Recyclings

I've been spending part of the day with a bit of framing DIY - the four fields in oil are getting ready for an art sale later on this week. Hanging mechanisms need to be different and I wanted to make the floater frames a bit more secure at the back - last year some of the frames came back damaged and I don't want anybody accidentally piercing my canvas. While I tend to get a bit impatient with these kind of things, it's all the same a nice way of generally doing something with the canvasses.

Glasgow School of Art, Evening Class Annual Exhibition 2007

In the process, I noticed pencilled addresses, phone numbers and details on the back of my favourite painting in the lot. And remembered, that it is already in its third incarnation: firstly, a rather shortlived attempt at a cityscape in acrylics; that got whitened out, acquired some raw umber oil underpainting and a rather unfinished male torso for last year's GSA evening class exhibition - well: mine is the most unfinished, unframed one at the far end, bottom row.

I just couldn't get myself to spending several weeks at painting one shoulder, and was indeed a bit upset that they chose that painting - which was clearly so far from finished - as part of the exhibition. But never mind.

The painting didn't survive long after the exhibition: whitened out again it became part of my winter fields in oil series. I like it a lot better that way. The nice thing of this recycling however is that the surface by now feels very rich and dense. Nice to the touch, so to speak, really: the whole point of any painting, don't you think?

Primaries, Oil on canvas, 80x70cm

Here are the details for looking at it (and the other three); possibly even touching it? If nobody else is looking, that is.

St John Art Sale
Friday 17 Oct 4-8.30pm
Saturday 18 Oct 10-5pm
Sunday 19 Oct 11-4.15pm

Pollokshields Burgh Hall
Maxwell Park
Glencairn Drive,
Glasgow

BTW: there's a coffee shop with home baking, says the flyer... and you can of course buy the paintings :)