Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Old Iron

Diane Mannion, Old Iron, 4x6" oil

David and Carol Marine lost their home in the Texas fires.  David created the Daily Paintworks site, and Carol is a fabulous artist.  Artist friends are rallying around them and have set up a fund for their needs.  Please follow the link below to help out.  Thanks.

      My daily painting, Old Iron, is an antique my husband and I found in Maine over ten years ago.  We had just given most of our antiques to our daughters and moved to Florida.  But the colors on this iron attracted us like a bug to a windshield.  At first we said, NO!  But weakened and lugged the heavy thing home.  It has since performed remarkably well as a doorstop.  And recently as a still life object to torture my students with (I make them sit in a circle and play spin the iron... and have them draw it from every angle). 
      The odd little tank near the handle once contained and explosive liquid used to heat it with.  And some poor soul's fingers wore spots of paint off the handle.  Have never used it to iron, in fact there's no need to iron in Florida... just step outside and the humidity drops the wrinkles.  Wish it worked for skin.

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