What's in a name?

Repainting the name has been a project that I have planned and dreaded to do ever since we acquired Wecantu. Originally it had been painted by Duane Freeby of Port Townsend for the previous owners. His lettering was unique and I wanted to preserve his craftsmanship. I am not much of an artist when it comes to brushwork, so this was a daunting task. Perversely I like to do things the hard way, so paying a professional or having decals made wasn't an option. The name has faded greatly over the years (see above photo), and since part of being a federally documented boat is having the name of the boat readable, this project had become more pressing. However, since the weather in Juneau is often wet I had given up hope of being able to do this any time soon.

But, the other day we awoke to spectacular and very un-Juneau like weather. No clouds, temps in the high 70's to mid 80's. Perfect. Fortunately I had bought the paint a few years ago, so I had all I needed for my name painting frenzy.

After prepping the surface I created a stencil using masking tape and a razor blade. This was the most painstaking and time consuming part. After the tape came off, I did the shadowing free-handed with grey paint. This was the most fun. I could see Duane's old brush strokes and tried to copy his technique the best I could. His strokes had been flowing and assertive, and even though he (and I) could have chosen not to do the shadowing, I think this was what really made his artistry stand out. It was an intensely meditative process, and I felt like I was learning from a master. And I had never noticed before how he kept the light source for his shadow work the same on both sides, so that on one side I was painting shadows to the left of the letters, and on the other side to the right of the letters. Duane was keeping me on my toes...

Wecantu is very excited for her fresh lettering, and I'm pretty happy with it too, as long as I don't look at it too closely!