Blue Floral

INSPIRATION:

This "Blue Floral" Oil Painting also is made up of reuse materials though you might not have guessed it! To me that is the best of recycling when it's not apparent that it's made of recycled materials and then there's the surprise when it's told. I found brand new thick corrugated cardboard used between brand new plastic-wrapped office furniture and I grabbed it because I immediately saw possibilities. Sure saving the landfill is a big issue, but I had an impetus for this method before the landfill became an issue to the general public, so that is kind of like the icing on the cake for me.

But I have been recycling from way back as my grandmother and mother, alive during the Great Depression also did. Raised in scarcity as well initially reuse became a practical thing because their was a dearth of materials so there was endless innovation as a practice when I grew up. We never termed it Upcycling, Reuse, Recycling, Reclaiming or Reconditioning back then, but there is something fascinating to me about using materials others might discard, being able to envision things differently and it brings out more creativity than working with new materials only designed for one specific purpose.

So I find recycling to be practical and fun! I enjoy that thinking in this way requires innovation and adaptation toward an intended purpose. There are of course artists who work exclusively in reuse and repurposing, but for me I use it as potential materials make their appearance; I find I naturally think in those terms, on the lookout for materials others don't want in which I see possibility. It really enables me to create things that are unique that have an individualized character. I hope you find this so too!

DESCRIPTION/MATERIALS USED

So I gathered scraps of brand new primed canvas that would've otherwise destroyed from a canvas printer. A lot of waste is created as they cut out from large rolls of canvas to fit custom work. Somehow I found out that the rest of the canvas primed and ready to go gets tossed; I couldn't believe it, so I asked if I could have them. I gathered a bunch of it for a couple years while this particular manufacturer was within an hour's drive of me. I stretched that cut-away otherwise wasted canvas onto this amazingly lightweight completely covered corrugated cardboard for this piece which I found perfectly simulates a gallery wrapped canvas, but this, unlike gallery-wrapped is wrapped on all sides. So this  is one macro-floral excerpt I found inspiring which I used to make this oil painting.

It measures 33.5" x 11" - 85.09cm x 27.94cm and is ready to hang. A perfect addition to your decor or hiding under a Christmas tree as that special gift you've been looking for!