If Painting is Put at a Hold

I love getting things ready, but it’s a lot of work. I’m now slowly working my way through my to-do lists. There were some tasks I wanted to do a few months ago, but I have to make sure "Bruintje" can cope with it all as well.

Tonight I hope to finally order the passe-partouts. I’ve decided not to cut them myself. I find the glass mat a right faff and my knife isn’t sharp enough (or perhaps I don’t have enough strength). I was planning to buy some thicker paper to try it out, but to be honest, I really don’t like those thin, self-cut passe-partouts at all the ex painting teacher made.

I’d briefly hoped that gerstaecker.nl might have affordable passepartouts, but I can’t use their standard sizes, so I’ll be ordering mine elsewhere. First, I’ll pop down to the cellar to have a look at my first oil painting on canvas. Let’s see if there’s anything left of it.

Instead of unboxing, I’m going to pack things up. I’ve found a sturdy box in which I’m going to ship a few things. I prefer travelling light.

This box won’t just contain some of my paints, the large flat brushes I like to work with, and alcohol, but also clothes and scraps of fabric that I want to use to upcycle garments. I know someone I can keep busy with this, who I might even can keep out of a depression and can let earn a bit of money from the end result.
And well, if there’s still room in that box, I’ll will put a few kilos of cheese in there too.

_{oilpaint on canvas}

Creativity and art manifest themselves in various ways, and I find it a shame that so many creative people l, those with talent, don’t show what they’re capable of. I’ve asked this question often over the past few weeks, no, months. Especially when we have a newcomer who’s really got the hang of something. After a few upvoted posts, they suddenly disappear. Perhaps the process is a secret, or is it simply too much work to show how or what and write the necessary text?

I’d be happy to share with you how the following garments were made, though I reckon you can probably work that out for yourselves.
So… don’t throw away old clothes. Anything that’s too small or too big can be altered very easily. And you don’t need a sewing machine to do it. It works perfectly well by hand too. If your eyesight isn’t what it used to be, it might help to see during the day and outdoors. You’ll definitely see better in daylight.

As you can see, the upcycled clothes undeneath are made from trousers, and pieces of whatever looks colourful or interesting to use.
The legs are cut open in several places and then a piece of fabric is inserted. This is often a triangular piece.

As for the denim, this is not always hemmed, and there is no zigzag stitch to prevent the edges from fraying, and that’s by design. Unhemmed denim frays, creating a distinctive effect. That’s also the reason why some pieces are sewn with the stitching on the outside.

This type of upcycling is incredibly popular. Every garment is unique. Perhaps it also brings back memories of ‘those good old, laid-back days’. The customers range from the elderly to young adults, and yes, men wear these too, and not just during carnival.

Yesterday I altered a few items of children’s clothing (and made them a few sizes bigger). This isn’t really my thing; it simply takes too much time, or rather, just as much time.

As well as the clothes and fabrics I’m going to reuse, I also have a number of large passe-partouts that were in a frame I’d bought. Unfortunately, these are glued together. As a result, there are traces of glue and damage on them. I’ve managed to reuse three of them, and one of them I was able to cut out the damaged parts by making it smaller. For the others, I’m considering painting over the damaged areas.

For the time being, there won’t be much painting going on, at least not until I’ve catalogued the pieces that are most important to me. If you ask me ten or 12 a year is more than enough. So no 90 paintings or more a month like @ronthroop and @jompiy.

In any case, I won’t be taking part in the exhibition. I’d like to have everything finished and tidied up by the end of this month.

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