Tag Archives: Art

Bringing New Life Into Old Frames

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Hepcats Haven

Love the frame hate the art!

Mel and I saw these frames at the Antique Trove in Roseville and I thought I might be able to do something with them. I took them home and they sat around for a while. I figured since I have just got into water coloring this would be a great next project.

I wasn’t sure that the flat house paint and the watercolor paint would work together but it worked great!

The first thing I did was sand down that tacky palm image so the surface was smooth. Once sanded I used an antique white flat house paint to cover the old image and give me a new canvas.

As before the first thing to do is sketch it out and then mix your colors. This particular painting is from a set of Carlos I saw that I just joined together to make one painting,

This one took about a day to paint. We are happy with the results.

Here is how it turned out. Here you can see the two Carlos I joined into one piece. (Carlo 1 & Carlo 2).

This next one was more of an original idea.

These will look soo great in our Tiki Room!

I love that these frames were able to be used with new art. I think it is always important to realize that re-purposing items can make them new again!

It has been fun getting back into my artistic form again. I hadn’t been actively drawing for some time now. I think If I were alive during the time Carlo was producing watercolors I would have tried to get on as one of the student artists.

Also, Here is another one I recently knocked out for our Tiki Room. I guess I am on some kind of jungle cat kick!

A Carlo style cat fight scene.

I think I will take a break from painting and pick up my gloves again and start restoring some furniture.

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Posted in Restorations and tagged Antique, Art, Carlo of Hollywood, Cool, retro, vintage, Water Color, Watercolor. Bookmark the permalink.

Rare Lighted Carlo of Hollywood Frames

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Hepcats Haven

As you can see these frames need some attention.

Hello all you Hepcats!

We are pleased to announce that we have acquired our first set of rare lighted Carlo frames. Since we have collected Carlo I think I have only seen three of these style frames. We stumbled across them while surfing the internet at Metro Modern. We reached out to them to see if they still had them, after a discussion we agreed on price and they sent them out. These frames were not in the best of shape and required the usual restoration and the lights needed to be replaced to prevent any damage to the art work. I have noticed that these lighted frames usually burn the art work because of the heat that the original lights generate. I replaced them with an under the counter light used in kitchens that did not generate heat from Lowes. Here is how they turned out:

I wired the lights in tandem that way I only have to use one cord to turn both on. I plan to install a switch later.

When these arrived they did not have glass in the frames. I am not sure but maybe the lighted frame Carlo’s didn’t come with glass. I shot of to Wholesale Art and Framing again to have Tim and staff help me get some glass cut.

As you can see the frames look cleaner. A good rule of thumb is that if you restore something and it is hard to tell a difference then you did it right.

Now for the moment we have all been waiting for, lets turn the lights on!

These look great a night. I am happy with the finished product.

It looks great with our other Carlo’s!

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Posted in Carlo of Hollywood, Restorations and tagged 1940's, 1950's, Airbrush, Art, Atomic, Business, Carlo of Hollywood, Classic, Consumer Goods and Services, Cool, Gill, Glass, Home and Garden, Lowes, mid century, Pencil, retro, Shopping, vintage, Visual Arts, Watercolor. Bookmark the permalink.

Turner Airbrush Art

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Hepcats Haven

One of many we hope!

We have been admiring Turner art pieces for some time. We have come close to purchasing a few pieces, but this weekend seemed right so we made the plunge. Mel and I picked up a nice mirrored piece of pinkish parrots at the second Sunday antique fair in Sacramento. I have spent a couple of hours now researching Turner and the artist seems to be an enigma just like Carlo of Hollywood. I don’t know what it is about artists of that era but it is soo darn hard to find anything out about them. The image below is what I found online on the back of a Turner piece (I recreated the tag because the original was in sad shape).

Here is what I can tell so far: First, Turner was not a specific artist but a company named Turner Manufacturing Company out of Chicago IL.. Turner Mfg. hired artists to paint its artwork using its unique style of airbrush and watercolor. Turner also sold mirrors, mirrored frames, art, etc. inexpensively. I have also read that Turner Mfg. sold furniture and they would give this artwork to purchasers of their furniture as a sort of thank you. This is just what I was able to find by researching but I am not sure if it is all true and correct, none the less I know how the art makes me feel. Every time I see a piece by Turner it seems to calm me. The soft lines and edges are just relaxing to look at. I really like Turner’s landscape scenes but they are very hard to come by.

Look at the rolling hills and the soft colors.

Maybe somewhere in the Everglades?

Of course, Turner Mfg. is most known for its tropical birds like Flamingos, Parrots and Cranes. Here are a few to sample:

Appears we have a dispute or maybe they are courting, who knows but it is a cool image.

such a classic image.

Similar to the Flamingos. This would look great in a Tiki room.

Turner Mfg. produced many images such as flowers, birds, southern bells, jungle cats and scenic images. It is clear to me that Turner’s art is a true collectors piece that would make any retro decor more complete. It is amazing to me that skill like this has no history and no one to take credit for the very skilful use of this medium.

The black back ground makes the image stand out.

We hope to acquire the Flamingos piece next. It is always nice to diversify your collection and not stick to just one thing. Mel and I enjoy collecting many things and the great thing is that it makes each trip to the antique store/fair a scavenger hunt. As we add to our collection we will try to add to the info known about Turner Mfg. and try to help shed light on these fantastic pieces of art.

Source:

http://www.antique-marks.com/turner-watercolor-painting-cockatiels.html