Although I sometimes just paint a pretty picture, most of my work has a backstory.
When I saw these goslings following their parent on the surface of a murky pond in the middle of nowhere, for example, I just knew that it was worthy of a painting and I was thinking of Monet and the likes of him and how they would approach this subject. I snapped some photographs of the scene and then pondered how to go about the painting. The result was this scene. But when you study it closely in its original shape, you may notice that the version that is on the wall during the Studio Tour seems shorter than the image above. And you would be right!
This is a story that will remind you to always make sure to hang your artwork from proper hooks…. I did not do that with this painting. It hung from a thumbtack. I was hesitant to drill a proper hole for a sturdy screw because of, well, yet another hole in the wall. And since the mounted canvas was so light, I had no qualms using the thumbtack.
The next morning, my husband gave me the bad news. A thumbnail came out of the wall and the artwork right above the goslings fell. It hit the goslings artwork in an unfortunate way, and it also fell. It then hit the corner of a little table standing right under it and…. sustained a big rip in the canvas! I was so upset with myself! And so sad for the painting to be damaged. What to do?
We moved to St Thomas not even 2 years ago and as far as art supplies and framers go, it has been a bit of a dilemma. I had not found good replacements. But I suddenly remembered Matted Memories: a place that many Studio Tour artists use for their excellent frames. I called Lori, the owner, and took the goslings to her. Because the painting was created on a fairly long canvas, we decided that we could shorten it and then re-stretch it onto a new back-frame. I worked for an hour to get the staples out and then left it with Lori. She did a fabulous job with the repair and the painting you now see on the wall looks as good as it did before. You would not be able to tell that it used to be longer. Well, now you do, because I told you the backstory.
The lesson: always make sure of two things when you buy and hang artwork: check how the artwork has been fitted with a hanging system. And always use a decent screw or hook to hang it from. I have certainly remove all thumbtacks, unless they are to hold a small painting on board in place temporarily…
Click in the list below to select and view more backstories of my artworks.