Xuan Paper Delight

The title of this blog sounds like one of those dishes you can order from your local Chop Suey joint....... Yuk !

Anyways, in preparing for the Portland Open Studios event, I am trying to "merchandise" my goods by providing alternative ways of "packaging" . Here again, I am trying to exploit the translucent property of the Xuan paper.

I have done these small 5x7 paintings and instead of the traditional mounting on Xuan backing, I just slip them inside a 5x7 glass block or acrylic block. This way the painting can be viewed from front and back. This is especially interesting when the frame is placed against a window, and it offers a different flavor when viewed in direct light or in transmitted light.

The top 2 pictures are frames placed in front of a shop neon, hence light is transmitted through the Xuan paper. The bottom frame is the same painting

viewed through normal, direct lighting.

Camera work here does not do justice for discerning the different effects. I think the photo voltaic activity tends to average out the curve too much...... but you can still see the difference a little bit.