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Oops

Have a look at this painting:

Say what? Wasn’t this painting of the bridge much further along? Indeed it was.

It was sitting on a tabletop easel on that round white table, just as you see it in this photo. I put another painting on the folding easel (the one with aspen trees) and set it in front of the round table to begin painting. As I reached back to tighten the bolts to prevent it from falling backward, WHAM! it fell backward. The top of the easel ripped a long tear into the bridge painting on the easel behind it. Lots of thoughts went through my mind, sort of like they do when you see a Mustang headed directly for your driver’s side door at 60 mph and know you are toast. Here are some of the thoughts:

  1. Canvas can’t be repaired.
  2. That was the expensive thick 18×24 canvas.
  3. I love painting that bridge.
  4. This isn’t really happening.
  5. I should have seen that coming.
  6. Maybe I got that expensive canvas on sale.
  7. Good thing I like painting that bridge.
  8. Good thing it was only 1/2 finished and not 75% finished.

Perhaps all those thoughts weren’t there as the easel was collapsing, but they were there shortly afterward. The odd thing is that I didn’t swear or even feel upset. I just took the wire off the back, got another (thinner, less-expensive) 18×24 canvas unwrapped and applied the wire to the back. Then I started painting again.

After it began to soak in that I had just knocked my finish time for all these paintings back by a large amount of time, I retreated to the studio and took refuge in my pencils.

3 Comments

  1. Jana! Glad your new website is up! It looks nice and it is more fluid than the previous!

    That’s a bummer about the canvas! I can’t say I’ve quite have a mishap like that…well, kinda…you know my work is mostly in the digital realm…and if you don’t save frequently and your computer decides it wants to hiccup on you…well, i lost a huge project my last semester for a digital printmaking class. Huge file…gone. I cried a little bit on the inside and started over. I wasn’t out the cost of canvas but i was out of sleep for a few days! Literally!

    I guess you saw we have pictures rolling on the blog again. OK and MO weren’t as photogenic and the west coast 🙂

    Take care!

  2. ooh, thanks! I looked at those gorgeous bags and I’m convince she is painting them specifically for the purpose. How else could she have them in such quantity?? Or, it reminds me of the thickness of patches my Mom used to sew over holes in my jeans. . . maybe I should a rip a pair or two and try it!

  3. Hi Jana –

    You know what might be an awesome use for that spoiled canvas? Make it into a bag to carry your brushes, etc. =)

    I came across this site:

    http://www.swarmhome.com/pict6.html

    where the gal takes paintings that have had a accident or two, and turns them into useful, beautiful bags!

    =)

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