at the end of the day

at the end of the day, oil and mixed media, 4×4 inches

This was the last little painting that I completed for my show, appropriate title, I think. I shipped out 6 boxes of a year and half of work last Friday. They are now journeying across this continent…I hope they’re ok! When I had the boxes all stacked up and ready to be leave my studio, I thought that I would feel sad or anxious, but I actually felt a huge wave of relief. With everything that has happened and all the life changes that we have gone through in our house, I still can’t believe that I was able to create and finish the 59 paintings that are on their way to Florida.

I am excited for what’s ahead. I am going to keep working, but at a less pressured pace. I want a more clear divide between home and work, which will be easier now that my studio is away from the house. When I am at home, I want to be fully at home with my son and not trying to finish up a project. And when I am in the studio I want that time to be fully focused on what is in front of me. I want to work on some landscapes next. hmmmm. I’m missing my trees.

I received several questions about the float framing from my last post and I will attempt to answer them here.

Catherine Weber asked me “how many inches do you offset the frame from the panel?”. It depends on the piece. For the ones that I posted I only wanted 1/4 of an inch of space between the frame and the painting. When you are getting your frame made or making it yourself, or buying a ready made, you want to account for the overhang of the frames’s lip into your calculations.

On another encaustic piece that I had framed, I used a contrasting color in the matboard that it was mounted on. So, I wanted more of the matboard to show. For that one I believe I had 3/4 of an inch of space between the frame and the painting.

She also asked “What do you use to mount the painting to the mat?”: That depends too. For one piece that I had done for myself and wasn’t going to sell and knew that I wanted it framed like this forever…I used a strong adhesive to attach the board to pieces of wood that were glued to the matboard. The pieces of wood created space between the panel and the matboard, creating a sense of depth. I had some pieces framed for me once and they attached the board with glue as well, but on top of stretcher bars that were smaller than the panel, which was adhered to the board. For the pieces that I showed previously, I wanted the potential buyer to be able to take the painting out of the frame if they wanted to. And so I consulted with some framers in my area and they recommended using heavy duty velcro strips, so that the painting can be removed if needed. But it is strong enough so that it will stay if they want to keep the painting framed as is.

Paula asked “do you make those frames or do you get them already made?” I wish I could make my own frames! One day down the road. I don’t have the right saw or set up for that. I’m trying to convince my husband to take that up as a hobby! heh. Not looking likely as he already has a lot on his plate. You can buy readymade frames that are deep enough for this, but it is hard to find. I have mine made for me at U-Frame-It store. They give me an artist discount and it’s quick and easy for me to go in and frame them up since I had worked in a frame shop years ago.

Tina asked “are you using premixed encaustics or adding pigments to wax and damar?” I buy the premixed encaustics (R&F) from either Daniel Smith or (Enkaustikos) from fineartstore.com. It makes my life easier that way! I was never very good in my chemistry classes anyway…

The other thing to keep in mind when you are floating a panel is that you will need to have spacers on hand. These are long skinny plastic “things” – I can’t think of a better word for it- that have adhesive on one edge. Go to a frame shop and ask them to sell you some. Also ask them how to cut it. You just need a sharp razor blade to mark where you want it cut and then use your hands to snap it. You place the spacers inside the frame, under the lip of the frame. These spacers create space between the board and the frame, which allows the appearance of it floating inside the frame. Rather than the frame sitting on top of the board.

I don’t know if any of this makes any sense. Some things are easier to explain in person. But I hope it helps!