12:51 PM: today i decided to act on the feeling i’ve been having for weeks, and prepare some canvases for painting in oil. rather than use new stretcher bars, i decided to un-stretch some older paintings, roll and label them & store them in my loft area. if there is interest in any of them, i can always re-stretch or, if they need to be shipped, it’s easier to ship them rolled & let the new owner re-stretch and frame them. this is one form 2017, i think. not sure because it doesn’t have a date. but when i run across others in this vein, at least some will have dates & i can label them more exactly. i do have them somewhere in my files, but don’t want to spend time on that right now. so this is the one i un-stretched just now. it’s 32x32” and the subject matter is the living room of our friends gary & loekie, in the netherlands.
and now i’m going to get back to stretching a new linen canvas on these 32x32” stretcher bars. then i may apply a tinted beige ground; haven’t yet decided. more later in the afternoon.
while cutting the linen canvas, it made sense to find another painting the same size as the one above, to make optimal use of the canvas.
i came across this one. it’s another interior, also 32x32” painted in 2017, this one what once was the home of two friends here in crestone, who are no longer together and no longer live here. it was filled with beautiful patterns and colors, with a dominance of pinks. before un-stretching it, i may contact our old friend to see if he’s interested in purchasing.
so after un-stretching the 32x32” painting of the netherlands interior, above, i cut a piece of linen canvas to the correct size and proceeded to stretch it. you will notice that the back of this primed linen has a tan color letting you know it’s linen, not cotton, which would be white. there’s a big difference. linen is a much finer, stronger, resilient surface to paint on, but a roll is far more expensive than cotton. my experience is that it’s well worth it, both for the wonderful way the brush moves over the surface and it’s ability to remain taut and not buckle under pressure.
