Playing Catch-up

I’ve been trying to get various just-about-finished stuff done. Painting isn’t as bad as textile art for the final touches, but at times it can come close. The St. Johns Bridge panels have been painted for months now, but they have never been prepared for hanging. I didn’t want to frame them because the frames would interrupt the flow of the scene. They are flat panels, so I had to find a backing for picture wire to be affixed to.

Neighbor Jim to the rescue, again:

What he devised was a frame about 3 inches all-round smaller than the panel; he made the frames and then glued and clamped them tight to the panels. This was useful in more ways than one, since plein air changes in heat and humidity can make  masonite boards warp a bit. The frames pulled the  paintings back into line.

Here’s how they looked when he finished. The tiny holes on the sides are for inserting picture wire, also his idea.

This was an easier process than earlier edgings he made for my plein air panels which were lined up precisely with the edge of the paintings; the necessary precision of getting those lined up, glued, and clamped was a whole lot more persnickety work than this.

You can see that the hanging frame is pretty well hidden unless you peer along the side of the paintings.

This is how three of the pieces look straight on.

Now all I have to do is finish up the other five, measure and put in proper nails on the dining room wall, and hang the paintings. One of these days, these will actually be called “Done.” –June