This is the fifth and final instalment in my series describing how I create a painting. These are the steps I usually follow for full size paintings, and it may be different from your process if you paint.
This week’s topic is: After the Painting Once the painting is finished --- and that’s a sticking point with artists: “when do you ever know a painting is finished?” --- there are still a few things to do before it is ready for hanging. I will first describe the steps that are common to all media, then those that are particular to each. Common steps If I think the painting is good enough, it will have to be catalogued. I have been using a Canadian website called ArtMoi. It allows me to enter the name of the piece, its dimensions, medium, price, date, etc., and of course pictures of the artwork. It also allows me to publish a small web Portfolio of those I want to share. The first thing I do is take a high resolution photo of the art piece, using lighting that will keep the colors true to life and being careful not to distort the image. The next thing is to find a name, which is not always easy. I then save the image under the painting’s name in a special folder. I will then add it to my online catalogue, and the system will generate a unique ID for it. The painting’s price is based on the size of the piece, and on whether it is framed or not. I will write the details of the painting on the back of it (name, date, ID#, photo credits, etc.). Once the new painting is catalogued, I will announce its “arrival”, first in my weekly newsletter, then on my social media pages. Watercolor Often the watercolor paper will be warped from the watercolor paint. I will flatten it by lightly dampening the back (water on the front would ruin the painting) then pressing the sheet between clean matboards under heavy books. This will take about 24 hours to dry. I will have to decide whether to frame the painting or not. A framed painting will be more expensive and will also take up more room in my studio! So depending on my current stock and future needs, the painting might just be put into a protective plastic sleeve for now, or it might be matted before being put away. For this, I may use some pre-cut mats or I may have to cut my own if the painting is a non-standard size. If I decide to frame it, I can choose from an assortment of frames that I have picked up over the years. This will usually involve choosing and cutting a mat to fit both the painting and the frame. I have all the tools to do this myself, keeping the costs of matting and framing down as much as I can. The watercolor paper has to be mounted to the mat with special acid-free tape. All of the materials I use are acid-free so they will last. Recently I have experimented with waxing watercolors instead of framing them under the traditional mat and glass. The painting is carefully glued to a wooden board, trimmed to the exact size of the board, the surface of the painting is coated with a special wax, then buffed once dry. This protects the watercolor against damage, and also gives a soft sheen and a very contemporary look. However, unlike the traditional mat and glass which can be changed, this is a permanent framing solution that can’t be undone without damaging the painting. I have been using cradle panels, but if glued to a traditional wood panel, it could then be framed like an oil painting. As the details of the painting were written on the back of it and are not visible if framed, I fill out a customised label with the main details and stick it to the back of the frame. Oil A finished oil painting takes 6 months to a year to fully dry, depending on how thickly the paint was applied. The drying is not by evaporation, but by oxidation of the oil in the paint. I don’t yet have any “dry” paintings, but once I do, I will apply a varnish to them. Because I am beginning in oil and my paintings are rather small, I will be using a spray varnish. Liquid varnish is often used, and applied with a brush to the clean dry painting. The goal of the varnish is first to protect the painting against dirt, but also to even out the sheen on the painting, as some colors dry glossier than others. In 100 years or so, the varnish can be removed (along with the 100 years of accumulated dirt) and replaced with new varnish to restore the painting to its original glory. I have decided to use floating frames for my oil paintings, which again have a contemporary rather than classical look, and am lucky enough to have a handy husband to make them for me when the time comes to frame them! Pastels Like watercolor, pastel is fragile and must be framed under glass and usually also a mat. Pastel can flake off the paper, so a fixative spray can be used to reduce that risk, and the mat can be cut with a ‘reverse bevel’ so any fallen pigment can be caught and hidden by the beveled edge. I confess to not having framed any pastels yet, and it frightens me a bit! So that is it for the “post-painting” phase. As you can see, there is much more to painting than meets the eye! I hope you found this series interesting, and as always I welcome your questions, comments and suggestions for future blog topics.
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AuthorMy name is Claire Bureau. Archives
March 2023
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