Member Projects

TAS members in action. Members if you would like to be featured here please email us your photos and captions.

Frame making with Christene sandeson

When I make picture frames or canvas stretchers, I begin by mitering 1 X2” spruce to the correct length. It is important to take into consideration the width of the saw blade to avoid cutting inside of your measurement because 1/8 of an inch can throw your piece out of whack. To make a frame, I fit and lock the pieces into a frame-square. Before I glue and nail things together, I measure on the diagonal to ensure the 4 corners are still square. This frame is made to fit a 12X12 painting. It is nearly the same process to make stretcher frames, except that if the piece measures more than 24 inches along one length, a supporting piece is cut to fit inside the longest dimension to avoid a collapse of the bar when the canvas shrinks tight.

For frames, I simply paint the frame and attach the canvas with appropriate hardware.

Chair art by christene sandeson

I have also painted a chair for the Northumberland Arts Council for their fund raising auction. The chair I was given had to be scoured down; I used a farriers rasp, steel wool and sandpaper to do this. I then applied a light gesso coat and several layers of acrylic paint to establish the colour and design. I chose a simple colour scheme of ochre and blue with red accents in a design that was meant to mimic rush weaving on the seat and the Nova Scotia flag on the back of the chair. I thought that approach to colour and design would have a broad appeal. I finished with 3 or more coats of polycryl minwax so the finish would be fairly tough. The chair sold within the first week of display, which was gratifying to hear.

Dog Drawing by Rebecca hill

This is an in progress photo of a drawing commission I was working on. I like to keep shots of the progress as sometimes they are more interesting then the final piece. I used Prismacolor coloured pencils. They blend nicely and you can layer them. I do start with the highlights first to get the highest intensity for them. The paper is Canson Mi-Teints coloured pastel paper. I use the smoother side with these pencils.