Sunday, September 24, 2006

Mike's Contribution to My Vocation




When I first began to paint my small six by six inch paintings, the size proved to be a problem. Fitting them on my easel, and having the ability to adjust their position to match my position, i.e. sitting or standing, was impossible.

I knew Jeff Cohen had created a device to support the small plywood panels he painted on for his Fragments paintings, so I constructed a, rather crude, version of his device. It worked reasonably well, but it was kind of clunky. Then one day I was talking with my friend Mike Kasper over the phone, and I happened to mention the panel holder I'd built.

I have to stop here to say that Mike is a kind of renaissance man. He can basically do anything with his hands. Painting, sculpture, photography, graphic design, carpentry, entire home renovation, I could go on and on. So, I describe this thing I'm using on my easel. The converstation ends, then a couple of days later, he shows up at my house with this elegant piece of equipment made of steel. From my description he had re-created my humble attempt, and produced something that worked like a dream. It will adapt to hold either my hardboard panels or small canvases. Plus, the whole thing moves on ballbearings so, it slides, "like it's on ball bearings".

Anyway, I just wanted to show off this wonderful piece of equipment, that has made working my small paintings so much easier. I also wanted to draw attention to the fact that Mike has now joined the ranks of the ebay artists by placing a link to his listings.




click here to view Mike's ebay listings

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