Day 27 of the '29 Faces in February' Challenge: A Painting entitled 'White Dress"......

Day 27 of the '29 Faces in February' art blog Challenge!   We are almost to the end of the challenge by now -- nearly a full MONTH of Faces.....

My piece for today is another one of those that I figure should weigh no less than 12 pounds by now, what with all the paint I've dabbed onto it over the years as I've fiddled with it on and off (mostly off).  Nor can I decisively say that it's officially 'finished' either at this point (I did work on it this evening, but it got late and needed to quit for the night) -- therefore we will have to still call this one a 'Work In Progress', rather than 'Finis!'.....  

"White Dress"

15 x 17 Original Painting on a support I created myself using an salvaged, upcycled frame.

The lighting in my house isn't so great at midnight for taking pics!  In any case, this is another painting support (and a companion piece to Day 3's Face, 'Red Dress', as written about here) that I made myself using an old, second-hand salvaged frame.    Note that I really and truly am committed to this particular technique, that of incorporating old frames into my artwork  (I'd better be, because I have like a lifetime supply by now, lol) -- still, it doesn't make the painting of  them any easier....!  I just always seem to get quite hung up when it comes to incorporating the frames into the pieces themselves -- in particular case here with the 'shoulders', using as I am the bottom part of the frame as part of her 'White Dress'.  It took forever getting that detail to my satisfaction, fighting as I am against the natural distortion.  Also in this case, those things at the bottom of the canvas are supposed to be 'vines' or 'branches' or some such, and quite possibly wrapped around her too, only I'm not super crazy how all that's looking either right now -- so indeed..., while we'll still call this one a WIP for the time being, happily I can at least say it's MOSTLY finished by now (with just a few more things to work out)....:

"White Dress" uncropped so as to show the painted, incorporated frame

My statement regarding the use of salvaged, upcycled wood frames in my art work: 

".....I have begun painting almost exclusively on supports I create myself utilising the old, salvaged wooden picture frames that cross my path from time to time (usually for free).  I feel good about giving these unwanted homeless items a second life, not only because trees were cut down at some point to produce them, but also because by the time I get my hands on them they are usually destined for the landfill as part as our local waste stream.  The process of recycling these vintage frames into painting supports/canvases is a lengthy one, typically involving stabilising the frames (which can be quite rickety), cutting thick paperboard to fit, securing it all and pasting and building up a painting surface with layers of overlapping scraps of paper.  The end effect is a highly textured surface that adds dimension and depth to my paintings, complete with a built-in frame (onto which I often extend my painted images, incorporating the frames into the overall piece) into one cohesive, ready-to-hang whole...."