Hanging day, seeing my style.

I'm working on framing the last thing in order to hang everything.  Unfortunately, I had to make three runs, so far, to the lumber yard to get the framing materials for the triptych.  I need that one hung first as it's the largest thing on that wall.

I want to divulge that it was a telling moment when I sorted all my work and was taken aback that as a whole it didn't look like I thought it would.  They always talk about "style", a person's painting style.  When you see a couple of paintings at a time you don't notice it much, that overall style people talk about, some are different from one another: but as a whole, it's obvious.  Maybe it's like seeing a photograph of yourself someone else took that you didn't know about, and you didn't immediately recognize yourself.   Anyway, what I saw was that it was more colorful than I thought I was and somehow unsettling as I am working to have a looser style which I haven't achieved yet.  This is a a good thing, seeing everything together, now I can move forward on a steadier course.

Wrapping up inventory project

I am finally finished photographing all my work and writing the inventory list.  Now I have to input the data to a file that I designed to hold any and all information regarding every painting I have.  This will facilitate things when paintings are out for a show, know when to pick up after, etc. as well as know where they are, who bought them, sizes, etc. and can be sorted as well to find mediums, sizes, etc. 

Next--it's hanging everything in my presentation space.

West Newbury Pump #3

West Newbury Green Pump #3

This is the third painting I've done of the wonderful old water pump on West Newbury Green in West Newbury, MA.  The building in the background is the Town Hall which holds fond memories for some of its citizens who used it as a gymnasium and other activities were, and probably still are, held here.  The first painting had an old farmhouse in the background where the current resident sells vegetables from a small help-yourself stall out front during the season.  The second painting had a memorial to fallen soldiers and several old homes in the background.

Contact Cement

Thanks to Fred, Harold and Mark who replied with ideas to fix the "9 Little Pollacks" painting, and this morning I worked on it as follows:  I used a chisel to remove all the old glue material, sanded the surfaces, wiped it with alcohol to be sure it was clean and applied the contact cement.  I can't tell you if it worked or not as I'm reluctant to stand it up to see what happens.  I'll let it cure a little longer first.

Update:  I had to work on this for a while longer, the second coat worked mostly but I had to clamp it for another day to achieve perfection.  It is a very heavy piece and I'll put two hangers on the wall when I hang it.

Double Trouble, how to fix it?

I have a large 36x36" contemporary painting that is a series of 8x8" stretched canvases, done in the style of "Pollock" in acrylic and enamels and fixed/glued to a painted sheet of masonite and framed with a floating frame.  The glue gave way, and I am trying to re-glue it.  An electrician friend thought I should use liquid nails.  So I tried it.  The glue didn't dry clear and I had to use a razor sharp brush to reach into the slight space to paint the white glue the same color as the background of the mounted board.  After all this, the glue didn't hold!  I think it was the glue that failed because some of it adhered to the frame and some to the masonite.  What to do?  It's only 1/8" masonite so screwing it from the back wouldn't give the screw much to grab on to.  Another friend thinks Gorilla Glue would work.  If I screw in along the edge from the front, which would certainly hold everything together, I'd have to add a strip of wood over that margin to cover the screws--a last resort.  What do you think?

Dining Room East Wall

 

As I mentioned earlier, I finished my painting (here on the right) and hung these others

one by Qiang Huang and the other by Susan Manning O'Briant.

 

Tulips for my dining room

9x12" Tulips - Eternal Spring

I finished this painting today so I could hang a small group of paintings of my collected works in my dining room.  I discovered that it is difficult to have a room with a number of paintings all about the same small size. I purchased a painting of Qiang Huang during a workshop I did with him down in Newport RI last year and in order to balance it in the grouping, I decided to put my painting there as well.  I also discovered that while hanging a lot of paintings together the frames are a big statement and must work well together so I ordered the same frame for my painting (above) and Qiang's as they both have this dark background.  I love this guy.  I receive his blog by subscription and enjoy his daily comments almost as much as I do Robert Genn's.  Check out his work.  Qiang Huang pronounced Chong Wong.  I'll frame and hang tomorrow and show you how it looks.

FYI, my painting classes start next month, so be sure to phone or email if you are interested.

Bear Hill Series - First One Completed - Triptych

Bear Hill Road Sunset 3 panels 18x18"each

This country road in Merrimac, MA. is a route north to Newton NH and beyond.  I usually walk this road everyday in the mornings but when I walked later in the day I loved the way that the sun hid behind the trees and highlighted some of the things that I always enjoy looking at.  I first painted a smaller version (12x36") which is still in process but will be completed in a few more days.

New Art Magazine

Artists on Art Magazine is a new on-line magazine that I just subscribed to.  It's beautiful to look at the hi-res photos on screen and nice to be able to copy info into my notes document with a click of the mouse.
In the meantime, my Bear Hill Series is coming along.  I wanted to be finished by this Wednesday, but that might not happen.  I had to take a break, do a diversion, as I was getting a little too careful (another word for tight!).

The new "Artists on Art" Magazine, check it out.