And we’re done! With any of my projects - design, illustration, or painting - I try to leave some time between where it’s “done” and when it’s due so I go back and catch anything that is keeping it from feeling finished. For the chair, that meant adding the small motes of paint coming from the fish to help give them some more life. Other small details: A card catalog pull on the back has the Dewey Decimal number for History of Northern Virginia Thanks Liz and Jo! Knowing librarians is the best.) and the original label saying when the chair was sold to library got some varnish and a little frame. Got the piece delievered with about an hour to spare on the day it was due. Not bad!
The theme for the Take A Seat project is America250. I told some friends that this is a very calm piece with a lot of anger behind it. There’s a bit of Americana in the details (13 fish, the color scheme, keeping the beautiful wood showing through) but here’s my official artist statement: “Since the signing of the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago, many people have gathered to build upon the foundation the document laid. Building up always takes both action and thought. This chair represents a place where someone can sit, read, think, and imagine a better tomorrow for us all. That thinking can be done in a library, a school, or a quiet corner of wherever home may be. My hope is that when this chair finds a new home, someone — while sitting curled up with a book — has the thoughts they will use to help the community perform the actions that will build the United States of America into a better place for us all.”
You can see the chair on display at @delrayartisans until May 1st! And you can take part in an online auction for it, with all proceeds going to the @alexandrialibraryva system (link up in the ol’ bio.)
#artistofinstagram #painting #ilovelibraries #furnitureart
Thanks to a bit of research and the folks at @village_hardware195 , I picked up some @benjaminmoore cabinet paint to use. I want the chair to be used as *a chair* and I was worried my acrylics wouldn’t have the staying power I was looking for. I don’t know if I’ll ever do a project like this again, but if I do, Ben Moore Advance will be what I use.
Even though the chair looks straight blue, there’s purple hiding out for some extra depth. I wanted a bit more purple to show through, but paint is gonna do what paint is gonna do. The contrast of the wood and paint color is ::chef’s kiss:: though. Having a labor intensive painting plan work out due to all the prep is really satisfying. I did a few coats, let it set for a day, and then added in a few additional details… to be seen in the next post!
I’ve got one more post to make about the process, but you can go see the chair on display at @delrayartisans now through May 1!
#wip #painting #artistofinstagram #workinprogress #librarylove
While prepping the Take a Seat chair for painting, the wood stayed this amazing warm orange. After staring at it for a while, I realized I have to leave the koi as wood and then paint the rest. Which, like I told some pals, is very me and art: why wouldn’t I make this project even more difficult for myself?
I laid the fish out using blue tape, so I could move them around as much as possible. I always like the fish to feel in motion, which always means lots of tiny adjustments. I and the chair were covered in tape like we had broken out of an art store.
I made a quick template to keep the fish roughly the same size, laid it all out and got to priming. Two and half coats of Zinner and it’s starting to look like something.
On to painting I go.
#wip #painting #artistofinstagram #workinprogress #librarylove
I've been selected to be part of @alexlibraryva ’s Take a Seat exhibition! It’s an amazing project where local & regional artists take used library chairs and create unique art pieces. Nothing like diving - heyoooo - back into painting head first, yeah?
The chair is amazing. It’s the most library chair that has ever been chaired, including gum on the bottom. I got the gum off, but the amount of varnish was really something. Thanks to some good advice along with some warm days two weekends ago, I managed to get it apart enough to strip it, sand it, and clean it a ton. I want this to be a usable chair still so I want the painting I do to really adhere.
Next stage I’ll show: planning out where to put the fish. Aka how to look like you don’t know how to use tape.
#workinprogress #painting #librarylove #wip #artistsoninstagram
