KJ Bateman

After dropping my son off at the airport for a year in Guam, I was feeling a bit melancholy so decided to visit the piano once more. Since it was the next to last day of the exhibit why not visit all the pianos? Why not, indeed. Armed with the city map, I tracked them all down. I thought my piano had fared well until I looked at the sides. Harlequin' pig nose ripped off Before And poor Columbine's cat mask was completely gone. Comments? Yes. Don't tape signs onto artwork. Before This was no where near as bad as the damage done to Yasuyo Dunnett's lovely piano. It was destroyed by somebody behaving very badly. Good Day, Sunshine   Yasuyo Dunnett rendered completely unplayable The other pianos were in better shape. Slug Fest     Karien Balluff                                    Wonderland ...

Someday, I will blog along in real time as I am doing a project. I had hoped to do so with the piano but after crawling around painting in odd corners I just collapsed on the couch and watched home renovations shows. If you want to see the evolution of the project from start to finish with details go here . At the Richmond Beach Library  19601 21st Ave. NW until September 15, 2015

My first design planned for figures on the sides but the trick with these kinds of commissions is to balance the design with how long it takes to execute. The end result? Harlequin pattern on the sides and top. Looking down on the top with part of the figures visible. It took two hours to paint all those little triangles. Heads of The Doctor and Pulcinella drawn with Stabilo Aquarellable pencil. It has a soft lead so doesn't leave an indentation and is water-soluble, so melts into the paint.

I decided to see if the medallions would pry off the front panel. I used a palette knife and hammered it gently in all round the edge. It went in easily but stuck in the middle. When I lifted up the front panel, lo and behold, screws! Five screws were holding it on. Several turned freely in their holes. Don't know why they didn't fall out. Medallions gone. See the five screw holes? I roughed up the ovals with a wet sanding sponge and loaded up the primer. The legs left unprimed. Not sure if I'll leave them as is or paint over them. Because I still don't have the final design worked out. Another Piano Time artist, Yoyo. Jennifer working mosaic magic on her piano. Jennifer and I painted pianos in 2012.

Remember the piano languishing unadorned? The artist assigned it was unable to paint it. Enter Julie Nagel , shown here painting a sunflower. This is one brave artist. Go, Julie, Go! Everyone else has finished and the piano movers deliver the pianos to their destinations tomorrow. Some of us will have final touches. I have a few little things I am still working on and I will apply a clear coat on site.  Yes, it's the  old VOC and ventilation thing. I hope it doesn't rain. Keep your fingers crossed.

I applied the first coat of primer on Sunday. Since I was exposed to so many chemicals as a student, I didn't want to sand the piano and was able to find a zero VOC primer that claims it will cover glossy surfaces without sanding.  It seemed to go on well but there was some bleed through of the piano stain.  I put on another coat yesterday and it bled right through. Last night I obsessed about whether the paint was going to adhere. I spent today talking to the other artists and a  painting contractor (thanks, Stu) who happened by. I feel fairly confident now that while the surface may not last forever it won't slough off onto the floor. Let me introduce you to the other artists. Heather Carr  is making her mad painter face as she pretends to slap the primer on. In fact, Stu was so concerned he came in to show her a more efficient painting technique.  And this is her mom, Diane. I wish I had a minion, er, helper. Happy Anniversary, D...