Custom Ship Painting by Kolene Spicher

The Rebecca 

Today, I am presenting a ship portrait that I am calling, The Rebecca.  This was painted for a valentine's gift and it is a surprise from a guy who calls himself KEV.  That is on the ship, too! 

I painted this on canvas that I crackled using my secret technique, LOL.  

In this shot you can kind of see how the water comes together and the sails.  As time progresses, I paint more and more lines. 

I thought that this was the frame and at first I was going in a different direction with this.  Instead of it being my custom piece, I had decided to call it something different.  At the moment, I am a little infatuated with George Washington.  That flag is the Washington State flag, alas that was painted out! 

I added more and more lines and flags to the sails.  Boy this baby would fly in real life!  

Do you see his initials under the American Flag!?? 

More and more flags and lines.  My lines never make sense, either.  This boat may literally fly.  

The scalloped sea shell frame is really pretty.  It is the perfect size for this and is what I decided to use in the end.  

I decided that while this is pretty, it is too crunched from top to bottom. 

This one is too smashed from side to side. 

This one, uhhhhh, just right.  Don't you agree? 

Thanks for looking and happy Valentines Day! 

Enjoy. 

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Plans for a large scaled vintage photo frame - nautical flags, possibly.

Ugly inexpensive large scaled vintage photograph print and frame made NEW! 

The Renovation steps 

 

Say goodbye to this picture! 

Yesterday, I was wondering around an antique shop and found this picture.  I am not going to lie, it was cheap, really cheap.  But hold on, sometimes cheap isn't bad.  I like cheap things because I can afford to experiment with paint and finishes without the pressure of messing up and wasting money.   

I was thinking that this would be good for displaying some nautical flags.  I love flags.  This picture was made well, it's just not attractive any longer.  Unfortunately, it cannot be disassembled.  Whoever made the frame, made it to stay together permanently, print and all.  

I had no option but to paint directly on the print with a gesso type paint.  Here is what I did. 

I painted the frame black.  I will show closeups of this in a later post.  

I had to tape it off to keep the edges clean and looking fresh and professional.  Although, I don't know how 'professional' it was to even have chosen this poor pathetic piece, ha.  

The frame was obviously made by a craftsperson with some skill.  The
corners are perfect in the front and the back. 

This frame steps in about 1 1/4" so it would be perfect for mounting something ON TOP.  This might be what I choose to do. 

I found this driftwood walking along the Chesapeake Bay.  I have a bunch of it! 

I thought these would be really fun with some kind of whale, ship, or
sailboat painted on them.  

My idea is to try to find square pieces and paint nautical flags on them and carefully mount them to my project frame.  

Check back later for updates.  This is going to be a slow project that I work on in between my actual "WORK." 

Enjoy the day! Happy Fourth of July! 

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