Mixed Media Painting - I Won't Give order Up

This little mixed media piece is part of my Enduring Hearts series. Hearts endure, they heal, they are resilient and infinite.

These oil and mixed media paintings are on scrap-ends of boards I salvaged from a neighbor's fence-building project back in Seattle. The hearts were built-up with paperclay and I've used vintage and antique hardware from my granddad's basement for the details.

The heart grows, it breaks, it is order patched back together by whatever means we can manage, and it heals. And it lives to love another day. A little galvanized metal badge dangles over this mended heart from ball-chain that reads "I'M OK NOW" on one side and "IT'S ALL GOOD" on the other. Words from a vintage book page on the side of the piece read "I won't give up"

The painting is sealed with picture varnish in a mix of matte and high-gloss finishes. I tried to photograph some of these angles to show the contrast in finish and texture. It hangs from standard sturdy hidden hardware on the back, and small pieces of salvaged felt protect your walls from the rough wood and help it hang straight. The board is about 5/8" thick, but with clay and hardware it's about 1.25" deep.