Carpentry for portrait painting

Carpentry for portrait painting. As I  get the opportunity I love to do craftwork, preferably in wood. I always wanted to be a carpenter, I have written about this before. And I’ll confess something else to you. For a long time, carpentry gave me more pleasure than painting. Believe me.

I often found excuses to flee away from my easel to do some tinkering in the barn. It took years before I began to like painting. The artist’s profession sometimes was tough. I found it simply difficult. Painting a good portrait is not easy! And think of the eternal pressure of all those customers with their high expectations! But, don´t you worry, in the end it turned out well for me and now I spend all my time preferably behind the easel from nine to five, and later…

This week you would have found me in the barn again: I had to invent something to let my panels and canvases dry. I will explain. For some time I have been applying a final layer of white lead onto my canvases and my panels. (Apart from the three layers of gesso.) Yes, yes, I know it is not very healthy, but it is great to paint on. Only the drying time produces headaches: more than a month.

Until recently the lot was scattered in various places in the house to dry – which proved intolerable in the long run. Even the dog was complaining.

So I made a rack where they can be neatly stowed now, if needed, for weeks or months without being obtrusive. See what one can do with some slats and boards.

And…the house returned to its original state.