different kind of rustic look easily. 

When ever I’ve found myself with any amount of downtime this last week or so, I make a candle. 

Ive got quite a few sitting in the living room now!

Don’t you just love those owls?!

Most of the owls are the “premium” wax from Hobby Lobby (it works with plastic molds better than anything else I’ve worked with), most of the pillars are IGI 4625, and all of the colors are hand mixed with primary dye chips (red, yellow, and blue).

Yes! That mottled rust in the pyramid is the most beautiful shade ever! It’s got that retro 70’s vibe that makes me want to pop in an 8-track while I’m sitting in my incense smoke filled basement room! I love it!

Here’s an example of the experimenting I’ve been doing: the slime(d) pillar!

2” x 3.5”, using plain old dyed paraffin (no additives).

The pillar itself was just poured like any pillar. The slime was added after by pouring that lovely snotty colored wax at a cooler temp (I didn’t record the temp at the time, but it was right around when a skin started developing on the surface of the wax.

3 minutes ago, Sarah S said:

Very nice! I'd say you've got the bleed down pat! 😄

I love the vibrant purple!

That’s where I’m having the most fun with candle making: the colors! I’m actually an artist, but I work in graphite, so all these bright colors are going straight to my brain! I love it!

These are today’s trials in wax! The original test was to try a two-toned pillar, but I got impatient so I tried for an intentional bleed. So the test kind of worked on that one.

I’m going to spend a little time next week just focusing on one mold a day for testing;  using the different sized molds just makes it too confusing!

15 minutes ago, Hopie said:

 

I like them quite a bit....love the fade that you got out of it...now you know how to get that cool effect!  Shame you dropped the last one, dang it, love to see everyone's creations, keep up the good work, Mr. Dan....and don't be so hard on yourself...sometimes, our "mistakes" can turn out quite stunning! 

I’ve already written down the process and the times in my notebook! I’m getting methodical with this, lol

10 hours ago, Sunday said:

Wow ...if that's a failure...your standard are higher than mine hahahahhaah awesome candles!!

I’ve always been hard on myself when it comes to creative and artistic things; it’s in the nature of the artist to be their own worst critic, and boy am I, lol

11 hours ago, Hopie said:

Not failures...all pouring is a learning experience. I like both of these, they look good. If you don't like the finish, try rubbing away at it with a pair of pantyhose to fine tune or smooth out the finish. I like the color fade quite well. Was the bottom part supposed to be white, by chance? It seems to me that some of the dyes DO bleed, I just had that happen a few days ago with red. I thought I had let it set almost completely, but still got pink instead of white. Show us that third one, Mr. Dan, and keep on pouring! 

Failures in that they didn’t turn out like I was hoping, but they still turned out rather well! The bottom part was actually not dyed at all. I was experimenting to see if it would even be needed for such a small amount to get the look I was going for; it is needed by the way, lol

The bleed was because the outside of the candle set much quicker than the inside because of my foil cozy. The inside wasn’t set enough and bled, but the outside had already pulled away from the mold. At least I think that’s why it happened, lol

The third one was a total failure, in that I dropped it on the garage floor while I was taking it out of the mold. It sucks, but it happens, and I can reuse the wax for more experiments!

7 hours ago, Sunday said:

Wow ...if that's a failure...your standard are higher than mine hahahahhaah awesome candles!!

I only consider them failures in that they didn’t turn out like I was hoping, lol. I’m pretty happy with them though.

These are today’s failures, and I couldn’t be happier!

I think I finally found the sweet spot for this lavender fragrance, so that’s a win!

The two toned look didn’t work like I wanted because I waited just a little too long, and there was some odd bleeding on the taller one, but the still look pretty cool to my eyes!

These are the results of my experimentation of wrapping bunches of foil around a seamless aluminum mold before pouring, and even switching out the foil coils (I don’t know what else to call them) for a cold one. The one in the back is a fully insulated foil cozy! Only one color, but we’ll see what happens with that one!