What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger, right? I can’t say that the first option hasn’t sounded appealing lately, and yet I’m still sort of hoping for the second. Neither has happened, so I guess I’ll just keep plugging along.
First off, besides being over taxed (literally as well as figuratively), the server I’m using has been screwed up and running super slow so I stopped using it for awhile. Really, the timing couldn’t be worse, I’d applied for a few things, including a grant, and for all I know, no one could look at either this blog or my portfolio without waiting forever like I had to. Work has also kicked in full gear and not only am I colour designing, but attempting to act as some sort of production co-ordinator. Let’s just say that it’s a lot for one person to handle.
Even the good stuff has had some major obstacles, although I’m extremely happy to have such opportunities. For instance, I’ve been trying to get together a number of paintings done for a duo show at La Luz de Jesus Gallery that’s in June. I’m really excited about it, but right off there’s been “issues”, and this is besides the time constraints. I decided that I would continue to use egg tempera on the most part which means that traditional gesso as a ground is a must. Well, instead of using MDF as a support, I went and bought more expensive birch plywood. I soaked, then heated up the gesso as required, coated 20 panels with about 6 to 8 coats, and then sanded them to a smooth eggshell-like finish. It took quite awhile to do, but damn, they looked good, or so I thought.
Little did I know that birch plywood is a bad choice for supports, at least for tempera, because the stuff cracks! So then I bought MDO because that is one of the best supports you can use but it turned out to be too thick for most of the frames I have. I’ve ended up using MDF again.
Then I noticed that my pigment supply was dwindling down and decided that I would get something called “dispertions” because then I don’t have to do any grinding, and can just add the egg medium directly. There isn’t really anywhere to buy them in Canada, so I ordered $200 worth from NY, and thinking that I could save a few buck’s with shipping, had them sent to my brother, assuming he could send them from Chicago a little cheaper. Well, not only was it more expensive to send, but the package was sent back from the border because it was considered hazardous. They’re basically watercolour paint! Now I’m feeling pretty much stuck, frustrated, and very tired. I also got a bit of other bad news, but I’m not going into that -blah!
In retrospect maybe it’s good that I haven’t been posting lately…
