Hippy Doors No. 1-4, Finished and Unfinished

Hippy Doors No. 1 and 2. Click images to see in greater detail.

M Y   A R T — These four pieces are made from an antique paneled outside door I salvaged. The bottom was dry-rotted, and the rest of the door couldn't be weather-proofed anymore, and once again, I snatched my wooden-bases 30 seconds from being tossed in a dumpster. I've given them the name of "Hippy Doors" as they remind me of a hippy commune I used to visit on the outskirts of Poughkeepsie back in the 1970s when I was in college. Their antique house had been creatively painted all over by the artistic hippies that lived there, so once I started working on these, those memories came flooding back.

The top two pieces are meant to be kitschy kitchen pieces, or perhaps for a cheerful dining room or breakfast nook. They both include a handwritten recipe for Lobster Bisque, given to my mother decades ago by a distant relative. Other images include images of my flowers, scans of my grandmother's jewelry and my now-trademark painted gridwork of stripes and checkerboard patterns. 

I somehow feel I've posted these before, but can't find them on the blog using my Labels. Perhaps I mislabeled them or just overlooked the posts, but anyway I don't think the unfinished ones have been seen before.

Hippy Doors No. 3 and 4, unfinished.

These two pieces have the "groundwork" painted on them, the base paintwork in other words. When I can get back to them, I'll add images and glazes and more layers of painted grids. I really like working with the flaws in antique boards. I sand them to a point, to give me a decent surface for the paint to adhere to, and to remove any flaking bits, but I specifically leave the bumps and bruises of a century or more of wear and tear. I really like it when I have knot holes or in this case, holes from the missing hardware. It gives my work depth and and a sense of purpose. At least to me!