Thursday, April 15, 2010

Custom Bluebird Paintings And The Curse Of the Dreaded X.....

Well to start, now that spring has sprung, I've been painting quite a few bluebirds, some have been custom orders, like this ceiling tin above.
My customer wanted a happy, chubby little spring bluebird surrounded by lots of lavender, painted on a vintage ceiling tin.
The completed bird on a very ornate ceiling tin!!! Another customer wanted a bluebird pendant, done on glass and with a brown background to match up with as many of her work outfits as possible.....that little fused glass bluebird sits below, hanging from a satin neck cord. He has already flown on to his new home.


Now for the curse of the dreaded X or actually I should say, an X (a really giant one) and a curse (pick your favorite). What is an artist to do when she screws up a painting, a very large one, one that she has been working on diligently for over a week now?? How does she get rid of the frustration of it all and move past that failure to another piece of artwork??
I don't know how other artist's do it but here is my method put into practice by me again, just yesterday.......very unfortunatley. I had been working on a very large canvas for over a week, the subject doesn't really matter at this point but it was one that I knew could go either way, a great painting or a disaster well...... it turned out to be the later. When this kind of disappointment hits, I have a little therapy session with my painting, first of all, I make absolutely sure the the work is not worth saving and once I've determined that, I pick a nice bright color and paint a giant X through the canvas.....here is where the curse comes in, I then write my favorite curse word down across the canvas, right near the X , in big bold letters. I then proceed to go out my back door and over to my trash cans, where the canvas promptly gets thrown away, never to be seen again. This practice, followed by ordering some comfort take-out food, assures that I can put the days train wreck out of my mind and start anew on a fresh piece of artwork tomorrow. There you have the story of the Curse of the X!!!!

9 comments:

Catherine Holman said...

Oh my goodness Ruth. Are you sure you couldn't reuse that canvas and start completely over? I had a very large 24 x 36 canvas that I was painting for someone. When it was completed I varnished it and the painted crackled. I believe that the company had put crackle medium in my varnish but they wouldn't admit it. I had to sand and sand and repaint areas. It took me forever.
Hugs,
Cathie

NeereAnDear said...

LOL Ruth... I LOVE your idea !!... wipe it away ... get rid of it ... dont worry about it... eat some great food and move on.... crack me up... you are so funny!!

Well I LOVE your blue birds ... both of them ... the one on the ceiling tin is really lovely and that cute little one on the pendant will look great with any outifit....

Hope all is well on your end...

HUGS
JO

Anna Rosa Designs said...

Hi Ruth,
Your Blue birds are oh so very cute!
Ah, I wish I knew where to get that ceiling tin from. I've seen a few artist paintings on these now and just love the whole idea.

Hm, the X problem-couldn't you Gesso over the yukky piece and paint a new project?
I'd love to have seen the X and your Curse words. LOl
Happy Painting,
Hugs,
Anna

Gail McCormack said...

Hi Ruth

Love your blue bird!

You made me laugh Ruth, I'm hearing you. Although I'd give the canvas a few coats of gesso and start afresh, sometimes the texture from the first painting underneath makes the next one even more interesting.
Whatever works for you though- LOL!

Happy painting, Gail

Charm and Grace said...

LOL Ruth!! What an artsy way to deal with frustration! I usually just put a canvas aside until I can deal with it creatively or just completely paint over what was there. Your paintings are always lovely to me!

Blessings,
Christi

Donna said...

First, let me say the blue bird painting and the pendant are beautiful!

As for the artist with a painting gone bad....been there! Mine goes into the trash never to be thought of again. You make me smile!

Hugs,
Donna

Celestina Marie said...

Hi Ruth,
First off the custom tile is gorgeous and the pendant equally so. But you had me rolling with the dreading X. I so understand this. I haven't trashed too many projects gone bad, but when I do, it's right in the trash too. On canvas, I usually paint over the design if possible and start over fresh. Your big X sounds like a better way to cope with the frustration!! LOL followed by take out!! Love it.

Thanks for stopping by. Yes, the window has so many coats of outdoor sealer that I do not worry about the weather. It did not even fade. I will probably give it another coat of sealer as time goes by.
Have a gteat week and have fun with that canvas!!

Big Texas hugs, Celestina Marie

Linda O'Neill said...

You really had me laughing with the "painting disaster" story! HA!

Suzanne said...

Awwww, Ruth!, I'm sure none of your paintings deserve a big bright "X" over them! But I'm happy to see you at least got a "2 out 3" with your pretty bird pendant and ceiling tile! :)