There's a chance the "Gazing out the window" painting might get accepted into an exhibition. I can't put off mounting the painting any longer.
I'll be using the traditional wet mounting method.
The painting was done on the very fibrous "leather" Xuan, which as the name implies, is rather thick. I choose it because of its texture and its resistance to rubbing. I had anticipated a fair amount of repeated brushing and washing to get my dark tones but I lucked out. It turned out to be rather straight forward, which was a pleasant surprise. The heavier stock Xuan presents its own unique challenge for wet mounting. It takes a while longer for the water to completely seep through and for the starch to spread evenly.
The best indication is to look at the back of the painting and see if the image from the painted side comes through totally or not.
When the water finally soaks through, the painting would appear to be painted on the back side, due to the color saturation. All the fibers on the back become quite visible (against the black background in tis case) since they never made any contact with the brush during the painting process. The paper is too thick to allow total saturation of the fibers to begin with, thus only the ones on the top side of the painting get the ink, blending in with the background.
Starch is now applied.
A piece of blank Xuan paper is now placed onto the face-down, starched panting. The set of these two pieces of Xuan is now ready to be hung on a flat surface to dry. The drying process takes out all the creases and flattens the painting, just as starched fabric.
The heavier stock fibrous "leather" Xuan can be quite stubborn and be a little uncooperative at this juncture. This heavier, wet sheet has a stronger affinity for the piece of plexiglass where it sits on, than the flimsier, thinner backing Xuan that is on top. Thus when one lifts the backing sheet off the plexiglass, the painting stays sucked to the plexiglass, instead of bonding with the backing, to be lifted as one piece.
I have concocted a tool using a branch from my pear tree.
I whittle one end of the branch into a thin spatula. The spatula is sanded smooth and sealed with a polymer finish to better withstand moisture. The is used to gently lift the corner of the wet, starched painting off the plexiglass so that it can bond with the backing Xuan and be lifted as a single, bonded piece.
Now I can hang the starched painting with its backing on a flat surface to dry.
My newly mounted "Gazing out the window" painting. Doesn't it look fresh off the press?
I have made no attempts to hide the brushstrokes in achieving the eventual dark values. One can easily see the different tonal streaks. I do this with the intention of exploiting the dark and dilapidated look to contrast with the bright outside. Adding more drama.
The painting is now ready. All it needs is a frame. And an invitation to exhibit.
