Oil Paintings

I don't know what I was thinking the day I had to go to the dreaded Scrapbooking Store last week to purchase ceiling paper for the Entrance Hall ceiling of Merriman Park!  In my defense, I think my blood-sugar level was dangerously low that fateful morning, and I was clearly not in my right mind, else why on Earth would I agree to sign up for their e-mail specials?

But sign up I did, because now my in-box is absolutely inundated  with sale advertisements from the aforementioned establishment!  But since today they were running a 50%-off special on color photocopying, (and since I work at the self-same Mall as the Scrapbooking Store), I reluctantly returned there this afternoon to make duplicates of all the Entrance Hall 'works of art.' 

'Why make another harrowing trip to the Scrapbooking Store for copies of my artwork?' you might well ask.  And the answer is, gentle Reader, because I decided to take Ray's sage advice and paint over the images with Mod-Podge, in order to make everything look a little more like objet d'art and a little less like postcards from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Gift Shop. 

I also meant to try Irene's method:  she prefers to print her images onto a linen-finished stock.  But the overly-pleasant, salesladies at the Scrapbooking Store  informed me that while they did have for sale a virtual array of linen-finished papers, their color photocopier could not possibly print on anything so exotic as that.  Apparently, color photocopiers in Scotland have it all over our  primitive, Yankee models! 

When I informed the chirpy salesladies that I guess I would just have to try a professional printers, they looked positively crestfallen! There was so much hand-fluttering at pearl chokers and nervous clearing of throats that I just didn't have the heart to walk out empty-handed...

So I purchased two copies of my Titian's (and assorted other artworks) and spent the early part of this evening dab, dab, dabbing them with the teensiest, tiniest of brushes.  In a moment of personal inspiration, I added a copious spritz of spray-shellac on top of everything.  The Final Effect:  Well, as the girls on RuPaul's Drag Race say, I am positively gagging on their eleganza!  Wish you could savor the difference but I'm afraid the subtleties are completely lost in the  photos!

Sorry, Irene!  I'll have to try your method again another day!

Confidential to Barb in Minnesota:  Never put off tomorrow what you can put off today, right?