The Purpose of Our Past, detail Oil on Canvas 40" x 30" x 2" $950
“Be prepared, don’t procrastinate, and NEVER use oil based mediums days before a show is to be hung!”
Mixed Media Pieces $150
Tuesday, February 9th, 2016: Art Drop off with Ghost Gallery for the Solo Bar Show.
I had just barely enough time to edit the template on Adobe Illustrator for my tags, install the hanging hardware and paint the sides of the unframed canvases black. Why is this happening day of? It seems it's always like this.
No sooner than we moved into our new place, the one where I finally get to have an art studio, I start getting more opportunities to get my paintings up. Of course, I get started in the studio right away....uhhhh....yeah right.
I was a little delayed. My excuses: getting my homework done for my Yoga Teacher Training program, unpacking, holiday craziness of December and the usual distractions, kids, pets, husband. Once I realized that I couldn't put it off any longer I got to work setting up the studio proper so I could actually get painting. This involved getting the spouse to help me install a vent fan so I could paint without killing brain cells, kinda important.
In the past, I have used some mediums with my oil that I had a pretty good understanding of timing for drying. I have since then switched to a new product by Gamblin that is a solvent free medium. I have two different ones and I have been experimenting with them. Unfortunately, In my haste to get things done, I applied the wrong one onto a couple of my new pieces!!!! I quickly realized my folly, so I had some pretty ingenious set ups to help speed drying time, however, oil dries when it wants to, not when it needs to. OH NO!!!!!!
What to do! Well, I was desperate to bring these pieces for this show, I really wanted to have new work to exhibit and not just the current pieces I have been carting around town. So, as any Bob Ross follower knows, there are no mistakes, only happy accidents.
I salvaged my pieces by carefully reducing the coating of the medium I had applied and found that I was actually fine with the result. A little less gloss in those areas, but in a way a better presentation!
So of course, there is a lesson learned. Be prepared, don't procrastinate, and NEVER use oil based mediums days before a show is to be hung!