At Last! Let the Show Go On.

At Last! Let the Show Go On.

Whew, I’m back.Just in case you were wondering I haven’t quit the 120 Day Project, I was just taking a bit of a hiatus in order to have my first solo exhibition here in Rome.What was I doing all of that rime instead of sending you daily paintings?A lot of details, things I had never thought of until the time came to put on a show.One of the more time-consuming things that I was working on was preparing the frames for show all by hand.Here are a few photographs of the process from start to finish.The first layer to go on the frames is a gesso mixed with rabbit skin glue. This gets applied with a spatula or large brush. After drying for 24 hours, this layer has to be carefully sanded with a fine grain sand paper.Next is the red bole layer painted over the gesso. Once that dries, I carefully apply the gold leaf to the parts of the frame that I want to be gold with a water based glue.Then I apply a black or brown bole mixed again with glue over the red that really sets off the gold. Once all of this is dry, I seal the entire frame with a warm colored amber shellac.The Exhibition…Show time came fast after the frames were done and it took a few days to set up. One of my favorite parts of the show personally was a little “installation” I set up with my bike and easel at the entrance in order to show how I work out on the streets of Rome daily.So many people came, it was the most fun I’ve had since moving to Rome. It was a privilege and great opportunity to share my work with all of the people I’ve come to know over the short time I’ve been living here.Here I am talking with our local budding artist Melissa. She had a million technical questions about paint, color and the process. I was blown away by her intelligent questions.Here are some of the stories that accompanied the paintings that people could read throughout the exhibition.Here I am being interviewed by a local reporter for their blog and newspaper. You can watch the  interview in Italian here on YouTubehttp://youtu.be/hvEGfNJiAYkSee more pictures from the opening here on Facebook.You can also preview the show online by clicking here. I put together the group of paintings from the show for you to see.Paintings still available can also be purchased directly from the website.Now it’s back to our regularly scheduled program!Thanks for staying tuned.