Busy Week

This has been a very busy week for me. I have been busy getting pieces ready to drop off for competitions and exhibit. I started the week by going to my local lumber yard and buying lengths of 1" X 2" poplar. I then proceed to cut them into frame moulding. After that I cut the rails to size and assembled them. Next comes sanding and then putting on the finish. It's a lot of work but saves a substantial amount of money. If I were to buy the least expense frame I could, usually a metal frame, I would've spent about $25.00 per frame. Making it myself, from scratch, it costs me about $6.00 per frame. And right now, I have more time than money. I then went on to mount the pieces, cut the mats and glazing, and put the whole thing together. I framed 6 pieces total.


Last night I dropped 4 of them off to a new gallery. I don't know how well it will go but it's worth a try. I also dropped 2 pieces off at the Muskegon Museum of Art for their annual Regional Competition. I've been in the show the last 2 years. Very little sells there but the show has prestige in this area. I also picked up a painting that I had there that was part of an invitational.

Today, I drive into Grand Rapids, MI, about 22 miles East of here, and drop off 2 pieces for the annual competition called Celebration. I have also been in this show the last 2 years. Much more work sells out of this show. Plus the show get good coverage from the local press and a lot of people come to view the exhibit. After that I can take it easy.

I have also been busy building and preparing my panels. Even though I make my own frames I am making the panels standard frame sizes, in case I need to buy a store bought frame. I have also been preparing paper for doing more oil pastels. It's just nice to put the brushes down and do my version of coloring. The image area is being sized so when I mat them, they will fit into a standard size frame. Or more importantly, use standard size materials and help me to reduce waste which reduces my costs. Then I will take a break and do some work on the house, now that our weather is getting nice and I can work outside without getting frostbite.