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Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/228099
SPettigrew33 - Posted - 02/10/2012: 15:05:09
I believe paintings and designs on banjo heads can be just as respectable as any other art. It also brings personality to the individual's banjo to make it uniquely theirs. I've never experienced this with my own banjo but I'm looking into it and hoping some of y'all can help me out with some questions. I plan on doing something small, subtle, and obviously away from wear areas but I'm curious as to what media I should use. I've read a few articles on paints but I'd rather have the light shades of a colored pencil. Any advice? Will colored pencils smear? Is there a coat I could put over it?
fivestringbing - Posted - 02/10/2012: 15:17:02
I don't know about colored pencils but I used sharpie on mine. I love it!
kmwaters - Posted - 02/10/2012: 15:18:03
I'm no artist, but just a guess that you would NOT want a frosted head, but rather a smooth one, then after your art is done, probably some kind of lightweight clear lacquer with no or low gloss finish to seal it. Probably just want to steer clear of the areas where your anchor fingers create the wear. Maybe 4 in. out from the bridge then a straight line up to the fretboard and parallel to the strings would be the "wear zone".
Quartermaster James - Posted - 02/10/2012: 15:20:40
Another approach is to apply the artwork on the inside of a translucent head.
banjo tim - Posted - 02/10/2012: 18:21:26
Hi everyone I am new to this but I saw your topic on banjo head art and just wanted to show off my new banjo head. It was done by a fellow brother Ole Red aka Mike. He did a fantastic job. I wrote more about it on my homepage. He does excellent work. Take care Banjo Tim
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bkdraft - Posted - 02/10/2012: 18:55:38
This guy will paint any flags or maybe something else for you:
ebay.com/itm/220938252255?var=...423.l2649
Edited by - bkdraft on 02/10/2012 18:58:05
dmiller - Posted - 02/10/2012: 19:36:16
There was a topic about this several weks ago, started by Ole Red.
If you'd care to hear what he has to say about the process, here's the link:
And, here's a computer mock-up he did of one I'm considering - - -
OleRed - Posted - 02/11/2012: 07:24:13
Tim, thank you for your most genuine review of my product and service. Much appreciated, and I have to say, it looks amazing on your banjo! I'm very happy that you love your new banjo head and the sound it produces. I was extremely proud to have provided the best service I could for you, and then hear your feedback once you finally received it. Yeah, it is hard to capture the vividness of the colors on camera! Here's another one I made yesterday, kinda humorous:
I installed it on my own banjo yesterday and it sounds very good, looks boss too. I have invested and purchased new equipment and now my banjo heads will look even sharper and take less paint. With my new equipment, and new grade of vinyl, I am able to now give it a paper thin coat of paint, so thin that a mere piece of scotch tape taped to the back would remove the paint if pulled - however the same stays in place with normal handling of the same. As a result, the sound produced it even less warm and a lot brighter. I will upload a video of my playing it, and then I will post it here on Banjo Hangout.
With the new equipment I will also be able to provide, as I have provided Tim, ANY design, no matter how complex it might be. I mean, if I can put Van Gogh on a banjo head like above, I can put anything else! Next month I will be making more (I enjoy them too, and became very enthusiastic about having them on my own banjos) and will post the artwork on my page. So yeah, I will be renewing my new post on eBay, and rejuvenate the same with a new title, new pictures and a whole new range of services, from simply offering flags to offering anything the customer desires.
I will also carefully examine the price, as the new equipment helps me with cutting the cost of making those and also the labor involved, and I might be able to reduce the price a little, make them more affordable and accessible to everyone. I might perform all those changes to the existing listing next week, or wait until it expires and then simply relist the modified page, advertising the new changes and type of service provided, along with the clearness of the methods used and new testing videos.
If the business picks up, I might also come up with my own website, but as for now it will remain on eBay. Thank you for the good reviews and endorsements, and yes, if you have anything in mind that you want on a banjo head, I can do it for you and will work with you through the whole process to achieve exactly what you desire.
banjoy - Posted - 02/11/2012: 07:26:17
Wow OleRed that is very cool. Vincent Ban Jogh way cool. ... maybe explains why he cut his ear off ??? LOL.
Cool topic.
OleRed - Posted - 02/11/2012: 07:40:51
Hahaha, thank you Frank, that's a nice banjo joke there too LOL! :) First painting him holding the banjo, then later he's got his ears cut off while wearily smoking a pipe, haha! Then when he came to Scotland and heard the bagpipes, he went for the gun and ended it all! :)
OleRed - Posted - 02/12/2012: 09:41:54
Okay, I hope I am not hijacking this thread or advertising too much, but as I promised, here's the video I made playing my custom banjo heads, the same Vincent Ban Jogh banjo head you see there. I also talk about the banjo heads and the process of making them and how it all works, just in case someone doesn't want to read a whole lot.
youtube.com/watch?v=8g9Djc-js6w
I also modified the eBay page for them, reduced the price and got it out of the 3 figures, added a gallery which will be updated and also updated the listing with more detailed information about the new method used and other policies. Unfortunately, I cannot change the title and main pictures right now, but I will change it all once the listing expires and I renew it with the new complete look.
To find my banjo heads on eBay it's easy, just search for "custom painted banjo heads" there, it will be among the few mixed results. Thank you for your support and many praises, I wish y'all the best.
OleRed - Posted - 02/12/2012: 09:50:21
quote:
Originally posted by SPettigrew33
I believe paintings and designs on banjo heads can be just as respectable as any other art. It also brings personality to the individual's banjo to make it uniquely theirs. I've never experienced this with my own banjo but I'm looking into it and hoping some of y'all can help me out with some questions. I plan on doing something small, subtle, and obviously away from wear areas but I'm curious as to what media I should use. I've read a few articles on paints but I'd rather have the light shades of a colored pencil. Any advice? Will colored pencils smear? Is there a coat I could put over it?
Oh and Scott, I almost forgot to contribute to your questions, sorry. I think I have an idea of what you want (don't worry I'm not trying to sell you anything), and my best advice it's not really my idea, but someone else here on Banjo Hangout told me and I have seen a picture of the artwork, it was very nice and subtle, like you want. Well, you can achieve that by doing your artwork on the underside of a white head. Then you will have very subtle and discreet designs, since that is what you want. It looks very nice, the guy that told me about that had a bird sitting on a tree branch, barely perceptible.
But yeah, if you use paint on the underside of a frosted head, your artwork will appear subtle and faded on the other side, sorta like a colored pencil effect. I believe that using a colored pencil on the top of a frosted head is a possibility, but the problem is that it will definitely disappear and eventually fade, maybe smear. Certainly, you can keep it away from the picking area and that will make it last longer.
Well, I hope my input helps you a little. The best thing is to buy yourself a banjo head and try it out! Who knows what you could achieve and find out! Best of luck.
Jim Yates - Posted - 02/12/2012: 11:20:46
I used a sharpy to put a Celtic design on my tenor banjo head when I was playing Irish music a lot. Unfortunately, the skin head was very dull sounding, so I took the head off and replaced it with a mylar head. When my friend Ted's skin head split, I offered my old head to him and it fit. Here's a picture of Ted and the banjo with the decorated head. It's starting to wear off now, but it's been about ten years.
Edited by - Jim Yates on 02/12/2012 11:25:51
![]() Ted Staunton |
OleRed - Posted - 02/13/2012: 03:36:45
Being of Celt stock myself, I love those designs. I'm working on some to kinda keep them ready. Well, I really like that one there, very well done, Jim.
SPettigrew33 - Posted - 02/14/2012: 13:31:12
Thanks, I saw the picture you were talking about and I like the faded design through the frosted head. Time to take apart my banjo for the first time :/
OleRed - Posted - 02/14/2012: 13:44:30
Glad you found it. I thought it look very nice and I believe you will achieve the subtle effect you were looking for. I plan on trying the method myself someday and see how it would look. If you can, share some pictures with us here after you are done painting yours. Good luck! :)
Helix - Posted - 02/15/2012: 04:33:00
Personally I steer away from hijacking a symbol from another culture.
I would be very interested in a painting of the Falls of the Missouri River as seen by Lewis and Clark.
How did I paint those circles?
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Paul R - Posted - 02/15/2012: 07:22:21
Great work up above!
I did the design on the old banjo first, opting for a version of the vine pattern traditionally found on fretboards. I didn't want a design that would clash with what was already on the banjo. I wanted something subtle and traditional. I used an archival ink pen, which was fine enough and permanent. They're available in colours, too.
Back in the early seventies I did one in black Sharpie, a full contrast image of a Toronto Island ferry, with the words "Mariposa Belle" (the Mariposa Folk Festival was held on the Toronto Islands back then) in old-fashioned, western lettering around the rim.
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tkocason - Posted - 02/15/2012: 07:54:16
Ah, Helix, that appears to be paper laying on top of a head.
Paul R that's amazing looking. I like the idea of a design around the edge, so you can still play the banjo. The others would have to be wall art, don't want finger prints on them.
bordertownbrown - Posted - 02/15/2012: 09:09:07
I did this design for dear friends who bought one of my banjos.
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OleRed - Posted - 02/15/2012: 13:14:55
quote:
Originally posted by Helix
Personally I steer away from hijacking a symbol from another culture.
I would be very interested in a painting of the Falls of the Missouri River as seen by Lewis and Clark.
How did I paint those circles?
Well, if you mean Celtic symbols, the Celts are actually an ethnicity - peoples and their descendants. And more common in American then one would think. Being born in America or elsewhere doesn't mean you automatically lose your ethnicity or where your people came from. So personally, I don't see using Celtic symbols as hijacking anything, especially if it is your own people. And if someone isn't Celt, but likes Celtic designs, I don't see a problem as well, after all, hardly anyone who has a "tribal tattoo" is an actual Maori tribe member. But I would say that a Celtic banjo head would make perfect sense on an tenor banjo, for example.
But I'm also an American, and therefore a great admirer of Lewis and Clark, and all the pioneers who were brave enough to venture into the unknown wilderness back in those days. I'm an equal admirer, as Lewis and Clark themselves were, of the Native peoples that already inhabited the place. I find the past a lot more interesting than the future.
Anyways, is this the painting that you mentioned? If so, it would look good on a banjo.
pickNgrin - Posted - 02/15/2012: 13:32:42
Ole Red... are you painting those heads by hand? That is some good work bro!
-matt
OleRed - Posted - 02/15/2012: 13:50:45
quote:
Originally posted by pickNgrin
Ole Red... are you painting those heads by hand? That is some good work bro!
-matt
Hi Matt, thank you. But no, I do not paint them by hand. I am good at painting, and sure could do it, but it is downright impossible to paint banjo heads like a canvas and still keep the sound integrity. What you end up with is a very good looking banjo head hanging on the wall, as an art piece, because on a banjo it will just muffle the sound too much and you end up going back to a plain frosted, or whatever you used before. Plain colors or something simpler can be done by painting, I've been doing it myself for a long time, and sound good on a banjo if the paint is kept to a minimum, but that s hard to accomplish if you wanna paint a Van Gogh or a painting like the one above, full of colors and details. In the end, you will have more paint than a banjo head needs.
The banjo heads I make are done by using some quality special equipment and materials I have bought especially for the purpose, and the final result is a perfect, loyal design- with all that clear and crisp banjo head sound, still going great with the design. I use them myself and they are just awesome, every month I'll be making myself one, besides of the ones I sell (two shipping tomorrow morning, just made them today), based on the hundreds of ideas and templates I have collected ever since I started this new method. It is very exciting.
The preview and real thing are not very different, if you go to my eBay page and scroll down to the gallery, you will see that the digital previews I make (like the one above) and the real thing after is done are very similar, even down to bridge position on the design. I just made one for a feller that owns a Stelling, and because he wanted some very specific stuff between the bridge and tailpiece, I worked with a real image of a Stelling banjo pot, in order to get it perfect. Once it arrives there and he installs it and sends me a picture, I will add it to the eBay gallery.
banjoy - Posted - 02/15/2012: 23:29:48
I think you'll find that OldRed knows far more about American History, and the symbol you speak of, than most Americans do. I have had extensive (and I mean extensive) email dialoge with Ole Red on that topic. I'll let you (Helix) and OleRed have that conversation in private, where it belongs.
Suffice it to say, the "popular" view that has taken hold of the Confederate Flag over the last few decades, does not agree with American history as it developed. Not in any way, shape or form. The Confederate Flag only recently has become a symbol as of hatred. Indeed, MANY Native Americans and MANY black folks display the Confederate Flag. I have extensive experience in Native American affairs and wondered for years why many Native American communities display the Confederate Flag. The confederate flag is even incorporated in some Native American flags. But I'll let you two have that conversation in private.
dmiller - Posted - 02/15/2012: 23:44:05
banjoy 's post appeared while I was still typing.
That explanation is more succinct than mine.
mellythinks42 - Posted - 02/16/2012: 11:49:57
This is my next project!!!
I'm thinking paisley along the edges but that Terrapin Station one, whew!
Rizo - Posted - 02/16/2012: 12:48:01
Well... in an effort to get the thread back on track...
I used to have a decal on the backside of my banjo head (an Elite Amber head) that that read from the front (in the Woody Guthrie tradition) "This Machine Kills Fascists."
I took it off though when I was traveling in Northern Ireland, and didn't want to be asked about my political leanings. I didn't want anyone to think I was taking sides, I just really like Woody's work.
Texasbanjo - Posted - 02/17/2012: 05:34:22
Jim Yates - Posted - 02/18/2012: 14:14:00
How about this one:
Edited by - Jim Yates on 02/18/2012 14:24:59
AFCartoonist - Posted - 03/09/2012: 03:12:14
I just put a simple waterslide pinup on mine. When I get tired of it, it'll come off without any problems.
OldTimeGal - Posted - 06/04/2012: 19:51:13
Anyone on this thread with banjo illustrations, can I have permission to add your images to the "Banjo Head Decoration" Group Forum image collection folders? (plus any process details would be nice:-)
Kind regards,
Old Time Gal
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