Float Frame

This was my first experience with mounting a stretched canvas into a float frame. Notice the gap between the frame and the canvas, this makes the canvas appear to be floating, thus the name float or floater frame. I think this works for this painting, but I see that I need to do a little touch up on the bottom of the painting. It looks fine in the picture above, but I see some of the gray undercolor at the bottom.  I guess this is what happens when you use an easel. So now I've learned to take the finished painting off the easel, lay it flat, and make sure all the sides of the canvas are covered and do not show up as the undercolor or white (unless I'm mounting the canvas in a regular frame). Another learning experience.

This was a painting I had done earlier and had wired to hang "as is" in my studio. I wanted to put it into a local contest and it needed to be framed. The canvas was inexpensive and it turned out not to be 100% square so it didn't fit into a regular frame (another lesson, don't buy really cheap canvases). I thought a float frame would work for it and it did.

This is the view from Mount Willard in the Crawford Notch area of New Hampshire. The mountains in the distance are the Presidential Range. They are too high for me to hike, but Mount Willard was not too steep. It was a worthwhile hike, mostly inside the tree line.  The wonderful view of the mountains and the roads below come at the end. There is a nice area to sit on at the top and have a little picnic.

By the way, if you are thinking of doing this, it is an easy project. There are many sites on the internet, even on Youtube with instructions.  The frame (bought from Dick Blick) came with holes already drilled so all I had to do with put a screw through the hole, long enough to go into the frame of the canvas. I already had the wiring done and didn't have to redo it. You don't need any special tools, just a screwdriver.

Hibiscus in Costa Rica - finished

I worked on the painting some more and with helpful comments from my teacher and another artist, I think it is done!

I am also working on a painting of tulips.  This one is almost done. It is on a birch panel this time. My first time experimenting with this support.

Next craft show is in Derry, New Hampshire on May 5th. I posted the details in a press release on my website.  Happy spring!

Boston

My prayers tonight as I light the sabbath candles are with the people of Boston.  I was going to do my weekly post today with my progress on the last painting, but I will wait until I have done more on it. It is almost done.  Instead I am posting an old poem (from approx. 20 years ago).  I thought of it when I heard that the terrorists were originally from Chechnya.  It is so sad that we have achieved so much in medical advances, computers and knowledge of many things, but so little in the world of hate that is out there.

a world of war

do they dream of peace?

the children of Michael and Moira. . .

their mothers join hands

marching for peace

praying to the same God

in different churches

who fills their sons' hearts with hate

when Jesus preached love,

who teaches them to make bombs

to shoot and kill their neighbors?

do they dream of peace?

the children of Yaakov and Yael . . .

are they afraid to ride the bus?

do they look at each man with a keffiyah

and see a terrorist inside

or can they see a father,

husband, grandfather?

do they know that the woman behind the veil

changes diapers, reads stories and

bakes treats for her children too,

or do they think she is the mother

of the next suicide bomber?

and what of the children of Bosnia,

Serbia, Croatia . . .

they have no fathers now

living in primitive conditions

their mothers grow old

long before their time

the slaughter goes on

in Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Chechnya

the streets of Brazil

the inner cities of America

we take our freedom for granted

we who live in peace

but it is the children who are the future

the children who dream of peace

but live in fear and despair

the children who learn to hate

the children who grow up

to make bombs

the scars from childhood never healed

the children who dream of peace

but live in a world of war

©2002 Linda H. Feinberg
from "Gathering the Sparks" chapbook
This chapbook is currently out of print, but a PDF file is available for download.
Contact me for more information. lhfeinberg@yahoo.com

Hibiscus in Costa Rica - WIP

I noticed that I have been to busy to do a weekly post this week. I started back in art class this week and I asked the teacher to work with me on making my paintings more three dimensional.  I had started this painting and had the basic shapes in before the class.  The leaves on the left were worked on in class and I do think that they have more dimension.  Over the weekend, I hope to do more.  I also worked on some of the leaves on the right. You'll notice that the ones in the middle are quite flat yet. Those are next on my schedule.

When I have finished the leaves, I will work more on the stems connecting them (they need a bit more color) and then finally on trying to get the hibiscus more toward the color in the original photo (more toward the red shade) while still keeping it light in value.

In my last online order, I bought a red acetate sheet.  I find this very helpful in seeing the values (light/medium/dark).  I put it over the photo first. The lights really pop out. Then over my painting and I see what I need to fix.  This is a good tool for an art student. (Inexpensive too).

I will post the same painting again next week and I hope you will see a big difference in the leaves.

If you are in the southern New Hampshire area, I have nine paintings on exhibit at the Derry Public Library for the month of April.

Green Lizard - Costa Rica

A small study of the Emerald or green lizard from Costa Rica done from a photo I took while on vacation. I didn't like the way the photo showed the lizard on the ground (it was boring), so I placed him on a branch with his tail hanging down.  I thought that was a better composition.  This is on 8" X 10" canvas panel.

This is the male lizard of this species (basiliscus plumifrons). The male has plumed crests which reminded me of the dorsal fins on fish. They are also called "Jesus Christ" lizards because they can walk on water. I thought these were prettier than the iguanas and other lizards that I saw.  I posted it on my website and printed out some cards for myself. Emerald Lizard Cards

I start back in art class next week. Looking forward to learning more and painting more.