Historic place paintings...

toujours

I recently took some photos of a local Historic place.   The Totara Estate - home of the first frozen meat shipment in the world.
They have agreed tp hang some of my paintings, but wall space is limited.   Consequently, I am doing a series of small (5"x7" and 6"x8") paintings.    They will hang unframed, with the edges painted black (mixed, not shop bought!).
I began with 2 paintings of the resident cat.
That gave me the idea of painting animals that once would have resided on the farm....sheep dogs, sheep, cattle, pigs, horses, chooks, etc...   I decided to make most of the paintings fairly generic and not specific to the Estate, but using implements, corners of buildings or buildings in the distance etc...

I would love some feedback as to how I am pulling it off so far?
I appreciate they are not all perfect.   I am not sure the rooster is as good as cats.   I was pleased with the sitting cat which was the first I did.

Will keep adding pictures as I paint them.
Pricing will be the next worry.  Price cheaply to move them on and get something back, or put a realistic value on them...?

Cat sitting

Cat cleaning

Rooster and hay rake



Thanks in advance for looking and any comments will be carefully considered.

dencal

Toujours

suggestion: going to be problematic fixing any painting on those historic walls.
‘Could hang from the many rafters I see on their website, but prone to damage there.

These 

RapidMesh 2100 x 1200mm Lightweight Temp Fence Half Panels

Are $55 each at Bunnings

Four of these wire twitched together in an x formation will allow you to safely display and info panel at least 16 paintings measuring 405 x 508mm  (16 by 20 inches). This cost will add $14 to each painting.

Cut off the top bits and attach rubber crutch tips to protect polished floors.

probably an idea for next time.

Denis

toujours

@dencal, what a fabulous suggestion.  Thank you very much.    There is a room there where they have a few things hung, but I am liking your suggestion much better.
Off to Bunnings website now....

toujours

@dencal, I discovered the half panels are not available through Bunnings at the moment and my local Mitre 10 sell the full size, but not half size.  They have nothing in stock which was suitable.   A pool fence panel would need cutting in half and hinging and still would not be great.

I went to the local recycle park to look for aluminium shower doors , of which there were none.   After scouring the facility for any likely wardrobe doors (all too heavy) I eventually  found a set of wooden louvre doors in excellent condition which I can hang small paintings from.   I just need to make a stand for it.   The hinges are in good nick and all for $40 !!   It will do in the meantime and I will keep an eye out for something a bit lighter weight to turn up.

I will post a photo of it all set up if I can.

dencal

toujours

Great news. 

Bunnings could have done a special order for those half panels.

Denis

GTO

The cat paintings look great and would be a good choice for the exhibit.  The stone blocks on rooster painting look flattish.  It may be the lighting in the photo but you should change it. At a minimum you might want yo darken the face of the bottom two stones.  I think the contrast will also help the rest of the painting and especially the rooster standout.

toujours

dencal said:

toujours

Great news. 

Bunnings could have done a special order for those half panels.

Denis

You might be right about that.
Just sorting out a form of stand/feet to prevent it getting knocked over, then it is good to go.  Making hangers out of strips of tin I am bending over each louvre.

toujours

GTO said:

The cat paintings look great and would be a good choice for the exhibit.  The stone blocks on rooster painting look flattish.  It may be the lighting in the photo but you should change it. At a minimum you might want yo darken the face of the bottom two stones.  I think the contrast will also help the rest of the painting and especially the rooster standout.

I am really grateful for this.   I have struggled with that blasted rooster (both the real life one in my back yard and his image I am trying to capture!!).  I changed the background 3 times.  It improved, but was still not right.   Thank you, I shall make alterations tonight.

toujours

Bought these doors in great nick for $40 from the local recycle park.
Photos show it outside with no stand when I tried the paintings for size.
Being precarious and liable to topple if knocked, I then made a base and stand for it from some off cuts I had and varnished them with gloss to match the door.

`I will tie the paintings on with cord to the slats to make it a bit harder for people to remove, than hooks would be.  What measures do people normally take to prevent theft?

     

heartofengland

Display stand looks great. Might need a weight at the bottom as well to prevent tipping.

I'm a sucker for an information panel. I'd be interested to know who the artist was, what motivates them to paint, what the subjects were... a bit of a story and maybe a photo.

Theft... Tying on is a good idea. Place it where there's a flow of people to reduce opportunity. People are pretty honest.

toujours

heartofengland said:

Display stand looks great. Might need a weight at the bottom as well to prevent tipping.

I'm a sucker for an information panel. I'd be interested to know who the artist was, what motivates them to paint, what the subjects were... a bit of a story and maybe a photo.

Theft... Tying on is a good idea. Place it where there's a flow of people to reduce opportunity. People are pretty honest.

Thanks for those ideas, very helpful, I shall sort out some form of info. panel. and look for a suitable area of flow as you suggest.

The wooden stands are screwed underneath to a 30mm mdf base panel which I figure people may stand on when viewing.  It is heavy within its own right, but with someone on it, I am hoping  it should prove impossible to knock over.    When I want to transport it, I just lift it out of the stands and fold in half and carry it and the base to the car.

Ed to add.   I think you are right about people being honest (having recently had my mower stolen and then returned (only to die 2 weeks later....you would not read about it!)    I read a survey once -  People if they find a wallet all say they would hand it in, yet the same people don't expect to get their own wallet back if they lose it!!!!   I suppose I am slotting into the lost wallet category with my question, not the finding a wallet category!

heartofengland

"The wooden stands are screwed underneath to a 30mm mdf base panel" 
Ahhhh, nifty👍

MoleMan

@toujours, if you are not very careful, and if you continue to pursue your current modus of rescuing—and repurposing—scrap wood, you might well find your works are sucked into the (Paris) Louvre, and consequently, and then, continuously touched-up and tampered-with for centuries to come.

You've invented a practical and really quite elegant presentational solution to a stubborn obstacle... how to make smaller artworks grow themselves into an observer's eyes. Well done. Clever thinking.

toujours

MoleMan said:

@toujours, if you are not very careful, and if you continue to pursue your current modus of rescuing—and repurposing—scrap wood, you might well find your works are sucked into the (Paris) Louvre, and consequently, and then, continuously touched-up and tampered-with for centuries to come.

You've invented a practical and really quite elegant presentational solution to a stubborn obstacle... how to make smaller artworks grow themselves into an observer's eyes. Well done. Clever thinking.

Now wouldn't that be a thing, exporting Louvers to the Louvre to live in perpetuity!

Here in the Antipodes we refer to it as "No. 8 wire mentality".   A term referring to an on the spot, lateral thinking, cheap, practical (and often permanent) solution to fixing a broken item or problem.  No. 8  wire (as you will be aware @MoleMan) originates from the old UK wire gauge system. A traditional fix-all sturdy wire, which is sadly going out of fashion; in both the literal sense on the farm, and the figurative sense in life.

Ed to add.    Can I now say with complete and utter honesty; "My paintings hang in (on) the Louvre"....?

MoleMan

toujours said:

...
Ed to add.    Can I now say with complete and utter honesty; "My paintings hang in (on) the Louvre"....?

Yes! 

And if you identify yourself as being local to the Antipodes, half a world away from a northern winter at my latitude, you are welcome also to compliment yourself for thinking creatively on the other foot.

Best rgds, Duncan

adridri

Catching up on your post.

The cat and  the rooster are lovely, I love them  all. One thing that jumped at me is the cats eyes, maybe it would attract the focus to his eyes to give him  two pupils?

Very nice work and display.