Stretcher

The other day I build my first stretcher for a painting I am doing for Ryan Whitaker. Ryan is a long time friend who I meet in our middle school Art room and like a lot of people he too thought I was an asshole the first time we meet. The painting will be called "The Pool Room" because it will be hanging in his pool (billiards) room and it is of a pool game in a pool room.

Anyway I built my first stretcher and stretched a canvas on it. It was a very interesting process. Being my first time... I was very nervous because the canvas was looking all wrinkly and wavy. But as I worked through it, preserved through it I figured out how to work everything together. One hand stretching the canvas the other one stapling the canvas. Doing it with a nice rhythm. I realized that it is the corners that pull it all together. The corners will determine the beauty of the canvas stretched.



I was extremely impressed, very proud and happy with the way it came out. And I realized the work that goes into a stretched canvas. It makes me want to be more of a perfectionist with my art. It drove me back to the basic of "creating a great piece of work" and encouraged the ancient attitude of patience within me. See to put all that work into the "foundation of foundations" of my painting, the canvas... it makes me not want to mess the whole piece of Art up. I simply put to much time, energy and literately sweat into the canvas preparation for me to become haphazard with the rest of the process. So I am excited to see that finished piece, but more excited to experience the process of not only creating and finishing this painting... but I look forward to "carrying" this painting through all it's stages of development.