Toto on wood board

I have been wanting to try working on wood board for a while so I recently chose a simple composition on a small scale as a good opportunity to experiment.

This piece is tilted "Run Toto Run". I have a particular fondness for Carin Terriers having owned a couple, and like many, a particular love for The Wizard of Oz.

I started with a quick comp on the iPad, and set it up to use as reference.

I then cut out a stencil shape just to maintain some consistency with the "L" arrow shape. I added a mile acrylic wash over the whole thing to soak into the grain, then tinted washes of 3 colors for the stencil.

The character, spears, and mountain were done with a thicker acrylic application.

I wanted to add some additional interest in the framing, so I chose a fabric as a backer to the wood board that was bound to the back of a shadowbox frame.

I painted up the sides of the board as well - allowing for some quick fan dries between steps helps move things along.

I nailed the board to the shadowbox frame backer and positioned it all in place. Seems to hold pretty good.

Not a bad first try - I already have another wood board project in the works too as I'm trying to get more comfortable with the techniques - getting ready for the Elmhurst Guild Summer show!