Moorings–knife painted triptych
Moorings demanded to emerge ! I had painted four versions of this photo several years ago, after obtaining permission from the photographer, Christian Smith. Why it became an obsession this March is unknown, although I do have a theory. Having bought pairs of canvases in 12 x 24 in and 16 x 20 in, then painted one of each, the two lonely ones kept giving me depressed looks from their place beside my printer. The day that a local shop brought in an array of canvasses set me off–or was it up?
Logistics were a frequent problem while painting. To begin, a simple pencil mark separated sky from ground, so ligning up those major areas was straight-forward. Then the fun began ! My work space, the kitchen island, is complicated by “life”. The cats regard it as their space, there are an electric kettle and resident tea pot to work around, and then the just started Christmas puzzle, under the plastic table cloth, creates some unhelpful “texture” to complement the scattered bits of dry cat food that appear mysteriously. All three canvases WILL fit on at once, but only if one hangs off the end of the island in a precarious position that will not tolerate the sudden arrival of an air-borne cat.. Quick checks for alignment really must be quick ! Because of the volumes of paint needed, I was also trying to use both of my small Sta-Wet palettes, further complicating the effort to keep cat paws out of the paint. They are not supposed to drink the painting water or chew my brushes, either–much less carry them off to secret hiding spots. Trying to paint while all three are asleep seems to be the logical answer, but they draw straws to see who is on duty, looking for tempting things to do with me, while the other two get to nap. Ah, the struggles in the life of a painter……
At least I have finally been driven to find a better place to sit paintings for their photography session. Again, the cats don’t approve, but as long as I don’t get called away for something, the time in THEIR window sill over the kitchen sink is quite brief. I do have to wait for darkness though, as the back lighting from the window over-rides the camera during the day and the resulting photos are a bit washed-out, as in “Oh–THERE is the boat !” and other comments.
The painting process itself went quite well ! Again using my set of painting knives (Thank You, Tanya !) things zoomed right along. I hit a bit of a snag when I was unable to get the final dark blue (anthraquinone) glaze down onto some areas of the blue water. The knife was useless, my brush just piled it up against the earlier, lovely paint ridges, and I found myself using fingers to get the paint where it was meant to go. I only had dark blue fingers for a few days, at least ! About now someone should repeat after me: “NEVER underestimate the power of a determined woman !” There were a few days of panic about painting in the talllll mast and rigging for the boat, but Marcia suggested that I Fun-Tak a picture of it to the canvas and live with it for a few days to be sure that I really wanted the boat at all. That was a definite yes; then self-doubt about the mast and rigging set in and delayed things another few days. I finally just made me put in the boat, managed to get the mast in rather nicely, but then the rigging lines were unavoidable. Reminding myself that speed will remove a mistake, or it can dry and be painted out, I gamely began the first line. No guide lines, no pencil marks to follow, I just started at the top of the mast and eye-balled my way down to the boat. Four breath-holding times ! The biggest problems were from unexpected miniature blobs of paint that had to be quickly removed, and over-thinned and watery paint (at least it flowed nicely off the brush !) that had to be darkened. Now if painting my signature would work so well, I would be very pleased.
Moorings attracted a lot of attention at this weekend’s Wellspring Art Show and sale. The sheer size of it, from the gal who paints those incredibly tiny miniatures, created quite a stir. I used more paint on Moorings than I normally use in a year ! No, it did not sell, and unless we remodel the house there is no place big enough to hang it.. For the moment it is still propped against the china cabinet where the cats can, and do, knock it over. I wonder if Bob would let me board up the picture window…..