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Friday, July 3, 2015

The Handiest Man Alive Lives At My House

The mirror was a one piece breeze.

The bookcase from do-it-yourselfer hell lifted up and laid out. A good start.

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And it turned out the handiest man alive lives at my house!









Voila!  Seven feet of art book storage point of first use.

10 comments:

  1. FANTASTIC! Ellis is a treasure...............for keepsies. Love the photo of the mirror, very 'arty', I reckon you have a creative streak running right through you ;-)

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    1. There were manufacturer glitches we had to overcome. They slowed him down, but he persevered and the bookcase is sound, in place and partlyf filled. I was the extra pair of hands the directions called for. He could have used a power screwdriver, but I sold our tools years ago; the Phillips in his strong hands worked nicely. Not once did he chide me for buying this thing just to get my my art books out of the living room and put away where they belong. Great guy.

      I will get back to painting tomorrow. I laid out a fresh palette but was too tired from assisting and then gathering up my books.

      As for the photo, you know I love photography as much as painting. It is an art, these are not, just on-the-spot snapshots with no doctoring, a record of a one time only event. 'Some assembly required' is no longer allowed in the house.

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  2. I try not to use power tools any more, I have no deadlines to meet. I like to cut joints in wood and not just nail, just to enjoy the process. Young Ollie came around to do some gardening and watched building the workshop - he smiled in that way that youth does when it believes it has the technical know-how and we don't. "Why are you using that (a brace and bit) to drill through four inches of wood?"
    "Because I can," I replied.

    Goodness knows when I shall get down to serious art again, but I'm having fun so what the heck.

    Love the look of satisfaction in Ellis's face ... 'fought the good fight and won' ... lovely image.

    The photography looks fun, be interesting to ss what comes out of it.

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    1. The bookcase was a diversion that shouldn't have been; I have an eye waiting to be painted and thanks to Ellis, today may be the day? Photography is a craft all artists should be acquainted with just to keep records of their works and because it's the Initial means for getting into exhibitions. I got involved in it when one of my sons showed interest and have been appreciative of the skills involved ever since. These photos have good composition, but I skipped over worrying about the lighting; it was the event that was notable and the lighting was good enough.
      Ellis is not a handyman--or never thought of himself that way. He is a wonderful organizer of projects, can find the right guys With the best skills to do the work, has excellent rapport with tradespeople, is a stickler for keeping to time schedules and is an excellent bill collector. he is head on/eyes on, not hands on--till the bookcase. I used to be the handyman with such things, but I don't have the strength anymore. He does and used it. The damn thing was almost together when we discovered it wasn't going to work as the manufacturer's directions said. He had to dismantle it and begin again. You see, the problem with the model I bought was that it is collapsable and folds down flat. That made matching up joints exactly very necessary. Between the two of us, we figured out the how--that's where my 'construction eye' came in handy. Long story short, we had a very satisfying afternoon. --I used to have the power tools, but sold them when we sold the big house. Ellis didn't know how to use them, I did. Now I have the bare essentials. Ellis made them work. We are a great team!

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  3. I think the trick was,was how he laid out all the pieces.. 'some assembly required'... hmm that phrase is so random..either there is assembly or none.. makes it sound like the mfg. had no idea if there was.

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    1. This was the first and last assembly required item to pass over our threshold. It was the poor markings for screwing in the support clips that made a reassembly necessary. i figure Ellis would throw down the Phillips but he forged ahead. He was really great. I figured it was a throw away--so did he. We know what our skills are. this was never counted among them.

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  4. Had a huge grin on my face redding this and the previous post. Been there - done that! Love the mirror.
    I have a closet mirror door with wheels on the bottom for my studio mirror. I agree -invaluable studio item.
    You have set up your paint so I will look forward to seeing what you do. Cheers, friend. Good to catch up.

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    1. Happy to see you! I must say in just three two hour sessions, I know for certain two hours isn't enough time to FINISH a portrait to a patron's approval. It is enough time to loosen up, get acquainted, discover strategic points, get a mix or two right on and have some fun. After that there is work to be done UNLESS sketches are enough and the artist is the patron. The little self portrait you see in the mirror is a free for all start. Being the subject, I don't care if the painting has a likeness so I can play. This time with color. I began with Venetian Red, a glorious red to which I would like to add colors using their own spacial qualities--warms come forward, cools fall back--to achieve a head that's distinct and unique and more universally interesting. Achieving that looseness will be satisfying for me. As for how fast I declare the painting finished, I think the challenge is silly. Speed of finish is incidental and does come with time.

      Look at what a flood of words you opened up! I did miss you.

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  5. Hooray for Ellis! It is fun to discover things you didn't know your long-time mate could do! I had the same admiration for mah fella when recently he put windows in.....I didn't know he could do that!! Your studio is looking good---it is great to have a good space with just the right things around. :)

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    1. When Ellis heard windows, he exclaimed OMG! Windows are quite a high level skill. Lucky you.

      While Ellis did build a storage shed and put together the tangle tower years ago, he's for hiring professionals who can do it better and faster. I think so too, just to avoid the profanity. This was a one time, last time thing.

      While I was a professional kitchen and bath designer and have a lot of design and drafting skills for residential additions and renovations,, no one ever asked me to design their art studio. Pity. They missed out. I have managed to take a small unfinished space and turn it into an efficient spot using easily obtainable furnishings. My studio doesn't come close to the aesthetics of De Kooning's with it's floor to 16 foot high ceiling windows and real walls with a lovely natural maple wood floor, but I also do not have to spread newspapers all over the floor to keep it clean as he did. ( here's a photograph of his studio that both impressive and confusing). I guessed he got swept away by the architect's .aesthetics and lost sight of the functionality of the space.

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