Finishing a 34 Year Old Lady

Back in the beginning - before kids - I used to paint larger pictures in acrylics. Lots of them. Unfortunately, most were stored in our garage, where a deluge from a roof leak ruined them.

One of my best was a fanciful portrait of a seated woman. I didn't finish her all those years ago, meaning to get back to it, and always hesitated for fear of screwing up some interesting lines and effects. She was moldy and warped, but I figured I could save her if I could only find a way to mount her that would remove the warp in the hardboard surface. Framers refused to try it.

So the woodworking instructor at Little House came to my rescue. He made me a nice redwood frame to which the hardboard substrate could be screwed down. It worked!

So after 34 years, I framed her, cleaned her up, and finally put some finishing touches. Didn't do too much still for fear of messing up something good.

Here she is "Banty Rooster" (nickname of a former student who said it looked like her) before and after.

She will hang in my new office at Samaritan House.