Flea Market Finds - Reclaimed Canvas Painting

2015 Image copyright Studio 71

 After the Rain, oil painting on 24X36 reclaimed canvas.


I discovered this canvas at a thrift store. The original painting depicted a giant vase of gaudy flowers on a mauve background. It was one of those kitschy, mass-produced things that seem to be popular at home stores - technically sound but devoid of any real self-expression. It made me cringe just to look at it. Four dollars later, I put the canvas in my van and took it home. Little did it realize the fate that awaited it...


It took more work than I expected to sand down the serious depth of texture the previous painter had left behind, and it took two coats of gesso to completely cover that terrible color scheme. Also, the sanding made the canvas extremely smooth and slick, but in the end, it was worth it. A brand new canvas in this size would have cost me sixty dollars (US) at an art supply house. This one cost me four dollars and a little time, and now resides happily on what used to be my blank living room wall.

The painting shows one of the many views of Cades Cove, Tennessee. A spring storm has just passed over Sparks Lane, leaving behind a necklace of clouds along Rich Mountain. In the field below, daffodils wave in the sweet smelling breeze framed by white dogwoods.

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