{"id":2252,"date":"2016-11-22T13:54:29","date_gmt":"2016-11-22T13:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/graphicdisplayusa.com\/blog\/?p=2252"},"modified":"2022-02-17T17:08:54","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T17:08:54","slug":"conservation-artist-creates-glaze-paintings-on-gatorfoam-graphic-display-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/conservation-artist-creates-glaze-paintings-on-gatorfoam-graphic-display-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservation Artist Creates Glaze Paintings On Gatorfoam Graphic Display Board"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wind<\/p>\n

Big Island conservation artist Calley O\u2019Neill<\/a>, of Waimea, Hawaii, began creating her glaze paintings on Gatorfoam\u00ae graphic display board by 3A Composites USA soon after she moved to the Hawaiian Islands from the mainland\u2019s East Coast in 1980.<\/p>\n

\"Three
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O\u2019Neill, who earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from Pratt Institute in New York, has focused her artwork \u2013 including painted murals; stained-glass paintings, windows and mosaic murals; and fine art easel paintings \u2013 on ecological and indigenous themes. While well versed in all these art forms, the multi-media artist \u2013 who holds a master\u2019s degree in social ecology and public art from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vt. \u2013 has shown a preference for creating large-scale murals on solid surfaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am primarily a mural artist,\u201d said O\u2019Neill. \u201cI don\u2019t know how artists work with bouncy canvas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"InstarAdded to the springy characteristic of canvas are the humid conditions inherent to living and working in \u201cthe semi-tropics,\u201d according to O\u2019Neill, who said mold and mildew growth often can be a problem in absorbent art materials.<\/p>\n

To address the drawbacks of painting on canvas, O\u2019Neill decided to create her own rigid painting surface with 1-inch-thick rigid foam adhered between two thin pieces of plywood. She then coated the plywood painting surface with 10 coats of primer \u2013 fine sanding between coats \u2013 before creating her glaze paintings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did a series of these paintings, which were beautiful and lightweight,\u201d said O\u2019Neill, who had never encountered Gatorfoam until she took these paintings to be framed.<\/p>\n

\"Angel<\/p>\n

\u201cMy framer said: \u2018What are you trying to do \u2013 reinvent Gatorfoam?!!\u2019\u201d said O\u2019Neill. \u201cThat was it! I\u2019ve been painting on Gatorfoam now for more than 25 years and have learned different ways to work with and protect the Gatorfoam edges. I have used Weldbond glue covered with sand, koa wood strips, and sanded and painted spackle as well as more traditional framing methods that include coconut fiber cloth. In some instances, I have put a half molding on the Gatorfoam that extends beyond the half-round molding, looking like a gorgeous large frame. In those paintings, I\u2019ve sanded and spackled the edges and then painted the \u2018frame area.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince Gatorfoam features a plastic core, it doesn\u2019t encourage mold to form,\u201d said O\u2019Neill. \u201cIt\u2019s also lightweight and offers a fabulous, smooth surface for painting. \u2026 There\u2019s no mold, no mildew and no heavy shipping costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mahina,O\u2019Neill most often chooses 1\/2-inch Gatorfoam with white facers\/white foam in the 48-inch by 96-inch sheet size \u2013 supplied by 3A Composites\u2019 distributor One Shot & Grafic Art Supplies<\/a> in Honolulu \u2013 for her fine art paintings.<\/p>\n

She preps the Gatorfoam wood-veneer surface with 400 grit sandpaper before laying down dozens of luminous painted layers with fine Politec acrylic paints.<\/p>\n

\u201cPainting on Gatorfoam is like painting on marble; it\u2019s effortless,\u201d said O\u2019Neill. \u201cGatorfoam is able to handle all of the painted layers; the surface has enough tooth (to accept paint) after just a few minutes of prepping with sandpaper. \u2026 Gatorfoam offers the most magnificent painting surface I could ever want. Its light weight allows me to create 4-by-6-foot and 4-by-8-foot paintings that are almost weightless and easy to ship. I have yet to do a full mural with them but look forward to that opportunity, which will allow me to work in my studio and install the mural on-site.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill describes the artistic genre of her fine art paintings as \u201csymbolic or magical realism.\u201d And, while the characters and imagery portrayed in her paintings are wide-ranging \u2013 including ancient Hawaiian mythology, endangered wildlife, African sister ancestry and drought-plagued lands \u2013 all are focused on preserving planet Earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want my paintings to be gorgeous but meaningful,\u201d said O\u2019Neill. \u201cWe need to take care of the Earth to have a healthy future.\u201d
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