Ben Opens Shop at Etsy, Lists Simon and Garfunkel Painting

If you work in traditional or handmade media, and you’re the tech-savvy type, then you’ve probably already heard of Etsy. If not, think eBay for artists, their art, and art appreciators. I set up a shop and listed my first item, a pop art portrait of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. The finished product is about as hand-made as can be — Here’s a behind-the-scenes look. From the beginning, I planned on building three canvases: two 24″x24″ (one 1″ deep, the other 2″ deep) and one 36″x36″ (2″ deep). Since the construction process was the same for all of them, I’ve simplified my photos and description here to just the 36″x36″. I bought all my lumber at Home Depot right up the street from my apartment (had to do a LOT of sorting through crooked or knotty pieces, but it pays off to be patient here).

I already had tools, nails, and glue on-hand.

Fig. 1: Tools of the trade

I used the hacksaw and miter-box to cut clean 45 degree angles in the 2″x2″ lumber stock (pine).

Fig. 2: 2"x2" lumber, before and after vivisection

I drew X’s (two marks, corner to corner, diagonally) to determine the center of the 45 degree angle cuts, and did the same on the back end to show where the nail would be driven through to join it to the next piece. The point at which the lines intersected were then drilled with a bit that had a slightly smaller diameter than the nails I was using. All this ensured precise joints and clean corners.

Fig. 3: Aligning the pilot holes

I used a generous amount of Elmer’s Wood Glue on both pieces to be joined, drove the nail through the outside of one piece, inserted the protruding nail into the pilot hole of the next piece, finished driving it in, and then cleaned up any excess glue.

Fig. 4: Glued and nailed together

The process from Fig. 2 was repeated for the same lengths of 1/2″ quarter-round (also pine). This is added to raise the canvas up off the frame — If you don’t do this, you risk having your canvas primer or paint bleed through your canvas, making it stick to the frame, and leaving a clearly visible matted-down square around your finished painting. The corners of the quarter-round didn’t really need to be treated the same way as the 2″x2″, as it was tacked firmly in place to the frame from Fig. 4 using some short finishing nails. The ball-peen style hammer I have comes in real handy for tapping the heads of these nails down below the surface of the wood stock, to avoid having it rip the canvas when I stretch it on later. I also did a little sanding on the corners, for the same reason.

Fig. 5: 1/2" Quarter-round tacked on

Fig. 6 shows the “canvas” I was working with.  It was a reclaimed window treatment from Target, a paisley pattern woven in 100% polyester fibers. Not really traditional material, but the pattern was what I wanted, so I made it work! A is the material rolled out, B is using a cuticle cutter to rip seams and reclaim a little more surface area, and C is the actual stretching and stapling process. There are a lot of tutorials on the net that will tell you how to do this…

Fig. 6: The "canvas" material

The end result of this phase is like a shallow drum — The fabric is pulled so tightly that tapping on it produces a very audible bass tone.

Fig. 7: The completed 36"x36" canvas

Since the painting process was very much an experimental one, I ventured it on one of the smaller canvases and didn’t photo-document it. The idea was to start with a photo, process it digitally, print it, project it onto the canvas, trace with permanent marker, fill in the areas to be painted with gesso primer, then go in with acrylic paint. The end result as seen in Fig. 8 is a pop-art homage to one of my favorite musical duo’s, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, and more specifically to their 1968 Bookends album.

Fig. 8: The finished 24"x24" painting

The painting is currently for sale SOLD in my Etsy store, located at bcgm3.etsy.com.