Tall Taller Tallest ©Paige Mortensen Watercolour Batik 12×36″

The show preparations have begun!  I have finished lots of pieces and yet that is only the beginning. They need to be mounted onto canvas or framed before they are ready for the show.  As you probably know I work on Ginwashi paper which is an oriental paper – thin like tissue paper yet sturdy with small threads in it. You can watch a time-lapse video of my batik-like process on my website – http://paigemortensen.ca/demonstrations/

Mounting these on canvas is a multi-step process. First I need to paint the edges of the canvas to give them a crisp finished look. Then I cover the canvas with a layer of acrylic medium and attach the piece using a brayer to smooth it down and ensure that it is well attached. I chose to mount this bird with the torn edges showing.

Often though I wrap it around the edge of the canvas, and sometimes the darker colours run into the medium. So…the edges need to be painted again.

This collection of pieces are mounted and ready for the next step in the process which is to spray them with an archival UV protective varnish that seals the entire piece and ensures that the colours are permanent. After that there will be hangers and information labels to attach and paperwork to prepare.

These are just some of the pieces I will have in the show and there are 10 other artists working on their own. Together, the works will make a great show. We hope you can make it!