My Entry for the "Mid Century Modern Chic" Show ( for link to the show)
As per my personal moratorium against buying any new art supplies for as long as I can hold out, I've been creating/constructing my own painting supports recently, in lieu of retail purchasing of pre-stretched/wrapped canvas or canvas panels, et al. In some of these instances I've been able to incorporate a frame into the piece as an overall 'element' -- which serves two purposes really...., that being (1.) to make the painting ready-to-hang and 'finished' in appearance, But also... (2.) to utilize an old. salvaged, homeless frame, that no one actually wants, but at some point a tree was cut down for, and which would likely only add to our present national waste-stream if a use for it weren't somehow fandangled. Such was the case for this little piece I recently conjured up....:
My accompanying artist statement:
"Little Blue Dress".....
Back in the day, in the '80's when I was in high school, my girlfriends and I developed a penchant for vintage clothing. We would often comb thrift stores and garage sales, searching for particularly good specimens, and showing off our precious scores. I can well recall one dress in particular, that I estimated to be from the late 50's/early 60's, which I felt incredibly lucky to have stumbled across by chance at a rummage sale, and dearly loved. Baby blue, with a sweetheart neckline, a full skirt and wide white sash -- this is my homage to an elegant Mid-Century dress I once thrifted, wore, and adored...., and which has long since been lost.....
Painted in acrylics on a hand-fashioned canvas-panel I constructed myself with salvaged materials, and with a built-in frame incorporated into the painting as part of the overall piece......