Salathe spray paint

 I spent the entirety of today organizing, cleaning, and adding final details to all my projects. I plan to bring a few pieces of art that I did not start during senior project. I have a coffee table that is completely covered in doodles, tags, and paintings done by dozens of different proctor students. I plan to bring this because it reflects my artistic journey at proctor. I also plan to bring a few other skateboards, including the first deck I ever painted. I also talked with my mentor and he is going to help me set up my boards in a way that allows them to be most visible to people touring presentations. I am happy with my work on this project and look forward to showing it off.

 Today was the last day of creation for my project. I met with my mentor, Corby Leith, and went over my art as well. I worked today on adding the fish and flowers to my last board. I first added the base colors using acrylic-based paint pens. I then added details in black and white, making the fish pop from the base background color. I did not clear coat this board as I didn't want to risk any mistakes with presentations so close. I plan tomorrow to make last-minute edits to any boards I think may need them and prep all my artwork for presentation.

 This week was without issue. I had locked down my process the previous week, allowing for a much more seamless creation time and a lot less blunders. After a talk with Josh Norris and a trip to the hardware store, I fixed my clearcoat issue and picked up a new environmentally safe-epoxy. I also managed to fix old issues on my first project and removed many of the bubbles the old clearcoat had left.  I started off the week beginning my first skateboard project. I primed the board and finished painting in only two days. I then spent the following two days using my new clear coat and reattaching the wheels and trucks to the board. The only issue I had this week was having to remove copious amounts of rust and grime from the bearings of the wheels. Other than that the week was without issue. Looking back on this project as the senior term comes to a close, I am very happy with how it went. I feel as though I chose a healthy workload and did not over-pressure myself with lofty expectations

 Today I went to Bellitates hardware in Wilmot. I had run completely out of a few different spray paint colors as well as airbrush cleaner and needed both in order to complete my project. I had little to work on today and was nervous to start a new project at the end of the week. I did end up starting work on my final board but also found a traffic cone laying abandoned in a ditch which sparked an idea. I took the cone home, cleaned it, and began doodling on it while I waited for the paint on my project to dry. I ended up covering the cone in all sorts of designs and it became it's own mini-project. I plan to bring and present this cone as a novelty at senior presentations.

 Today I woke up at 9:00 AM and got right to work. The first thing I did was pull out one of my older projects for reference. I plan to paint koi fish in a pond onto this skateboard and had a past airbrush project of koi fish I plan to use for reference. I then sanded and prepped the board for painting. I applied light blue primer to the board and let it dry for thirty minutes. I then added a second coat and broke for lunch. After lunch i planned where I wanted the fish on the board and penciled the lines in. I plan to begin painting the sketches tomorrow. Hours today: 5 Total Hours: 40

 I spent the morning of today testing the functionality of the skateboard and making plans to test my surfboard on Saturday. I found decent waves in Rye New Hampshire forecasted for Saturday afternoon and am excited to see if the paint holds up functionally against salt water. I also started drawing up sketches for my final board and doing research for different art styles to use. I broke for lunch and then began the next steps on my last skateboard. I first sanded and cleaned the deck using acetone. I then added a coat of primer and let the board sit for an hour. I plan tomorrow to add a second primer coat and then begin painting in the afternoon. Hours Today: 4 Total Hours: 35

 Today was a remarkably light day. I started off my morning by spending a little over an hour and a half putting fresh grip tape on the finished deck and reattaching the trucks and wheels after cleaning the screws and bolts. After that I had an away game at KUA so I was unable to do any work in the afternoon. In the evening after the game I spent about an hour sketching ideas for my next board before calling it a night. I plan to paint one more skateboard in my senior project. That should take just enough time to finish the week or so I have left. I am very happy with how this second project went and hope my final painting goes just as well. Hours today: 3 Total hours: 31

 Today was a very easy day. I started at 9:00 AM by finishing my drawings and adding a few minor details. At around 10:30 I added the first layer of clearcoat to the board and let it dry for a little under an hour to ensure there was no bubbling or patches. At 11:30 I added a second layer and left it inside to dry. I did not work this afternoon as I had a film and lift session with my team before practice. I plan to reattach the trucks to the board tomorrow. With this project finished I only have one planned project left which will be a blank 8.5 inch deck that I have left over from previous customs. Hours Today: 3 Total Hours: 28

 The first day of skateboard painting was refreshingly easy. After a week of trying a project I had never done before it was nice to do something familiar. I started by removing the trucks and wheels from the board and sanding the deck. I then applied two coats of flat white primer to the board and let it sit for the morning while I sketched. After lunch, I began penciling in outlines for my designs and painting. I was feeling quite sick today and was unable to go to practice so I spent the entire afternoon working. I used paint pens to complete all designs on the board and am planning to clear coat and finish the project tomorrow.

      Week one went remarkably well. I started this project with low expectations. Most of my previous large-scale customs had gone poorly and had cosmetic issues either caused by my airbrush having issues or other paint pens or spray paint cans failing and causing blotches. I took several preventative measures before starting this project in hopes that this wouldn't happen and it went off almost without a hitch. The only problem I encountered with this entire project was with the clear coat bubbling and that was a fairly simple fix.     I am super happy with how the longboard came out as it was by far the largest custom I have ever done. The paint stuck beautifully, the primer was flawless, and the drawing came out exactly the same as my original sketch. The clear coat was definitely a disappointment but cosmetically the board is fine. I may use this piece as wall art as opposed to a functional surfboard simply due to the fact that it may not survive contact with salt water but ne

 Today's workload was very minor. I had an away game during the day and was unable to complete a huge amount of work. I spent most of my time clear coating my board and attempting to fix a few mistakes. I also spent some time drawing up sketches for my next project and practicing a few drawings and styles I intend to use. I am a bit upset at how the clearcoat came out on this surfboard and am concerned about it's potential functionality. I hope to find a new epoxy that will react better with the paint while also allowing for me to use the board in salt water. All in all, I am happy with how this week went and hope to use what I learned in these first few days on my other projects.

 Day Five Today Was a minor setback in my progress. I spent my morning applying a complete clearcoat and left the board outside to dry. Unfortunately, the spray paint had a bad reaction with the enamel and bubbled in some places. These bubbles caused the base primer to flake off and crumble, forcing me to respray several parts of the board. Fortunately, most major drawings on the board were able to be saved and I could fix most blemishes with either paint pens or primer. The board looks the same appearance-wise now I just don't think it can serve as a functional artwork anymore. I think this board may become a wall ornament or something similar simply due to the fact that any wear and tear could cause the entire artwork to crumble off the board. Hours Today: 4 Total Hours: 19

 Day Four Today was a fairly light day. I woke up and spent two hours in the morning adding finishing touches and making small additions. After lunch I added the first coat of clear coat. While I waited for it to dry I began planning out sketches for my second project on my short board. I spent roughly an hour and a half drawing sketches and then added a second coat of clear coat and put the board away for the night. I spent about four hours in total today working and plan to spend more tomorrow priming my next board.  I feel content with the quality of my first project and am surprised with how well it came out. Time Today: Four Hours Total hours: 15

 Day Three The third day of working on my first board went by quickly. I spent three hours before lunch adding minor details to all existing pieces of art on the board. After a brief lunch break, I spent a solid forty-five minutes taking apart and cleaning my airbrush nozzle. The nozzle had jammed earlier that morning and I had to completely disassemble it to clean it. After that frustrating development, I finally added the last major piece of art to the board. I spent an hour and a half adding the catch surf logo to the board and detailing it. With all the major pieces done, I plan to add a few minor details tomorrow. I also hope to add the first coat of epoxy and possibly finish my first project tomorrow. Hours Today; 4 Total Hours: 11

 Day 2 Day two started off much smoother than day one. I began by drawing out a small outline of what I wanted to paint on the board. I then outlined the drawing on the board in pencil. I worked on this portion of the project for roughly three hours. After I finished outlining, I worked with paint pens and an airbrush to begin the physical painting. I finished the first two-thirds of the painting after lunch and called it a day at 3:00 PM, and went to practice. This day went much quicker than day one due to the less monotonous work I was doing. I feel happy with how my project is going so far and plan to finish this board tomorrow and clear-coat it Thursday.

 Day One Day one began with a rough start as I prepped the board for priming. Sanding away four years of wax and epoxy took the better half of my morning. Once the board was finally prepped I began the process of taping off the fins, cap, and rails which took roughly forty-five minutes. After a brief lunch break I finally began the process of actually priming the board. After the first coat I came to a frustrating realization. Even with the sanding the paint was having trouble sticking and was thus leaving gaps. I had to wait about thirty minutes between coats to let the paint dry and in total did four coats. Finally, after two more hours, the board was finally primed as I brought it inside, pulled off the tape, and called it a day. I look forward to actually starting the fun part tomorrow.