Sunday, June 21, 2009

. . . made some repairs




Shown here is a portion of a painting I completed a while ago, before I painted the cruciform paintings I have already shown on this blog. I remember being in a big hurry to complete it and send it on its way with my NY art guy. In fact, I had been in such a big hurry that I had not photographed it before I part with it.


This painting has been sold. . . which is a good thing. However, it was returned to me for repairs. . .which is not a good thing. I will admit that in the past I have used some questionable materials in my paintings in an effort to make them interesting or textural or just to see what happened (or mainly because it was a whole lot less expensive than artist-grade supplies.) But I won't use spackle or any kind of Home Depot stuff any more, because it just won't work on canvas. It chips and flakes and peels off and in the long run, it is not less expensive. For me it was a complete waste of my time because I would not allow these paintings to be sold and I didn't know how to repair them, and neither did anyone else.


That being said, I will tell you that for this painting, I used only artist-grade materials, Liquitex and Golden gesso and paint. But the paint and gesso is chipping off and cracking, not on the entire painting, just on the edges. And not on the part that is shown here. The more I tried to repair it, the more chipped off, until I found that I have to repaint entire sections. This is a complete mystery to me. Perhaps in my hurry to finish it, I didn't wait for the lower layers to completely dry. A more experienced painter could probably tell what the problem is; I would like to know so that it doesn't happen again. And I will tell you that I kind of like the painting better while it was in the midst of repair. But that's not how it was sold, and so I'm putting back the layers, slowly and carefully. And it's getting me back in the studio, which I have been avoiding lately.

6 comments:

Leslie Avon Miller said...

It is such a beautiful piece Mary. No wonder it sold. Good lesson on the artist grade materials. I think our art ought to last for our life time. I’m not worried about anything past that. Glad you hear you are back in the studio. Did you see my note that the birch panels (36 by 36) weigh 9 pounds?

p said...

i bet kj or san would know.
i'm actually kind of glad to read a post like this, sorry that something is decomposing, but it's nice to know no one is perfect.

my blog is lonely....

Bridgette Guerzon Mills said...

i don't have any tips for you about repair, but I just wanted to remark that it is a beautiful painting.

You could try calling up Daniel Smith Art Supplies and talking to one of their customer service people. they are really knowledgable and helpful.

Ian MacLeod said...

This is a fabulous painting Mary.
ian

Jeane Myers said...

aaarrggh! high frustration, however, this looks like a fabulous piece!

Mary Buek said...

Hi, Leslie: Thank you. I still can't figure out what went wrong with this painting. But I have fixed it and will be putting it back in the mail today. Thanks for letting me know about the weight of the panels.

Paula: You should see the detritus in my basement proving that I am certainly nowhere even close to perfect. I think the piece I posted today would be perfect for your work. I'm sure you would come up with a brilliant and creative use for that piece of junk.

Bridgette: thanks for the tip and the compliment. I will remember the Daniel Smith idea.

Ian, thank you. I appreciate your compliment.

Jeane: Frustrating situation, for sure. Just wish I could have figured out what not to do next time. Thanks.