My brother Greg and I got together today and he brought me this . . .
. . . an oil I did for his office waaaaayyyyyy back in 1976. Back in the day, I tole painted - LOTS - in oils only. Loved oils. They were/are very forgiving with tons of dry time so you could take your time fixing things like clouds and waves and shadows and highlights. This particular one was in the style of Charles Wysocki. See the little flag (lower right corner) flying *backwards*? That was one of his signatures.
First thing was to prep the wood. If you were a tole painter, you know this was one of the most important steps. Almost everything was painted on wood or tin. Sanding the wood and getting it perfectly smooth could take hours. Then base coat followed by pattern transfer followed by, yes, the fun part of seeing that image come alive.
Bill and I were barely married - only 4 years then - and bless his heart, always set up a craft room for me. We lived in a two-bedroom flat in South St. Louis city. One was our bedroom, the second my craft room - full of paint - always stinky from the oils and cleaning fluid. I spent hours in there. Maybe that accounts for . . . (never mind).
Anyway, if you notice, for some unknown reason, this oil is flaking. Not FLAKY - flaking. See the light blue areas? And Greg asked me to fix it for him.
I no longer paint with oils. Probably have to fix with acrylics. Mix the colors to match. And then try to get the glass-like finish back on top of just those little spots.
Keeping my fingers crossed and my paintbrushes ready!
Shirley Williams (my tole painting teacher in the late 60's), if you're reading this . . . HELP!
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