Shoeless Musings: July 2012

Friday, July 20, 2012

Oh Snap, Photoshop!

So this morning i decided to get out some of my old graffiti stencils out and see what could be done in Photoshop. My Mon uses Photoshop all the time, I've never used it, now i think i need it. The things that are possible with traditional medium run through the program is sweet. Plus there is no messy spray paint to deal with. No walls were harmed in the making of these immages.

I made this stencil to put up on dams (the low head drowning kind) sort of a warning. I ended up liking it so mush that i have kind of adopted it.

This stencil was made to mark art supplies for a river trip. It turned out so well that its gone up in a couple other places. The computer really let me play around with it. I still love that i can resurrect some of my art that required some civil disobedience to put up anyhow. Not to mention graffiti never lasts long.

These started out as a pen and ink ambigram of Hunter S. Thompson. I was trying to show two sides to a man who had many. It was a fun exercise but never went anywhere, it just didn't look right in black and white. But repeating it over and over agian like Shepard Fairey's Obey or Andy Warhol's repetitive works, this piece really got better and better losing the significance of the original work in the patterns they create.

I love doing cartoons. I am designing a new drift boat for running smaller steeper runs and the name Stupid Fish cane to mind. It wasn't long before this surly fish fell into my head and with my new Photoshop habit, here it is...

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Seat Pad and Oar Wrap

So after the loss of the oar my new one showed up without a wrap on it. Whomever made he mistake needs a good kick in the ass cuz wrapping an oar ain't easy. Here are some links to get you going. http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/howto/wrapping/index.htm and http://www.paddlesandoars.com/OAR-ROPE-WRAPPING-GUIDE.html I used braided nylon rope from Ace Hardware less then $4, way cheaper than the stuff you buy for wrapping oars and it seems to perform just as well if not better.

The other problem i took on was the construction of a seat cushion. I went to the big box hardware store and picked up a knelling pad for gardening and some Dap Contact Cement (now in gel form!). This combined with some old raft patch material i had just lying around from a previous experiment and tada! A seat cushion with the Stuber grumpy face on it!

The Arlington Fly-in!!!

For those of you that don't know this about me I'll explain. I love airplanes. My dad is a pilot and that has kept me around them my whole life.

This being said for years now (ten-ish) I have listened to my dad talk up the Arlington WA Fly-In. If you don't like things that turn gas into noise and flight than you may not understand why flight nuts spend days walking flight lines in the blazing hot sun risking sunburn and the pestering of the Civil Air Patrol just to look at a bunch of machines that they can't afford. I'll tell you why, flight is cool. If you are not dumbstruck by how far aviation has come since December 1903 your an ass.

Anyhoo... Here are some highlights of the show, including a plane i would like to build some day the Just Aircraft Highlander.

I love bush tires.

Got to love pearlesent paint.

Bush Caddy, Duh.

MMMMMM Turbo.

Hinges and wire, gets it done.

This one, i want this for me!!!

And this,

And this!!

The ass end of a B-17, they were not screwing about.

No Step!

Looking through the belly pod on the B-17.

If you know what this is on a B-17 your doin' good.

I wonder who was more scared the boys flying or the Germans on the receiving end.

Not a Yack!

Tiz a sexy thang.

The Pirate's installed upside down, note the exposed rocker arms, so cool.

You gotta love polish.

A 150 with a sense of humor.

POW!

Avgas + Big Radial + Smoke Oil = Woo Hoo!

Up and over.

More floatin'

Lea Flo and i got out twice this past weekend. Saturday we headed out to float on the Skagit River again, this time putting in higher up at mile 111.7 NPS RD 213 off HWY 20. This is a great put in with a ramp and a turnaround. It adds 5-10 fast flowing miles to the Skagit trip from Marblemount to Rockport. 17100cfs is a good drift level, it is above recommended on the AW sight but as long as huge boils, funny water and the occasional piece of large drift wood don't scare you its just fun. Here are some pics of that affair.

Its a big beer, my big beer!!

Where is Scoby Doo?

Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum...

Nelly has it figured out.

Now she really has it figured out.

Sure is nice out here.

Lea is giving it a whirl.

Sunday we wanted to do something different so after reviewing our options we decided to get on the Sauk River. There are tow put in options the first is just out of Darrington off of Sauk Prairie Rd, and the second is just north of Christian Camp Rd next to the bridge. The take out is past the confluence with the Skagit River west of Rockport at the Faber Ferry N. Boat Launch. At 12100cfs she was crusin' but like the Skagit at high water not to bad. Unlike the Skagit the Sauk has some large holes and big wave trains at this level making for a much more fun ride. Another thing to remember on this run is navigating the confluence you could end up in log jam hell if you weren't paying attention where Sauk and Skagit come together. Here are some highlights.