Floor plate engraving

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi everyone.

Well, here's my latest foray into the world of engraving. It's a GRS practice floor plate. Which I must say is very nice metal to work on.

The birds in the scroll are nothing in particular except the one at the very top which is a stylised Kiwi. The bird in the oval is called a Fantail and you can see why. They are a native New Zealand bird about the size of a sparrow and they are quite prolific throughout New Zealand bush and forests.

The flowers are again another NZ native called a Kowhai (pronounced Ko-fy) and are a rich golden colour. The birds love feeding on them as in the middle is a delicate honey type substance.

I'll be bringing it to Reno with me.

As usual your comments and critique is always welcome.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Sandy]

Andrew, You are amazing. Thanks for the help. I am looking forward to meeting you in Reno and having a drink with you and Mr. John B.

 

[msar24]

Andrew,

As always, very nice. See you in Reno.

 

[sam]

Andrew, as we say in America, you're going like a house on fire! (that's a compliment)
I like the way you incorporated the heads of birds into the design. Keep up the great work! ~Sam

 

[KSnyder]

Andrew, how would you like one of my Mausers to "practice" on?
I especially like the bird head scrolls & the whole design is beautiful.
How long did this piece take to cut?
you're off like a rocket, thanks for sharing.
Kent

 

[Mike Cirelli]

Very nice Andrew. It's very unique layout. You can see your background in art shine through. Keep up the great work. Is this done in fine line bulino without background removal or in relief with background removal. I can't tell you got a lot of depth.
Mike

 

[William Grubb]

Andrew,
once again ,nice job. The bird head scrolls really accentuate your design. Very nice lay out.

 

[Peter E]

Extremely well done Andrew. It amazes me that you have achieved such a high level of work in such a short time. I would also be curious to know how long that took.

Thanks,
Peter

 

[John B.]

Another fine piece, Andrew.
Way to go, my friend!
See you soon, have a smooth flight.
Cold ones are on ice.
And Sandy P. wants to have one with us too.
Best regards, John B.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Thanks for all those kind words. Really appreciated

It took about 24-28 hours from start to finish which also included drawing the bird. Drawing the scroll work with the birds took about another few hours as it sort of started as one thing and finished quite differentley. I started drawing leaves and all I could see was birds beaks.........so I just went with the flow.

It's all just cuts, no relief work. The small fantail picture is made up of about two zillion small cuts made with a 70 degree graver and I work from light to dark. The darkest cuts are the very last. The "Beagle Boys" masks on the birds eyes are bulino dots.

I must have some sort of bird thing happening at the moment as the drawings for my next project have them in the scrolls as well. I quite like the idea of animals/birds growing and morphing out of scrolls combining with leaves. Drawing them is another story altogeather!!!!!!

It's Friday here in NZ and tommorrow I take off to the USA. I'm looking forward to meeting you guys at Reno. Yahooooo!!!!!!!

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Jon C. Dake]

Andrew, your artistry and imagination and competence are amazing. Did I mention that I think this is awesome? Time to start thinking about giving up the day job and doing this full time. See ya in Reno.

 

[GeorgeKhayata]

Andrew,
This is really nice work, for how long have you been engraving....?
When you take the time to engrave a piece like this do you do it just for fun, or for a customer..?
I would love to engrave a piece like this but I am very busy here...
I started engraving my own pistol few months ago and it looks like it is going to take me forever to have it finished.
George

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi George

It's been about 16 months I started engraving. My first tool which was a foredom arrived in August 2005 and thats when I started.

I only do it for fun and practice but in the future who knows??????????? I'd love to do it full time, but getting someone to pay for the time spent is always an issue with anything you do. I don't want to be so clock driven with it that I would have to pump out a gun a week to make a living. My signwriting business gives me all that sort of stress. But if I could get to a level of skill that means realistic timelines with realistic income...................

With my engraving, I'm determined to get the price I want, which also means the sort of work that I do, and realistic time lines or not at all. After all, I have enough of my own guns to engrave. I know that sounds really conceited but I see high level engraving (I don't put myself in that catergory) as an art and a very talented, unique skill that should be treated as such and paid for. We'll see what happens in the future!!!

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Dave London]

Andrew
Great work keep it coming

 

[Doc Mark]

Andrew,

Great designs, and great execution, as usual. Since you mentioned the continuation of the "bird theme" I wondered if you have ever studied the Celtic anamorphic animal/knot combination designs. Everyone is familliar with the ellaborate Celtic Knot designs, but the styleized animal and human figures they often incorporated in their ornamentation is not as widely published. If you get a chance, take a look at some of these, they are quite phenominal in their orginality.

Mark

 

[GeorgeKhayata]

Andrew,
You are a gifted artist, God Bless you, keep posting the good work.
George

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hey Mark

Thanks for that suggestion about the "Celtic anamorphic animal/knot combination designs". I've never heard of, or seen them. I'll certainley look them up when I get back from the States. Another book to add to the library by the sounds of it!!!!

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Ray Cover]

Andrew, there is also a paperback book out that has the illustrations in it from the Book of Kells.
My Father in law has a copy and it has a lot of the Celtic animal designs in it.

Ray

 

[Dave London]

Andrew
You have arrived not just in the States, absolutely excellent work design and execution. Welcome to the U.S.A. have a great time while you are here