“Green” Art

I have learned to LOVE junk mail, yep, that’s right….the old fashioned snail mail junk mail!  I take out my gesso, slop it on the front and pack of postcards and all sorts of stiffer junk, and then proceed to paint. (I also found a fab old 1970s dictionary at GoodWill which I love to pull pages from and paint. Even did some fun monotype printing on top of it.]  Before I turned to junk mail, I had experimented on grocery bags, really love kraft paper, that brown yummy stuff.  And then I graduated to cardboard, and cereal boxes.  Now my front door often has “gifts” from kind neighbors who know I’m the eccentric artist in #17, who loves to paint on recycled supports.

Of late I have fallen in love with cardboard as my painting support.  I’ve become quite the connossieur of cardboard…if you wish to try it yourself, i suggest finding some appliance cardboard as it’s far superior in strength, and “clean”ness – that is, it is not fuzzy and pulpy.  And for smaller works, wine boxes are quite sturdy and clean. Enjoy!

PROCESS for preparing cardboard to be painted on:
After an inspiring consultation with a technical expert at Golden Paint Company, I now prepare my heavy-duty cardboard (scored at a local furniture company) as follows:

  • I cut to my sizes.
  • Seal with gel medium, front, back and sides
  • Coat with gesso, and add any texture at this time as well.
  • Start painting!
  • I have been assured that the prep I put into my favored cardboard will last a very very long time.

I also have removed cobalts and cadmiums from my palette, and check thoroughly that all my pigments are rated non-toxic before purchasing.  May my art journey be gentle and healing to our beloved Earth home.

NOTE: When you hover over an image, you will see two icons. Click on the magnifying glass to open large images which will advance thru all images on this page – arrows appear at right and left center for previous/next functionality. Or choose the square with arrow icon to view that specific image for more details, including purchasing information. Thank you for visiting!

Many of these images are now available as Notecards, gotta see!