A Cautionary Tale!

"Between Storms" 18x24 oil on panel

      This painting from July almost made it to the "lows" side of the ledger yesterday. I did a really stupid thing! I placed it on my large easel and then placed my new painting "Sun Break" on the brush tray in front of it. The object was to see how they looked together as I am thinking of entering them in an upcoming juried show. I left them there so I could consider them for awhile while preparing a panel on the work station in front of the easel.  Before I started to gesso the panel with a peach toned gesso I turned "Sun Break" around to protect it from any potential splatter. I didn't feel the need to move the larger painting as I figured it was out of range. Bad assumption! I have no idea how I managed it but when I was finished with the gesso I looked up and the back of "Sun Break" was splattered all over. My eyes moved upward and sure enough there were peach toned splatters all across the painting and the espresso colored frame!
       My first instinct was to run to the sink and dampen some paper towels to dab the gesso off. Thankfully I stopped short of doing that as I feared a pink film all over the surface. Hard as it was to do I waited for the splatters to dry and then spent the afternoon painstakingly picking off the gesso with a palette knife. I chipped away and then would dab up the flakes with the damp towels. What saved the painting was the fact that I had varnished it in December, therefore the gesso did not get absorbed into the paint. I am so relieved it was not ruined and I can assure you I will never be so careless again. I had no idea I was so energetic with while applying gesso :-)

        Today I set the panel I gessoed yesterday on the easel and began work on a cityscape. I don't have a title for it yet but it is another Pennsylvania Avenue painting. The view is from the front of the Willard Hotel looking down the Avenue towards the Capitol. The large building on the right is the Old Post Office Building. Here is the rough in and I will post the progress on this one.

       Tomorrow the Black and White Exhibit opens at The Salmagundi Club!
www.salmagundi.org