Picture
,                           "Looking East from Stonehenge"
                           Acrylic on glass (reverse painting)
                           14"x11"x2"
                           black floater frame with metal corners
                           wired and ready for hanging
                            sold


​                            We went with friends to The Dalles, Oregon for Mural Fest 2022
​                             where we watched the "Walldogs" paint murals on building live
                             for two days.  
                              On the way back to Portland we stopped at Stonehenge, Maryhill
                              for peaches, Maryhill Winery for a sip and snack, Maryhill Museum
                              and took in views of the majestic Columbia River. 
                              As soon as I got home I painted this.  

Picture
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                        This is an experiment.  
                        And I like it very much.
                        I soaked an acrylic painting on glass in water because I was going to remove
                        all the paint and start over.  But, as I was lifting the paint from the glass it came 
                        off in sheets.  I carefully layed them out on the table, tore them in to smaller 
                         pieces and reapplied them to the glass making a new image of a vase with
                         flowers. Naturally, I scraped and added more paint and texture and whatever
                         came to mind at the time.
                          Waist not want not.  Forget me not?
                          Available at Sidestreet Art Gallery in Portland, Oregon
I'm working on a new reverse painting (excuse the reflection).  The first image is where I'm headed on the front side.  The second image is what's happening on the back.  Remember, I paint directly on the back so there's a lot of work under the white layer.  I do that to protect some of the image from other layers bleeding through.  Naturally, as I work through my thought process everything can change at any moment.  Also, If you think it's been matted already - no! - It's been painted on from the back side. And I already know that I will be adding and subtracting more color.  It's not finished until it tells me so.
Below is the way I have always framed my reverse paintings.  Because it's painted directly on the back of the glass, I need to secure the glass so it won't fall out of a floater frame for example.  The painting below shows how I used to (and sometime do) frame the glass painting. 
A lightbulb went off.  I found metal corners used by wooden box makers and now I'm using them to secure the paintings in floater frames and I think it shows the work off much better.  As always, the glass is supported on framed canvas panels from behind and everything is framed and wired for hanging as with any painting.
I am represented by Sidestreet Arts - 140 SE 28th Ave., Portland, Oregon
503-327-8064 - www.sidestreetarts.com

Conrad Stone Gallery, by appointment only
1807 SE 7th, Portland, Oregon
503-235-3644

Reverse Painting on Glass
A reverse painting is one that has been painted directly on the back of the glass, in reverse.  "Verre Eglomise" has roots as far back as the 3rd Century AD in Asia and around the world. I don't remember why I decided to try it but I entered and sold one at a show at Lewis and Clark College in Portland in 1985. I was doing marble sculpture with Joe Conrad and the thought process is the same - remembering what must remain on top before building backwards.  It makes sense to me!

I use acrylic paint and finish the back with black and clear acrylic sealer.  The finished framed piece is either covered with paper or rests on a canvas backing and is wired for hanging.   And is framed with the thickness of the glass and the image itself  in mind.  I am now experimenting using metal wooden box corners so I can mount the piece in a floater frame.  
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