Saturday, July 10, 2010

White on White


One of my favorite painters has always been Jasper Johns, so i was very happy to tip the hat to Jasper for Julio Rodriguez, in Austin, Texas. Julio wanted something that suggested a watermark.



Word of the day is: subtle.




I don't do a very good job of brand identifying via logo recognition (or sometimes logo visibility for that matter). It's a bit more interesting to change it up. After a run of logo stencils is used up, its kinda nice to retire that font. Everybody goes through fazes, right?





The translucent squares overlapping was Julio's idea. It took a couple tries to get it right, but in the end came out rather splendid. Thanks Julio.


White finishes are pretty hard on fillet brazers. It's the color that shows everything. No place to hide. The most minor flaw in the sanding can result in a shadow that immediately draws the eye. Gotta be on your game when you're finishing a bike that'll be painted white.



Hey gang, are y'all interested in the music I post here at all? Not that I would stop if you weren't. This post's pick is My Bloody Valentine. My favorite, by far, of the "shoegazer" bands of the early nineties. I listened to Loveless a lot back then and continue to these days. Not exactly subtle, mind you, but there are so many layers to the music that it almost becomes nuanced noise. Does that make sense?
Here and here are couple videos with reasonable audio. "Reasonable audio" may not be the word for it... for some folks out there.

6 comments:

Little_Jewford said...

who is doing all the cool wet paint work for you?

Anonymous said...

I'm digging the music suggestions. Don't stop giving them.

blackcatbicycles said...

i usually get the frame powder coated, then do all the wet paint over the powder coat myself. then i take the frame to a friend of mine who does a clear coat over everything. he's got the full set up for spraying cars and bikes. i've just got a vinyl die cutter, some masking tape, and an airbrush.

Julio said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

MBV's Loveless is iconic! The album that was so expensive to make it bankrupted the record company (and worth every penny). I'm new to your website and am really digging your frames; absolutely beautiful! I'm saving money now to order one (seriously). Keep pluggin the music.

Anonymous said...

Actually, you do a very good job of branding your stuff. I think your frames look pretty distinctive, and it wouldn't be hard to figure out what they are without logos. The rotating fonts are just part of Black Cat's character.