Friday, January 29, 2010

Myth and Mystery exhibit

I am in the middle of another flare up with my neck and back, so I haven't spent too much time on the internet in the last week.

We are about to have another snow storm. I planned to deliver the paintings for the "Myth and Mystery" show tomorrow if the weather allows. Karen Eide, one of the three artists, has had an accident and broken both of her wrists, so she may not be able to attend the opening. She lives in Richmond which is a good two hour drive to Manassas. I am disappointed about this......we will miss her. Katie and I were really looking forward to meeting her in person after so many months of emails.

So, I have twelve paintings lined up to hang, but this morning I noticed a problem with one of the stretchers, so after picking up some hardware I attempted to re-stretch the canvas on new bars. This is a new endeavor for me as I haven't re-stretched a painting before. I never had to. Apparently, this was a bum canvas with poor quality wood stretchers that buckled on one side after a time. Even though I bought new same sized stretcher bars, the new ones are a bit larger than the original and now there is a small edge of white unpainted canvas on each side. So, I have to pull the painting from the show. This is a lesson in carefully selecting canvases. It is my regular practice when buying a canvas to lay it flat and on each side to see any gaps or warping. Generally, I find that canvases larger than 22" really need a crossbar. I am not sure where I got this particular canvas but it is a telling sign of cheapness that it has no brand name on it. Live and learn.

I will keep you all updated. Please plan to come to the reception on the 6th if you so can. Manasssas is a neat old town with a lot of cool places to eat and the Harris Pavilion will be open that evening for outdoor ice skating.

Here is the Candy Factory which houses the gallery. You can read about the historic building here.

4 comments:

Gary Keimig said...

good luck on the show. Hope that back comes out O K
Sounds like you are doing great on sales.
Hurrah!

Elizabeth Seaver said...

Good luck to you, Tracey. I hope your opening is a success.

Martha Bright said...

Just wanted to say I love your work--just happened upon your blog. I think your work is a little creepy, but very moving.

Dean Grey said...

Tracey!

Yikes! I hope Karen is okay!

Sorry to hear one of your paintings has to be pulled from the exhibit. Just a small glitch.

The rest of the show will be fine. I know it!

And how cool is it that your work is exhibited in an old candy factory! I need to move by you!

-Dean