Colorful Cephalopod Shaving Mirror Enhancement

Our antique shaving mirror has been handed down through at least three generations. It has resided in one of our family's bathrooms for as long as I can remember. It wasn't until recently that I noticed the uninspiring brown fiberboard on the backside of the shaving mirror. The non-reflecting side of the mirror was reflected back at me from the wall mirror.

For some time I thought that it would be great if the reverse side had a nice design or artwork to reflect back at us from the wall mirror. It wasn't until just this year, during a long weekend that I decided to make that happen!

I decided on drawing a colorful octopus (cephalopod) on the circular fiberboard. I could arrange the octopus and its tentacles in a configuration that suited the shape. What was inspiring to me was a generous selection of uni® POSCA® paint markers that my wife had recently acquired for her creative endeavors. If you haven't used these markers yet, give them a try at your favorite art supply store. I think you might find them to be of good quality and they just may inspire your next artistic pursuit.

As this was a fairly simple modification, there weren't many other materials required. I did decide in advance that I needed to prime the fiberboard with white paint so that the colorful paint from the markers wouldn't soak in and leave the design dull and muted. This turned out to be a good decision. A simple coating of white paint from an aerosol spray can did the trick.

As you might imagine, the mirror comes apart quite easily. There are two thumb screws that fasten the mirror to the stand and one screw that secures the retaining bezel. All three needed to be removed in order to remove the fiberboard. Removing the board was best for portability of the project during the creation process and to prevent the mirror from getting damaged. The markers and the board went along with me on at least one car ride during development.

With the mirror disassembled, I set aside the glass and frame and inspected the circular fiberboard. It needed a bit of sanding to prepare the surface for paint. I used 150 grit sandpaper followed by 220 grit sandpaper to get a smooth surface. After blowing off the dust, I set the board on cardboard and sprayed with white paint. This helped prime the wood and seal the surface for the markers.

Since I hadn't produced artwork in several years, I needed to test my hand to see if I still had some control of my hand to eye coordination. I also preferred to lay out the octopus image using pencil first to adjust the composition if needed. I was happy with the balance that was created and reasonably satisfied with how the cephalopod filled the circular "canvas." I consulted a couple reference images of this beautiful creature from books and websites.

The process of sketching and layout involved a lot of looking away from the art, looking back at the art, squinting, holding it at a distance, viewing in good lighting, etc. in order to decide where to guide my pencil. Sketching can be done relatively fast, but don't rush the process if you wish to have a good guide for the next steps.

Now apply the paint! Using the uni® POSCA® paint markers, I began to bring this octopus sketch to life. There was no complete vision of the final product when I started. I let the colors and the thickness of the lines guide the process. I ended up using warm colors for the body and head and cool colors for tentacle webbing and background details. Most of the paint was applied using a series of thickened lines. Some pointillism helped add more depth the image. The contrast between warm and cool colors I think added to the whimsy of the painting.

At first, I had sketched the eye in the foreground with more of an angry mammalian iris and pupil. Since the color I was applying was already making the image fantastical, I decided to make the eye a bit more true to life. In some pop culture images, the octopus is characterized as a threat and the mean look is intentional to fit the narrative. I changed the pupil to somewhat match photographic images of octopus eyes found in my research. Certainly, the final result with a white sclera may not be scientifically accurate, but was closer to how I wanted the creature to feel.

The uni® POSCA® paint markers performed well for this project. I found that the pigmentation in the markers did a good job of covering mistakes and refining areas that had already been painted. Once or twice I grabbed a regular ink marker to attempt a detailed edit, but I found the sheen of the ink marker didn't match the paint. I preferred to use the paint markers exclusively. I also found that my artistic ability adapted to the both the markers and the fiberboard surface. This process took about 10hrs over the course of 6 or 7 days. Along the way, my hand steadied a bit and I was able to manage the flow of paint onto the surface with good control.

After a few final edits and touch-ups to the image, I let it dry for a day and then sealed with a clear coat of lacquer spray paint. Since this painting was going to be reinstalled in a bathroom where humidity and errant splashing from the sink could make contact with the rainbow colored octopus, sealing the surface seemed like a good idea.

To reinstall the painted fiberboard, I simply reversed the process used during disassembly. First, I positioned the image to be the correct side up in the mirror frame, then tightened the bezel screw and thumb screws. I was careful not to overtighten any screws or mishandle the top-heavy assembly.

The whole shave mirror is antique and has a bit of patina to it. It is still practical and I like the look of it on the bathroom vanity. Now with the octopus painted on the back and reflecting back at all who use the facility, I like it even more. The eye of the octopus draws one into its realm. Staring for a bit makes one being to wonder what the octopus might be thinking. Its coat of rainbow splendor leads one to believe that the octopus is living its best life and happy to finally be positioned right where it is. This cephalopod is definitely not threatening and will inspire more art to be imagined in our household.

Thank you for reading and viewing!