After re-connecting with a friend I made during the last World Cup, she asked me if I’d take a commission for the Des Moines chapter of American Outlaws. “Uh, okay,” I thought. I wasn’t real sure what I would do, until I remembered the Iowa state flag is one of those ones with words on it.
Hey, there’s an idea. A good idea.
I got to work.
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The finished product. I changed the slogan, slapped a bandana on the eagle, made the logo bigger, and added some sparkly outlines to the text. Other than that, it’s the Iowa flag. I had a devil of a time finding the right color and weight in red and blue fabric for the side panels, so I gave up and just painted them. This was kind of messy and time-consuming, but ensured the red and blue used everywhere on the banner would match. Relatively speaking, it also wasn’t that much more time consuming than trying to scour fabric stores for something suitable.
Detail of the center panel. You can see the spots under the eagle’s right wing where I spilled paint and tried to clean it up. Hey, this is handmade here.
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Close-up of the eagle’s head. I had to try to figure out how to indicate the folds in the cloth on an image that’s otherwise flat and un-shaded. The eagle’s head is also done in pearl white.
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Close-up of the ribbon. Even though it’s not done so in the original, I outlined the lettering on the banner, because, well, you always gotta outline this stuff. Adding sparkly paint is optional.
I’m pretty happy with how this turned out. Notice I said this was a commission? Yeah, it’s official: Ask me if you’d like a banner done for your team/supporters’ group/cat/bar mitzvah/senior center/etc. That trip to South Africa next year ain’t gonna pay for itself, so let’s talk.
