Twelve canvas’s made and a lot of soul searching! I didn’t realise how that committment to size would affect what I was thinking about.Over the past week or so, I have assembled timber frames, cut canvas, stapled the two together and done 2-3 coats of Gesso and texture ground on 12 stretchers! It is really rewarding as they finish and you place them against the wall like presents waiting! They have hospital corners,(folds the nurses use in hospitals to tuck in patients) neat and uniform. You learn in the first year of a diploma how to make the perfect stretcher. The frames (although not cedar wood and belgian linen), are in fact locally made pieces that fit together snug and strong providing a sturdy base to work on.
I am rough in my hand. I push and move paint around the canvas in a physical way. It needs to be a good density to handle that without getting lax! Personally, I am not a fan of the drum canvas over the relaxed cavas, in a picture per se. though,I do like the look of a rabbit skin glue canas in it’s prime and I do like a canvas to stretch as tightly as comfortable. Anyway, I am back in the studio and having more moments in the flow…it’ll come together later, right now I have to front up and listen to what I am supposed to do next. The amount of canvas’s ready to work on at one time is a little daunting as much as it is a big WOoHoo when you look at them, choosing colors that are foreign in color seems a risk. I feel there is a chance to unite these twelve for the next show. I actually have had to consider issues that you dont consider with an open ended single canvas in front of you! I really like the ‘do as now’ feeling and planning it too much in advance seems to have sometimes been in dis-service. At the same time, I appreciate the cost of making 12 canvas’s at once and utilizing the fact they are dimentionally, exactly the same. 1000cmm X 750mm. Hmmmm.
So, right now I have been playing with a softer palette from the Wavelengths series. It is feeling new but I have had moments where it was flowing the way it wanted to and I was along for the ride. I will paint some more with it and see where it leads us. This is exciting. New again!It has been a feeling of storing energy the last two weeks. Whilst still attending tasks, I tried to hold that in mind and be conservative. I hope the wave brings some energy with it, I like the momentum. Stay tuned, off to paint!