~~ On My Easel; Artist-Tree ~~

Artist Tree's Art Blog A journal of art work in progress by artist Tree Pruitt. Find here painting images, assemblage techniques & methods for crafting in a variety of styles. Be the first to see new artwork before it's even available for purchase. Tree works with both oil & acrylic paints, in addition to using recycled found & upcycled objects on canvas & paper.
Tree enjoys expressing her spiritual nature through her arts & also creates handcrafted ceremonial ritual tools. Wood wands, rattles, staffs, talking sticks & hand painted drums are crafted with gallery quality. Many such metaphysical arts are influenced by Native American or primitive Frontier style, but all are only worked on by the artist when in a positive frame of mind & phase of the Moon. Tree also paints fun, special little rocks, pebbles & stones with totem animals or sacred symbols. Called "Spiritkeepers", these unique small works of art have a blog all to themselves at http://paintedstones.blogspot.com
Browse & Enjoy!


Thursday, June 25, 2009

Latest in Dance with Moon ACEO Series

The figures in my playful Dance with the Moon ACEO Series are created spontaneously through free movement of the media; I let the images happen in the moment, without an under-drawing. Thick paint strokes make up the first two in the series, but for the third card I allowed Prisamcolor Pencils to have some of the fun. Card #3 is a tree filled landscape scene created from wild lines and vivid colors.
Visit an earlier post here to learn more about the series, including what inspired them. See all of the available cards in my new Artfire Studio. Each Dance with the Moon ACEO painting will remain OOAK, having no reproductions made now or in the future, and includes an acid free Strathmore paper envelope with a clear sleeve protector.

*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Cleaning An Old Painting

Solutions You Can Use To Clean An Old Painting At Home...
(Oil or Acrylic Paints On Canvas)
  • Remove dust with a paint or make-up brush making sure brush is soft, clean, and dry.
  • Use your own saliva moistened with a cotton swab.
  • Use, with cotton swab, one part of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide to 5 parts of water, especially if mold is present; may lighten some pigment colors.
  • Use 1 cup denatured or rubbing alcohol to 1 cup water (= to =) with a cotton swab.
  • Gently rub painting surface with fresh Italian bread, without the crust. The kneaded bread crumbles away taking most dust and tobacco grime to the floor; use a drop cloth for easy work space clean-up. DO NOT use bread if mold is visibly present & follow with brushing off any remaining crumbs. Then use either the rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide solutions above.

While browsing an estate sale one day it was announced that all marked prices would now be half off, so without even looking I grabbed a $5.00 antique oil painting off the floor; what a crazy bargain! When I got the painting home I quickly realized they should have paid me to take the filthy thing! Having sat on its side for God only knows how long, over the years someone had spilled something on the canvas. In addition to regular tobacco smoke and grime residue, the mysterious substance had created very dark streaks running left to right over the painting. I knew I probably had a perfect candidate for testing out some amateur conservation and restoration techniques.

Shown at left is the painting after two initial quick cleaning sessions. Clean any painting at your own risk! A professional should be consulted for valuable or insured pieces. When cleaning a painting or canvas surface NEVER use bleach or dish soap, and always test a small area first with any cleaning method. If paint color comes off onto the test cotton swab, with only reasonable pressure, you might have to consider using a different method, allowing some paint loss, or trashing the painting altogether!


First thing I did was to determine whether or not the painting had any great financial value; it could be worth a costly trip to a professional for cleaning. Look at the photograph of the entire painting above (click image to enlarge). You're seeing it after some initial cleaning to remove those very dark streaks, and the photo is a bit out of focus, but even in such condition it can be seen that the artist was skilled though probably not a Master Painter. An inspection of the frame and canvas itself revealed common construction methods used at the turn of the last Century, offering a date between 1880 to 1915. During this time period it was common for well-off folks to take the Grand Tour of Europe, and indeed easel painting was considered a fine activity for gentleman and ladies alike. I figured the piece was likely the results of a genteel vacation activity; painted en plein air. A later Internet search of the inscribed word "Eibsee" confirmed this suspicion when I discovered the location is still to this day a popular site for tourists; a lake in Bavaria, Germany (ironically the region my own family immigrated from). Though there are artists named with the other inscribed word "Koch", none of them match this piece in painting style or skill level; those artists are high museum quality. So I determined it was worth my $2.50 investment to try my hand at cleaning this very dirty old painting.

Frame is covered in bubble wrap for protection.

At first I used a simple Swiffer type dust cloth to remove the initial layer of dust debris. I decided not to remove the canvas from the frame, so wrapped the frame with several layers of bubble wrap to avoid any further damage. Placing the whole package onto my artist easel gave me easy access to all areas of the surface, but laying flat on a secure table top works just as well. I then began testing by first using a cotton swab moistened with saliva. It sounds gross, (the painting is gross already anyway), but spit won't soak into the canvas fabric like water and the acids in saliva break down grime without damaging the paint or canvas like a solvent; Do not drink anything other than water if using the saliva method, to avoid transferring food type substances.

Use cotton swabs, not balls, for cleaning any painting. Notice how dirty the swab comes away just from using saliva in a circular rubbing motion; don't over-scrub, being gentle yet firm in stubborn areas of soil. Hold the swab on its side, as shown, for best results. Work a small area at a time with any moist cleaning solution, carefully dabbing and rolling the swab. Working from left to right helps you keep your place to get the whole job done. As soon as a swab is soiled replace it with a clean one. Cleaning a painting takes time, but it can be worth the effort for a beloved piece.

Next, in an area of very heavy soiling I dipped another swab into window cleaner. Though it removed the black streak, it seemed to lift off some of the paint as well, leaving the surface a bit dull and dry looking. The detergents and ammonia in most household cleaners will likely cause cracking of paint or weakening of the canvas later, so just avoid using them at all in your own project. Lastly I used a mixture of equal parts rubbing alcohol and water, which did indeed remove the streaks but simply didn't remove the more general grime as quickly as saliva. For cleaning most oil paint art dilute a solution of 1 cup denatured or rubbing alcohol to 1 cup water. Always use care with rubbing alcohol and remember that it is a solvent that can remove or fog a varnish layer on a painting and will dissolve acrylic paint. Use undiluted rubbing alcohol only to clean frame glass, but avoid using it on acrylic or other glazing materials. Don't lean directly over an item you're cleaning with this solvent to avoid hazardous fumes, and apply a good hand lotion after prolonged contact with skin.

BELOW: before and after areas of cleaning.

Below, vertical streaks of soiling can be seen in this photograph, lessened in appearance already by a quick pass over with saliva dipped swabs.

I've decided to finish cleaning the rest of the painting by using two substance methods. Using circular scrubbing motions with saliva and swab, I'll quickly remove dirt, as shown by the clean streaks in the lake area of the landscape. For more stubborn soiling I'll use the alcohol mixture. Then, when all is as clean as I can get it, I'll go over the entire painting again gently with the alcohol mix, using a less moist swab this time.

referenced:
http://www.mysticgriffin.com/cleaningmoldmildew.htm#180705066

* Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute http://www.si.edu/mci/english/learn_more/taking_care/care_painting.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eibsee

Travel Zugspitze http://www.ricksteves.com/tvr/pledge/castles/chap_bavaria.htm


*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Stormy Tornado Sky

I'm no weather expert, but I know whether or not I like what I see. I was most impressed with the cloud formations near Indianapolis Indiana yesterday. Like the beauty of a wild beast, stacks and layers of stormy colored clouds crossed overhead. Once the lightning had well passed I was tempted to venture outside with my camera (visit my fine art portfolio to see results). I don't recall having seen anything like these clouds in the Midwest except from my nightmares of the Super Outbreak of tornadic activity back in 1974. The colors were made even more intense by the setting sun, and though a warm solar glow was added, the light also revealed that cliche sick tornado green.

Twister Passed, by Tree Pruitt (see below).
Here in Indy these two mixing severe thunderstorms shown in my photographs tossed out large hail, at least one possible tornado, and did prompt several reports of funnel clouds across portions of central Indiana before moving on to my former home of Ohio. I'm sure the warning sirens were sounding off well where I used to reside in Clermont County Ohio, which just last year had been beaten up by Hurricane Ike. Near to that location is the weather station in Wilmington, which was able to visually confirm a twister last night touched down right there! It was a strange sensation watching these storms move from my new home to my old. As much as I revelled in awe at the cloud formations and distant violent lightning, I hoped with all hope that no one was being harmed by these amazing skies. Before the sun finally set, a rainbow arched across the grassy field.
I've chosen a few photographs from yesterday to manipulate for art prints, but I'm also working on putting the entire set of unenhanced images into a public photo album for free viewing; please do check back for more information.

*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Sociopolitical Goya

The Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco Goya (30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) has been regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and as the first of the moderns. The subversive and subjective elements in his art provided a model for the work of later generations of artists, including Picasso. Known as a chronicler of history, Goya produced numerous thought provoking paintings, drawings, and etchings such as the one shown here.

No se puede saber por que. Digital ID: 1109956. New York Public Library

The etching includes the title of "No se puede saber por que", which translates as "No one knows why", and it is one example of many sociopolitical artworks produced by Goya where the artist portrays the unexplainable horrors of war; indeed no one knows why such acts are performed by one human upon another of kind. A publication from 1914 further explains Goya on this matter...

"About the greatest of human illusions he has no illusion. In drawing after drawing he states without mincing matters his conviction that to fight is after all only to murder. I think that it is this insistence not merely upon strife but upon murder that gives these drawings a character of horror more emphatic than that of any other representations of warfare. And it is not only against the barbarousness of war that he utters his passionate protest, but also against its tragical illogicality. It is not the business of art to attempt to solve the problem of pain or to hazard guesses at the riddle of the universe, and that Goya showed a just sense of its limitations in preferring to exhibit slices of life rather than to attempt an interpretation of the whole. He tosses us these raw and palpitating fragments and leaves us to digest them as best we may."

See my Squidoo Lens, About Sociopolitical Art, to learn more about social and political expression in the arts.


*Francisco Goya. (2009, May 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 06:23, May 20, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Francisco_Goya&oldid=290994967

*The New York Public Library Digital Gallery
http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1109956


*Goya - Disasters Of The War, originally published 1914
http://www.oldandsold.com/articles22/goya-13.shtml


Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Dance with the Moon ACEO Painting Series

I've been enjoying painting a series of ACEO's (miniature art cards) based upon the theme of dancing naked in the moonlight. One of the first things new neighbors will ask upon learning that I'm a Pagan is, "Are you gonna dance around naked under the Full Moon"? I generally reply with a chuckle, and explain that not all Pagans or Wiccans skip around nude (though I might) and usually don't do it at all in open suburban backyards. Each time the question is posed I get the sense that folks might wish -- just a little bit -- that they could be so open as to dance naked with the Moon, so I began this series of quick little paintings in honor of letting that wild spirit break free!

Shown above is card #1 Dance with the Moon, which features a long haired woman stretched back in motion. She's shaping energy for magic between her hands, while a naked branched tree watches from a hill in the landscape background. The painting is almost abstract in style, with thick brush stroke texture, which lends to the sense of motion in dance. Each in the series will have a similar style with a dancing figure, the Full Moon, and may or may not have a tree in the scene. Each painting should stand well alone as an individual, but a group together would create a coven of dancers in motion; should be cool!

I'll be adding card #1 to my fine art Etsy Store soon for purchase. Each card is made with acrylic paint on quality Strathmore water color paper. They'll come with a clear protective sleeve and also a black edge top loader frame, but I haven't gotten a photograph including the frame yet. If you'd like to buy this first card in the series before it's listed in my store, just go ahead and use the Buy Now button shown here -- it's good old PayPal service. I hope visitors enjoyed viewing this peek at the first Dance With The Moon painting and will come back again to see the next two cards in the series.

Dance With The Moon, number one
$23.00 (with included First Class package rate shipping to the USA)








*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Death of Arthur painting spotlight & ACEO

Le Morte D`Arthur, or The Death of Arthur, is a mysterious still life oil painting that was added to my online portfolio early on, and it has recently been brought to light again by a fellow artist.

Le Morte D`Arthur, or The Death of Arthur, oil painting by Tree Pruitt
Dear friend to all and fabulous artist, Armando Salas, chose my canvas as his pic of the day in a special ArtWanted.com member gallery! Each day members of the site who browse the work of others can choose a single image as a top or favorite of the day. Artwanted then catalogs them for browsing by date so that future visitors can see these spotlighted artworks. I'm really glad Armando enjoyed another visit to my portfolio, and I sure hope others will stop by too; comments are welcomed!

Below is a small snap of the page showing "Le Morte D`Arthur" among other artwork from Pics of the Day: 05/10/09
Visit ArtWanted.com!

Visit my ACEO print gallery to shop for mini art prints...

A miniature print of the painting, Le Morte D`Arthur, or The Death of Arthur, in ACEO size format is available. ACEO's are fun and affordable little works of art that are great to collect in an album, use as a book marker or gift tag, and they look wonderful mounted in a frame for a contemporary home decor.

Thanks for visiting!
ArtWanted.com

*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Shorebirds painting & ACEO print

Though I no longer live in the Pacific Northwest, I still keep tabs on my old home of Hoquiam Washington. While visiting the city website I was reminded that the Spring shorebird migration has recently past for this year.

Shorebirds Feeding ACEO printMy first encounter with the migrating shorebirds in coastal Washington State inspired a small painting years ago that the Spring season brings to mind.
Though at first glance, "Shorebirds Feeding" may seem like an abstract painting, a longer inspection reveals the swirling forms of birds and beaks. When the tawny brown birds twist in the sunlight their bodies throw back a myriad of muted color by reflection and shadow, adding to an illusion of abstraction. The original painting is on 9" x 12" mounted canvas and is acrylic paint. The collectible ACEO mini print of "Shorebirds Feeding" (shown at left) is printed with Fuji inks on Kodak paper and is the standard ACEO size of 2.5 x 3.5 inches (baseball card sized).

I used to live only but a short walk to where the new viewing platforms have been built for this annual migration where thousands of long billed birds stop over at the Grays Harbor estuary to fatten up before heading off to the Arctic. When we rented our house there we had no idea it was such a prime location for an artist slash naturalist! I compared sea weed to algae, sketched ship wreck debris, collected lichen, studied wildlife tracks, painted misty mountain views, and walked alone with my dogs among the shorebirds. Now, according to the City of Hoquiam website, "People from around the world come to view this event of hemispheric importance. The Shorebird Festival works to bring people together for this incredible natural phenomenon."

What, you may ask, is so incredible about a bunch of birds? First, let me say, you really have to experience the event to gain the full impact. My personal experience involves a simple walk along the rocky beach. Other than my dogs and an occasional seagull there wasn't a creature to be seen on the shore. One bird with a funny long beak landed nearby. Then, before I could even get a good look at the first, I was immersed in a cloud of birds! Thousands of birds suddenly appeared at once, swarming after bugs (eat your heart out Alfred Hitchcock)! At times I could only catch glimpses of the dogs because the layer of birds was so thick. That, my friends, is an amazing experience! I can't say that everyone visiting the Shorebird Festival will have such a close encounter with the feathered kind, but a good time is assured. The peak in migration typically occurs the last week in April. The 14th Annual Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival was held this year between April 24 - 26 in Hoquiam, Washington. Visit the site for the festival for information about next years events. http://www.shorebirdfestival.com/




*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.