LOOK!

Tab.  It’s just one calorie.  Such is the title of my latest project – a mixed medium exercise that involved image transfer technique, a little painting, some colored pencil and “self-leveling gel”  Yep that’s right “gel” and it’s not hair product. 

It all started a few weeks ago with a trip to a non-profit thrift store in Gresham called “Chase Me Again” www.chasemeagain.com.   My wife Kevan loves the hunt for hidden treasures, and I like tagging along… occasionally.   While she was perusing the racks panning for discarded gold – I found an old “LOOK” magazine from 1967 that had a full page Tab advertisement, and a light went off in my head.   We just completed our three year master bath home improvement project and needed something unique to finish the room.  So I popped for the two bucks and brought the magazine home. 

  

I used this project as an opportunity to experiment with different textures, products and techniques.  The surface is gesso board.  I painted over the "transferred" bottle image to add sharper definition. I then “transferred” other ads from the magazine around the perimeter then applied a colored satin finish glaze to drop them back.  I used the “self-leveling gel” over the bottle image to give it a glossy 3-D appearance.   I then used rubber cement to apply the finished board to a black framed glass covered print purchased at Goodwill for $8.  It’s actually glued to the top of the glass to give the whole piece more depth.  

Honestly, just combing through “LOOK” was worth the time and effort.  The ad budget for magazines during the “Mad Men” era was astounding.  Graphic design, illustration and the art of printing were at a peak.  Don’t let big steel cars, cigarettes, or newly developed processed food distract you from appreciating the medium used to sell this stuff.   Simple and direct – the use of white space – all of it a visual feast.  In a very small and subtle way our master bathroom now reflects the values pitched from generation to generation.  Pleasure, practicality and convenience are all underscored in our new magical room.  I think “Tab” reinforces this.  After all it’s just one calorie.