How could you paint a picture of something you loved or imagined if you're easel was new? You wouldn't understand the depth of it unless you were old and gray, with wrinkles and rusty hinges, and retired flower vase holders held up by wood taken from a horse fence and parts from a civil war era pump organ, and a crank from an ole Victrola?
This easel can meet that special demand because I made it with the caricature and charm to inspire even the amateur painter such as myself. It is a stand that I made from a "late 1700 -1800's oak hand cranked water well drill apparatus" and a few features to increase its functionality and charm of years gone by. Perhaps now my brushes will express my heart and mind to yours with more credibility and soul even though my attempt at painting has much to be desired.
As I started to paint I soon realized that I needed a cloth to wipe off my brushes and to keep the areas around me dry. So I came up with a
towel,rope and pulley & weight assembly. When you dry out your brush, you pull out on the towel to dry off your brush and the weight goes up. When you let go the towel goes back to its original spot. (Loud applause from audience)!!!
I have found that after a day at work and the worlds demands are still pressing on my mind I have found that learning to paint has become one of my great escapes. So on the left there is a small
bronze ball valve which is symbolic of letting off "steam". Painting helps you relax, unwind and think of something more personal as it helps you relieve some mental stress. I find it to be a positive experience, mentally stimulating and therapeutic.
This feature is a pair of converted
flower arrangement holders made into a brush holders, one for each side. Under the work surface on the left is a bean soup can to hold longer brushes, whereas the one on the right is used for the shorter ones.
These are two ornate walnut woodcarvings that I salvaged from an antique pump organ from the 1860's(Civil war era) made by the Packard Organ Company in Fort Wayne Indiana, and is now being used as my supports for the work surface, which at one time was a portion of a rail on a horse fence.
This
Chain assembly was once used to hold a gate closed on a dairy farm and has now been modified to hold the front of the easel frame to the back. It too has symbolic value of....." once you start to paint, you're hooked on a new adventure".
This is
hand crank from an antique 1920’s Victrola. These kinds of parts are out there but hard to throw away if you have an artistic eye. So today it became useful again as a symbol of... "Cranking out new ideas".
Many times when trying to use items that are dated and very old, rot is an issue that has to be dealt with. In this project one of the legs had rot from being exposed to dirt and water.
After cutting it off and setting it aside I had to come to the point where I needed something to hold down the canvas and this is now converted to do just that.
Now the blurred
"Mouse" picture below (upper left hand corner of the easel is for all of us who are addicted to painting which sometimes takes you into the wee hours of the morning after everyone else has fallen asleep. You are staring at your canvas working the brushes, then your head bobs, the sleep seeds being to creep up your back and slide on into your eyes after which the sandman takes over and causes you to be tired enough take out the dog one last time, check your e-mail and news, turn out the lights and lock the doors and carefully slide in bed
and say with a whisper good night dear :)
