One of the best things about living and working in Bend is getting to enjoy all of the sights and tastes of the local scene – often in the same place. I’m pleased to announce that I have three large scale commissioned paintings gracing the walls of Mountain Burger at Northwest Crossing in Bend. I hope you have a chance to stop by and support local business!
Painting large scale art brings unique challenges. Pre-made canvases are not available for the size that some of my clients want. I had to learn how to build my own frames and stretch canvas myself. Easy, right?!
Wrong! I found several instructional plans and videos online, which were helpful in getting started, but once I got my hands on the lumber and rolls of canvas, I discovered that there is a lot of nuance and finesse involved in the construction. Kinda like trying to build an igloo, it’s harder than it looks! The frame must be built so that it can take the force of the canvas being pulled and stretched without bowing or twisting. The inside edges have to be beveled so that the pressure of each brushstroke across the outer edge of the canvas doesn’t create a line in the paint. The canvas itself requires a soft touch when stretching so it doesn’t rip or shred as it is wrapped around the frame. It is labor intensive, but totally worth it to be able to create paintings that capture exactly the effect I want in large scale.
I’m looking forward to sharing my latest works celebrating Central Oregon adventures – and where to see them on display in Bend – in an upcoming post. Enjoy!
The COBA Tour of Homes begins this weekend July 15-17 and again July 22-24 and I am excited to announce that my artwork will be on display in two homes (#14 and #24) featured on the tour this year. Tour maps are available online and admission is free, so come out to support this showcase of local builders, designers, and artists for this event!
Breathing new digital life into my artistic endeavor has been an interesting process. I have taken a few walks down memory lane as I try to learn the new technology of website design, social media posts, and – oh yeah! – also try to keep my brush moving on creating new pieces for clients. If you are old enough to remember how hard it was to figure out the programming on a VCR, then you probably understand some of the headaches involved in keeping all the online publishing tools straight (sorry to my few subscribers who got a draft blog post in their inbox – that will come back as a real post in a few weeks). It has been challenging to balance painting with my digital to-do list, but I’m happy to share this latest work with you.
This piece began as a moonlight study. I was interested in seeing if I could capture the effect of the light as it filtered through the outstretched feathers on this beautiful barred owl. I set it aside for a quite a while as other commissions took priority. It has been a creative joy to revisit this piece and add more to the story of this elegant predator and the shadowy world in which he survives.
Andrew Thornton Studio 