Barrelhead Paintings
Being a full time professional artist for many years, I am always looking for new or interesting surfaces to paint and draw on. The barrel heads from used wine barrels came to my attention one day when I was helping my husband, winemaker John Hawley, in our small winery.
Our world is a circular one, visualized from our round eyes. Round shapes are a part of nature from the tiniest nucleus to the complicated biological cycles. Yet we always look at and through rectangles and squares. Television screens, computer screens, even car windows frame what we see. Painting on the round barrel heads has been a refreshing change for me. I think about the artists before me who painted mandalas and domed church ceilings.
The top and bottom of each dismantled oak barrel can be used as my painting "canvas". After some experimenting, I found these barrel heads needed some preparation. I take the staves apart and pull out the thin reeds that are in between the staves. These staves swell when wet to make the barrel water tight. Next, I glue the staves back together, then sand and gesso my painting surface.
Landscapes on Barrelheads
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