Friday, February 04, 2011

WORK IN PROGRESS - Show of Hands - Stages 7+8+9

Though I haven't written about it since I resumed painting at the end of December,I have been plugging away at the Show of Hands hanging, ever since. Week on week it gets closer to completion. I estimate I'm about a fortnight away from finishing.

I have one more hand to collect, and I know whose that will be. Since the New Year I've struggled to maintain my enthusiasm for the project. The methodical pace and meticulously followed sequencing my painting always entails, does eventually drive me potty. I just want to get it finished! I want to be free of thinking about it, to be able to follow up new ideas. As it is I'm spending every moment of project time devoted to it.














The painting sequence is by this stage so hard wired, it has to be followed rigorously. After I finished painting the background stripes - I was painting all the hands white - then painting them alternating gold and iridescent gold - then outlining the gold hand squares in dark blue -then varnishing the background with matt varnish - then varnishing the hands in gloss varnish, then outlining the iridescent gold hand squares in gold framing paint - all the while touching up the bits where paint still flakes off - drat it!


There's still quite a bit to do, but what remains is not as labour intensive,and hence less time consuming. The final hand needs collecting, painting white, then iridescent white, then background matt varnished, the hand gloss varnished and gold outlined - The green border needs re-painting - Thin battening needs buying, priming, painting white and fastening to the canvas. - The squares need to be re-numbered, and decide whether the names should go on there as well. - I need to produce a 'legend' of whose hand is where - the title and explanation of what it is needs painting on the bottom - Finally I need to figure out how to move it without cracking the surface, and how to get it high up on the end of a warehouse aisle. Then of course to carry these manoeuvres out. Once hung, then, as Quentin Crisp phrased it, it will most probably hang there 'until its dead.'

No comments: