Improving Frames

In this post I just want to share something that I do to make some ready-made frames look better. 

When a  frame is too dark or dull for a specific painting I use Rub'nBuff, which is a wax metallic finish that comes in different colors in small tubes. I apply this paste to the inner edge of a frame in order to make it look like a fillet. 

The picture below shows some of the colors I use, from L to R: Gold Leaf, Antique Gold, Grecian Gold, European Gold(greenish), and Autumn Gold (reddish).

The steps are as follows: First, I isolate the area to be highlighted  with painter's tape, making sure that the tape is positioned correctly.

I apply a small amount of the metallic paste (Antique Gold in this case) with a cotton swab, pushing it hard so that it gets into the edges of the moulding. I do the same thing with the inner side of the frame opening. making sure the application looks even. The paste/wax could be applied with your finger or a soft cloth, but I prefer the cotton swab method, and as a precaution, I also wear disposable gloves.

Once the whole area is done, I let it rest for a few minutes before removing the tape. It cures really quickly.

And this is how the frame looks with a painting:

Country Lane, 5x7"

Front Yard, 12x16"

I'm very happy to say that this paintings was recently juried into the National Northeast Pastel Competition at Old Forge, NY. 

Generally, the View arts center holds a Walkabout hosted by the juror of awards the day after the award ceremony. Last year's juror, Lucy Petrie, decided to have a more interactive walkabout and had the crowd divided into small groups. Each was given a list with some important points to consider when looking at a given painting. While each juror has his/her own way of determining whether a painting merits an award or not, for me it was very informative to see what where some of the factors she had taken into account when making that decision. Framing was one of them. A frame that calls too much attention to itself, or one that doesn't enhance the painting in any way, or even one that has seen better days (and believe it or not, there was one like that!) will detract a lot from the painting.

 I had a crazy week looking for the perfect frame.  It's so hard to figure from a corner sample if the moulding chosen is the right one. I'll find out very soon...

The Moose River in Winter, 5x7"

The migrating flocks of geese are telling us that winter is almost over.  While the thought of warmer weather is more than welcome, I feel a little bit upset for having wasted the opportunity to paint winter scenes during the season. The sole exception  was the one above. Maybe I'll be painting more winter scenes this spring...

Two from One

Queen's Lace Domain, 8x5"--SOLD
Very often I hold onto a bad painting hoping that someday I'll get the right idea on how to fix it. When an artist friend recently stopped by, I asked for her advice on one of those duds. Immediately she suggested to make two paintings out of it.

I think that part of the reason why it didn't cross my mind to do so in the first place must be because it would have felt like giving up on it, and I don't like to do that because that in turn, makes me realize that I made the mistake of jumping to paint a scene without sufficient thought, so I hold onto the idea of a solution, a fix.

Long Road, 8x6"
I didn't hesitate long to follow my friend's suggestion. After all, the time elapsed (3-4 years) had erased some of the feelings I had for the scene. And as a matter of fact, I didn't even look at the reference photo for new ideas.







The original painting:

The View from Henneberry Rd.12x18"

I found this painting in a pile of unfinished work. It was done on location two years ago, and at the time I didn't like how dark the foreground trees were.

Even though they are much lighter now, I'm aware that they can still be lighten some more without the scene losing the late-evening mood. I glazed the distant hills with hard pastels, added ochers to the middle ground trees, and darkened the foreground flowers and grasses to create a better feeling of distance. That seem to have done the trick! I think I'll be working on creating other paintings from this scene.

BTW, La Carte paper is my favorite sanded paper for plein air painting. It's not as hard on your fingers, as other sanded papers, and when you need to glaze, the pastel seems to go so smoothly.

Organizing Events

Sunlit Treetops, 5x7"
A week ago, after talking with an artist friend about the goals each of us wanted to accomplish and things we wanted to do this year, my friend made me write everything down on a notebook, in chronological order.

Then, she suggested that on a separate sheet for each event I included the pertaining information. For example, for an upcoming spring show I had to list the total number of paintings I wanted to have on display, how many were ready to go, and how many more I needed to complete my original goal.

Once all the info was transferred to my large wall calendar, I was able to see more clearly how much time I had to prepare for each event and most important, it gave me a clearer idea of whether my goals could be fulfilled or not. I immediately realized how much time I was wasting and started to paint. The pastel above is one of the seven I painted that week, and I like it so much that I'm thinking on painting it in a larger format.

Gathering Lavender, 9x12"

This is actually the 3rd painting of the Lavender Pickers series started last month (#2 is still under evaluation). I thought it finished but the more I look at it the more tempted I am to fiddle with it.

I find that painting a series like this is a little bit scary, mostly because of the fear of becoming too methodical in, for example, painting lavender clumps the same way. I'm hoping to avoid that problem by making lots of sketches first.