Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Prep continues

Two 24 x 34, three 30 x 30, two 32 x 40, two 48 x 48, and two 48 x 60. Canvases leaning everywhere, gesso on everything I wear into the studio.

And painting in between. Some things should start coming together in the next week or so.


Saturday, March 22, 2014

Prep work

With a big pile of stretcher bars, it was time to get busy stretching. After stretching, each canvas gets two coats of Golden GAC 100, a multi-purpose acrylic polymer. In this case, its purpose is to isolate the canvas from the destructive qualities of the paint, which can really degrade canvas or linen over time. Over two coats of the polymer, I brush on three coats of Golden Gesso. The gesso is also acrylic based, so it bonds well with the the GAC 100, but it is porous as apposed to the shielding quality of the earlier layers, so the paint soaks in and binds to it.  A safe, secure, archival ground to build a painting on.  I can usually juggle 3 or four big canvases at a time, moving them around the studio, propped and drying, waiting for another layer. Each is dated after the last coat, so I know that it's dried sufficiently over a couple weeks to provide a dry and stable surface.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Stocking up

I picked up a fairly substantial order of stretcher bars yesterday from Mike and his great team at Rochester Art Supply. I've got about 10 canvases ready now, and there are enough bars there for 36 more, from 24 x 34 to 66 x 96 inches.

I guess I better get busy.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Studio artifact...

It's been cold, brutally cold, but things are getting done!