". . . a brush with nature"

There it was. DAMAGE on an extremely expensive frame I had chosen and purchased for a rather large work (at least, for me). It wasn’t the sort of damage that could be covered up, easily hidden or simply repaired. It wasn’t a cosmetic fix. This was pretty major damage and on one of the most expensive frames I had ever purchased at that point in my career. 

As artists, we all dread this happening, but sadly it is an unavoidable part of the art business. We all do our very best to protect our work and the investments we make when it comes to the presentation of our paintings, but unfortunately stuff still happens.

So, there it sat, this large pastel painting, once beautifully matted, framed and under glass, languishing in the basement . . . for years and years and YEARS. 

Because the frame was ruined beyond repair and I didn’t want to bear the expense of reframing the piece (after all, there are always newer paintings to consider), I stopped showing it entirely and even pulled it off my website. So, there it continued to sit unseen.

But something was bothering me. Even though the frame was no longer of any use, I still felt that the painting had some merit. I felt there was potential there, but I just wasn’t sure how I wanted to bring that potential out. What I was certain of was that I did not want to just reframe the pastel as it had originally been painted.

This is the original pastel painting from many years ago.

 Finally, about two weeks ago it hit me. I had an epiphany about the direction I should take after all these years! It would involve massive changes in all respects and quite a lot of reworking, but I absolutely knew it was the right decision to make.

I am so pleased with my new pastel painting, “Training Day” (shown at the top of this blog).  The thought process took years, but the actual repainting only a few days. I think it was well worth the effort and the wait.  I am always going to remember this experience throughout my artistic journey.

The frame might be dead and gone, but the painting it surrounds still deserves a second chance at life.