Surface protection

Lately, I feel like I have been inhaling a lot of chemicals - fixative and varnish, mostly. My daughter painted a huge oil about two years ago, and I am just getting around to varnishing it. Her thin layers of paint needed protection against the ravages of time, handling, and framing. While spraying is the easiest approach, I can tell I am a novice at this stage of a painting's life.

This is truly a labor of love. While oil paintings endure for years, conservators know that protection of the surface is vital for insuring a lasting treasure.

As I apply the sixth coat, I think about what humans need to do to protect our environment. We seem to be able to protect our valuables - we insure them, we make sure we lock our doors, we clean them regularly (well, not so much, maybe). Some of us try to take care of our bodies and souls. Then why is it so difficult for us to take care of our natural resources? Why do we continue to practice destructive behaviors, by driving gas hogs, by not carpooling, by leaving lights on, by eating lots of red meat, or by applying more fertilizer than we really need? Is it that we think our world is so vast and unlimited that mother nature can clean up after us forever? Or perhaps we are simply at a loss - we got ourselves into a lifestyle that is at odds with nature, and we don't know how to get out of it.

As I varnish this gem that my daughter created, I think about how we can protect the gem we live on. My art work tries to capture the beauty that we now have. But the very act of making artwork also creates pollution. So ironic. I am glad I don't think about this stuff too frequently, or I would be crazier than I already am. But I do my best - turn off lights, shop at nearby locations, buy local produce, hire local repair and service companies, and keep my thermostat at uncomfortable levels. And I reuse frames, glass, canvases, and recycle paper and plastic.

This is what happens when an artist works in solitude for too long! Back to varnishing, and preserving a part of my daughter's legacy. Hopefully, her descendants will have an earth to enjoy as much as we do.

Peace.
Cathy