This might be a bit of a boring subject to a lot of people, but I find it interesting so we're pressing on. This week I kind of want to talk about working with a lot of large canvases, as I've recently discovered just how much of a pain in the butt it can be. So maybe skip this one if storage and baking paper aren't really your kind of thing.
Anyway, as you might have seen last week, I'm currently working on a project that involves a large number of canvases. Not only that, they are a large number of large canvases, which are the bane of my existence at this present moment in time. I can't wait for the day when they're someone else's problem, because right now it feels like I can't move without bumping into some kind of canvas that's stored around the house.
Last week I also showed you a picture of some canvases spread out on the floor after their initial colour blocking. This is a cyclical thing at the moment where I start a bunch of canvases, and fill up various living spaces while they're in progress. This week I've taken over our dining room table, as it's one of the biggest free spaces that won't get in anyone's way.
The pictures in the photo have just had their final touches applied. That's the final bit of painting that I do to the paintings in this series, so they were dumped on the table (with drop sheet for protection) so they could dry for the last time.
However, I obviously don't want to be spreading canvases around the house forever, so there has to be another solution to the problem. Initially I stacked a bunch of paintings in the corner of my office and left them for a couple of weeks. Eventually I discovered that this wasn't the best course of action, as the acrylic paint remains a little sticky for a long time after it dries to the touch.
What I found were a stack of paintings that had all stuck together. Thankfully they didn't pull any paint from each other when I separated them, but I'm convinced that if I left them any longer it would have been a real possibility.
Thus, I had to think of a way to store all these paintings between now and when they'll be shown later in the year. I knew I'd have more coming, but I never expected this to be an issue I'd be dealing with. Not because it's all that surprising, but I just never thought of it when I was planning out the project last year.
I had a spare roll of brown butcher's paper, so I wrapped it around the paintings only to later find that it too stuck to the tacky surfaces. Eventually I was told to give baking paper a try, as it was non-stick and coated in a thin film that would hopefully repel the eager grip of my acrylic paints.
Fast forward to me buying a stack of baking paper rolls from the supermarket after a successful tester worked perfectly. The other thing is that baking paper is relatively inexpensive, as I was half expecting to have to invest in some kind of purpose built canvas-wrap to secure my paintings properly.
Initially I wrapped up all the smaller paintings I had finished, and stuffed them back in the box that the canvas had been delivered in. I didn't worry about wasting paper and just wrapped them up enough to cover the whole canvas and create the non-stick barrier I needed. Happily, this worked wonders and I've had a couple of boxes filled with baking paper wrapped canvases sitting quietly for a few months. Upon inspection, none of those paintings have stuck to the paper, or to each other - what a win!
Although, now I'm moving into the larger canvases, which would warrant a lot of baking paper if I were to wrap them completely. Instead, it's time to bring in the staple gun and fix paper only to the front of each painting to protect the paint.
The canvases pictured here aren't all that large, but eventually we're going to be getting into some massive canvases. I'd hate to be wasting more paper than is necessary, so I think I'll be sticking to the staple method for all the remaining pieces.
Sure it might seem like a bit of a banal thing to put so much effort into thinking about, but these are the kind of things that come up during the process. Another aspect that I've yet to tackle, is how I'll be transporting all my final pieces to the venue where they'll be shown. It's simply a logistical calculation, as I have access to trailers and vehicles that will suit the process, but it's these kind of things that I never actually think about until I have to.
The fun part is that whenever we're tasked with menial side-jobs that go along with being creative, those things are hardly a chore. No vocation is without it's down sides, but often those down sides are nothing more than a minor bother when you're doing something you love.
I mean, writing a whole post about packing canvases into boxes is undeniably a bit dull, but it's this kind of minutia that reminds me how much I love this shit. After all, I could dissect every little thing about the practical and theoretical aspects of creativity until the cows come home. Just give me a platform… lol.