Finally A Post About MY HOUSE

So this is going to be short and sweet, but it's mostly just a bit of an update post.

As most of you might know, I'm currently hella-broke, so I haven't been working on anything house related. I've been doing clock repair jobs and occasionally working at the upholstery shop (it's been very slow this year), so I'm just managing to pay bills.

If any of you would like to support me, or are looking for some nice inexpensive original art, framed and ready to enjoy, I have a selection of Rorschach paintings (not prints or copies) in my Etsy shop. Shop now and I can have them sent before Christmas! These are nice in a group, and I also have about 20 or 30 additional unframed paintings. Each is unique, and painted on archival black paper.
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/JCsArtPieces

I want to get into oil painting after having seen some amazing tutorials on painting still-life scenes. So far I have almost all my supplies ready, and I'm hoping to start that soon. If that goes well, it could be a way to make a bit more income.

As for the house-related bit of this post (hence the title) I've decided to tear-down the dinging room ceiling and the ceiling in the kitchen. I haven't started this yet, but the DECISION to do it has been made. After all the work on the Victorian Farmhouse (my friends' place - which is still under construction, but getting close to 90% done) I decided that I really REALLY want to expose and repair the original tongue-and-groove ceilings in the dining room and kitchen. They are currently covered-over with drywall.

The only part of this that sucks is that I will have to tear down all my nice crown moulding in the dining room, and hopefully be able to reinstall it. I COULD cheat and just cut the drywall flush with the crown and put another moulding to hide the drywall edge, but I want everything to match and be done properly, so no cheating.

I don't want to start ripping down the ceiling until after Christmas. There shouldn't be anything to buy for this demo/restoration other than maybe a bit of trim paint, so I might start that in early January.

Otherwise there's not too much new to report. I have about 6 or 7 more posts to do on the Victorian Farmhouse to catch-up (I just don't have the time), and I haven't really bought much of anything new for the house except a yellow throw pillow for the grey wing chair, and a few pieces of framed art (Victorian prints, lithographs, etc).

Summertime Update

So I'm realllllly falling behind on posts. Things have just been really busy lately. I'm sort of back to work, but off again this week.

I picked up a complete DISASTER longcase clock to repair for a client (which will bring in some much needed cash). The clock is so badly damaged that it's almost as bad as if it had fallen face forward on concrete. It's now all fixed and ready to go. I'll be posting about it on the clock blog later. Here's one of the before photos:



So what else has been eating-up my time...

The farmhouse is still coming along nicely but slowly (I'm about 4 or 5 posts behind on it).

There was Canada Day on the 1st, and that same weekend was my friends' annual family & friends BBQ. Good food with good company.

I finished-up working on the shop hutch, but I'm not ready to post about it until I can dig-up all the photos of the build from the past... 4-5 years? I need to take better "finished" photos, and I want to recap the entire project within one post. Here's a teaser of the hutch:



I found some awesome antique light fixtures as a gift for my Dad's birthday, which was last week. One part was missing so I spent some time running around and assembling a makeshift replacement. These are "chain" light fixtures from the 30s or 40s. One of the socket bases that holds the shade was missing (new ones are 75$). Both shades, the one base, and all the chains were only 6.99$! Check out eBay and see how expensive these sell for normally. This was one heck of a great deal!



Dad was thrilled with them, and I had time to hang one of them for him right away. The second one needed a special adapter plate, so I couldn't install it yet.





I started a painting last night. I've been planning to start it for several months.



The painting is a cropped section of the painting "Selene and Endymion" by Ubaldo Gandolfi ca. 1770. I assume that the cherub is meant to portray cupid. In the full sized painting, Endymion can be seen below Selene, lying asleep in a cave. In Greek mythology Selene is the goddess of the moon, who fell in love with the mortal shepherd Endymion. There are several paintings and depictions of her, but I came across this photo a few years ago and really loved it. I have no particular interest in Greek mythology or moon goddess worship, I just liked the picture and I have several antique frames that need paintings in them, haha.

The painting will be 16" x 20" and painted in acrylics.

As soon as I have more time, I'll be posting several more farmhouse posts. I may condense some, and eliminate a lot of boring photos. You don't need to see drywall patching, or more electrical.

I also have a Westminster clock to finish repairing for another client (since Nov-Dec), a Victrola top to repair and refinish for a US client (from over a year ago), a client who needs me to order new gut lines (and install them) for an antique longcase clock, a possible cable replacement on another more modern longcase (I haven't seen this clock or even met the client yet), and I need to revisit (check) my friend's parents' longcase which stopped a while back. That same friend's father has an antique (scrap 1850s) piano that he's donating to me for parts.

So if all that wasn't enough to keep me busy, I thought I'd also include the facts that I have a queue of about 46 hours worth of audio podcasts to listen to, 64 TV show episodes to watch on top of my daily YouTube videos, and there are also 4 or 5 movies I want to watch, and I obviously haven't found the time to watch any of them.

DIY Scrap Leather Magnolia Wreath

I've had this idea in my head for over a year now. I really love the look of fresh magnolia leaves in Christmas decorations. They just have a wonderful contrast of rust brown, and a fresh glossy green. I thought that this wreath idea would be a great way to use some of my large quantities of scrap leather (all off-cuts from upholstery projects given to me - literally a large black garbage bag full).



The wreath was quite easy to make, and there are a lot of ways you could customize the look. I chose to make all the leaves the same size (roughly) using a pattern. The leaves are made up of 3 pieces each. A leather front (shades of greens, browns, and a few flat black ones), a brown backing paper (cardstock), and a length of floral wire. They are glued together with contact cement, then trimmed into leaf shapes. I tried spray adhesive, but it wasn't strong enough of a glue bond.

I had a look at a number of real magnolia wreaths as inspiration. Here are two simple ones:





You can make the wreath with a lot more leaves, smaller leaves, or with a mix of different sizes. You can also keep them all the same colour, or use only green and brown. I've also seen wreaths with lots of different bows, with flowers (real or silk), and with a mix of other decorations (red berries for more of a Christmas look). Mine is pretty plain, so it can work as a Fall/Winter wreath as well.



The leather scraps that I used were in a pretty wide variety of shades, glosses, and textures.







I custom made the wreath frame (heavy wire, thin wire wrap on the joints, solder, and then black spray paint), but you can use a commercially available one, or even a foam one. The leaves are individually wrapped onto the frame, and then bent into gentle curves.

Etsy Shop / Artwork

I recently opened a small Etsy shop to sell some artwork. I've been trying to supplement my income, and art is something that is easy and pleasant for me to do in my spare time. I wanted to post about it here in case anyone here had any interest in some of the pieces. I tend to work in a wide variety of styles and materials, and I'm open to commissions or special requests. I have thought about doing some pet portraits for people, which could be a fun item to have in the shop. I especially like working from photos.

Here are just a few of the pieces that I currently have listed (mainly abstract pieces). I plan to have some typographic (calligraphy) style pieces listed in the future, as well as some watercolour & acrylic abstracts in nice simple frames.

All the pieces I have for sale are originals, and each is unique.

Two small framed abstract paintings:





A larger (unframed) abstract (1 of 2 similar pieces):



And here's an impressionist style landscape from a photo:



You can find the link to my Esty shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/JCsArtPieces?ref=hdr_shop_menu

In addition, here are a few other pieces done in the past few years:

Moon Moth from photo (watercolour):



Butterfly from photo (watercolour):



Illuminated letter "L":

An Incredible Find!

I just got back from a quick trip around town (by bus) to go fetch this wonderful antique frame:



I was amazed to see how wonderfully preserved the frame was. It has the original finish, with strong corners, original wavy glass, and most surprising: no breaks or losses to the ornate and very delicate gesso decorations. I have come across a fair number of these frames over the years, and I would say that 80% of them are damaged in some way.

The frame is a generous size, at 16 x 20, which is a standard (older) picture frame size, and the decorative mouldings are 4 1/2" around that, making the entire frame around 25" x 29".

Best of all: 20$

Here's a detail shot that shows the 4 different combinations of profiles used. As is often the case, the interior moulding in the centre of the frame is made of a separate moulding, which is simply (and crudely) nailed to the larger one.



I hadn't noticed that there was actually a glass with the frame (from the ad) so I might look for a wonderful antique print for this. I was originally going to use it for an oil painting (and I still could).

Winter Blahs!

Hey guys, it's already February, and not much has been going on with the house over the past few months. It's too cold to work in the garage, and the rooms that need painting aren't ready to paint yet (the paint is already bought).

The only update I've done is that I put up 3 paintings yesterday (after months of procrastination as to exactly where I wanted them).

The two with beige and greens went in the living room:







And this lovely one (my favourite) with the deep gold frame, and shades of blue, greens, and orange went in the master bedroom:



I actually JUST took down the tree in the living room yesterday. I had been waiting around to buy one of those big tree-storage bags, and I didn't do it yet. I need to mail-order it, and I was waiting until I needed something else, so I could save on shipping. I ended up stuffing half the tree into the box, and bagging the larger section in a big garbage bag.

Plans for Upcoming Renovations:

These are a list of small and large projects that need to be done soon:

- Redo the garage roof (long overdue)
- Redo the front door (strip & refinish antique door, build a frame, install the lock(s) and install bronze weatherstripping)
- Refinish hardwood floors
- "L" Room ceiling & closet, then paint walls & ceiling (so that room would be done!)
- Porch stairs & bottom lattice
- Main staircase (rebuild)

Otherwise, there's been a bunch of updates on the upholstery blog, including a whole new layout design to match our company's newly redesigned website. You can check those out here:
http://lefebvresupholstery.com/site/
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/

We've been working on some pretty nice antiques lately, including a gorgeous old sofa that is nearly done.

Antique Auction Finds

As I just mentioned in my last post, I spent almost all day at an antiques auction. This was one of the few local auctions we've had, and it was held just a few blocks away at the Trinity Church Hall (the nicest Gothic church in town).

The auction was by Theresa E. Taylor, and she's pretty much the only local auctioneer I know of. She does tag sales (a few that I've been to), and auctions, and she's actually very good at it, and isn't too hard to understand (which is good). If you've ever been to an auction, you might have an idea of what I mean by this. Some auctioneers go through items really quickly, and it's sometimes difficult to know what the bidding is at, or who's bidding (or who's turn it is, etc).

The preview started at 8:30am, with the auction starting at 10am. I got there around 9:00 and browsed around. I wasn't sure if we could take any photos, so at first I didn't, but then I noticed a whole bunch of people snapping cell-phone pictures, and I thought "Fuck it".

Unlike a lot of the auctions I've been to, the vast majority of this auction was what I'd consider to be "good stuff". Nice china, porcelain, watches, jewellery, fine furniture, art, primitives, old toys, etc.

Here's a quick sampling of some of the pieces that I found to be quite eye-catching and unusual.

This chair. Man oh man. If I would have had a car to take stuff home easily, or if I had know earlier whether or not someone could give me a ride, this is one of the pieces I would probably have bid on. It needed one of the carved pieces reglued, but it was a gorgeous mahogany chair, with a curly birch veneered back rest. I think it sold for only 40-60$.



They described this one as a "Carved Sisters" chair, and she seemed to think that it could date to the 1700s, but I highly doubt it. It looks purely Victorian to me, and I'd date it to around 1880-90. It's definitely extremely unusual. It needed a complete overhaul though, and as such, it only sold for 60$.



I wasn't a fan of the really pain bump in the centre. It seemed too plain for the detailed carvings on each side.



Two beautiful fan-back chairs similar to the one we redid at the shop a few weeks ago (see here: http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2013/09/fan-back-chair-blue-white-stripe.html). These, however, had carved French/Italian type front legs. They sold for the insanely cheap price of 20$ and 25$.



Next is one of the most unusual, beautiful, and detailed "square Victorian tables" I've seen. This type of table is fairly common, and they usually feature fancy pressed wood skirts, and spiral carved legs, but this one has very complicated decorations. The bottom has eagle/claw feet, followed by some type of griffon or wolf figures with open mouths pointing upwards. The rest is a mix of fluted/reeded turnings, and barley twists (all involving some hand carving), and a beautiful centre finial. I think it sold for around 120$. If you were to get this new today, you couldn't even have the finial made for this price.



A lot of the auction items went for very cheap prices. A lot of stuff was selling for under 20$. This fine Federal "Games Table", however, was an exception. I had wanted to bid on it, since I knew it was very old (early 1800s), and in very nice shape, but it went way over what I wanted to pay, and sold for 210$.



Another interesting little stool. Barley twist turnings (all hand carved), and a needlepoint top. I think it sold for 40$.



It looked quite solid, and it just needed a few replacement tacks.



I kind of liked this settee. It was mahogany, and the carved pieces on it almost matched the mahogany chair above (first photo). I think it sold for 120$.

Alright, if I had decided to take photos earlier, I would have taken more, but those are the only ones I got. Some stuff sold for pennies on the dollar. Some particularly sad sales were:
- An entire solid oak dining room set (6 chairs, table, sideboard, and buffet) for 100$
- A Victrola (cabinet/record player) with about 30 records sold for 55$
- 3 pocket watches at: 30$ (coin silver case), 40$, and 10$
- A solid oak (early, large) corner cabinet, for 100$
- An early step-back china cupboard, for 100$
- Entire sets of dishes (I think one was a 50 piece set) for 20$
- A brass Anniversary clock for 5$ (I really should have bid on it, but I didn't really want it).

A lot of stuff was going for yard sale prices. I was surprised. I really didn't think I'd walk away with anything, but I bought several pieces. The auction had close to 700 lots, and it finished around 5:30.

Here's what I took home.

The first lot that I snatched up was lot 193, a set of 4 early lithograph engravings/prints in matched frames (in perfect shape). I had thought I was only up to 60$, but I was actually at 65$, and I won them, so that was alright.

"Niagara" Engraving, dated 1873, custom framed in Cornwall in 1981.



"The Whirlpool Rapid" Engraving (no date), custom framed in Cornwall in 1981.



"The banks of the River Niagara" (below the falls) dated 1841, custom framed in Cornwall in 1981.



And "Bay of Quinte" Engraving (no date), custom framed in Cornwall in 1981.



After this, I stayed until after lunch, until around lot 315 or so (when they took a break), and I went home. I wanted to drop off the 4 prints, and get some additional bags in case I bought several paintings. I went back to the auction around 3:00 (having skipped over a lot of the boring items like the costume jewellery), and I arrived around lots 475 (ish).

The next lots I was interested in were some of the paintings. Particularly some of the ones I had written down on my card; lots 529, 530, 532, 533, 537, 540, 541, 545, and 548. These were the "more finely executed ones" from the bunch. I had previously missed another lot of paintings that were sold before 3:00, but I wasn't interested in any of those but at the same time I had no idea what they sold for, to compare.

When we got to the paintings, the auctioneer said "For the paintings, if we can't get 10$, we'll pass to the next one". This got me quite excited. There were still a lot of people, and I didn't know who might want to bid on them.

The first lot 529 got called, and it was a pencil drawing, which threw me right off, since it was supposed to be an oil painting. That one got a pass, and then I somehow also missed 530, which also got passed. I believe 532 got sold to someone else, then I got lot 533 for 10$.

533: Oil on Canvas Board ("Hi-Art Canvas Board" logo visible on the reverse dates to the 1950s or 60s) - Signed I McFarlane. I wasn't too crazy for the frame that it's in, but it actually looks good against my painted walls. Can't complain for 10$.



The paintings were being shown a bit off to my far right (20 feet away), and I couldn't see them that well, so at this point I didn't want to miss another one, and I was only listening to the numbers being called. There were a lot of paintings, and they were going through them quickly, since interest in them was low. I heard them call 537, and I got that one for 10$ as well.

537: Oil on Canvas Board - Signed Hillier (likely also from the 1950s or 60s). Unfortunately, the frame got quite a bit scuffed-up since the paintings were all crammed carelessly in a cardboard box, and people just flipped through them several times before the auction. I can probably touch it up, since the frame on this one is not bad.



540 and 541 I either passed on them, or someone else bought them before I could.

The next one I got is my favourite buy out of the whole lot, and I bid against another buyer to get it. In the end, it was still a very good buy at only 25$.

545: Beautifully framed original oil painting (on hardboard panel), signed A.M.Bray. The colours in the photo don't do it justice. It has more of a deep blue and brown tone to it, and the frame is just gorgeous. The frame looks fairly flat, but is actually quite deep.



And that's it. In the end, with the buyer's premium, and sales tax added, I spent something around 130$, which adds up to about 20$ per piece.

Before leaving, I asked about some of the paintings that had been "passed" and apparently you can just go to the back room and take them for the low bid (in this case, 10$). The one that I really wanted (and missed) was lot 530, and someone must have went and grabbed it before I could, because it was nowhere to be found. It was some sort of oil or pastel, and it had a bit of a "Group of Seven" vibe to it. Oh well. I'll know next time.

I went through the auction listing online, and I think it must have been this piece:



It doesn't look great in the photo, but it looked really good IRL. According to the listing, it was a pastel from 1947.

I also hesitated on this piece, and missed out on it at 10$ or 15$. It's an original oil painting from 1932, and it looks like it had a really nice frame, too.

Gallery Wall

I had quite a lot of pieces to choose from for my gallery wall (as you can see in prior posts), but I thought I'd just quickly go over the ones that I picked for this group.

As you will see below, most of the art and frames that I used were total bargains. I don't think a single piece cost me over 20$, with most being around 5-10$. I estimate the total cost including spray paint, glass, backing boards, and custom mattes at around 60-80$ for the entire group. I am hoping that this will inspire you to keep an eye out for some great pieces, and look for budget friendly options. It's unbelievable how expensive it is to get artwork framed and matted these days. Old frames are very easy to find, and can easily be spray painted to match your decor (a lot of people like to have many similar frames and paint them all black, gold, or white).

For my grouping, I liked a really eclectic mix of frames and styles, but I kept the theme fairly limited (architecture and boats). I have seen many fantastic art walls, and I've been gathering inspiration for mine for quite some time.

Things to consider: Do you want a neat and orderly arrangement (like mine, which is kept within a tight rectangular shape), or a more free-form grouping? The same pieces in a different arrangement can have a very different look.

Here are a few of my favourite inspiration photos, some of which may also get your creative juices flowing, hehe.

Here is one of the most eye-catching examples I've come across. This would be an "advanced" style, since it requires a lot of very careful measuring, and calculation, as well as additional fasteners (I imagine that each piece has 2 nails). I also like the mix of frames, crosses, letters, and plates, yet there is still a theme of browns, greens, metallics, and muted colours.



A nice orderly grouping that includes empty frames.



This is very orderly and simple (with ample spacing), yet still asymmetrical around the edges.



This grouping was one of my inspirations to go with totally mismatched frames and styles. A very cozy and inviting look. This group is also asymmetrical/random.



This is my favourite gallery wall photo. There's just something amazing about the arrangement, and the wall colour. I also adore the classical lithographs used.



A stairwell is a great place for a gallery wall. The only thing to consider here is whether your staircase is wide enough to avoid frequently grazing some frames (as would be the case in my staircase). You may consider additional fasteners here as well. Note the use of matched simple black frames.



My Pieces:



1. - This is a print of Lincoln Cathedral (UK). I found this matted print at Value Village for 5 or 6$. I absolutely love Gothic architecture, and I knew it would look great with some of the other pieces I already had. The frame was a very lucky find from Winners, and it was only 9.99$.

2. - This is a yard sale find that I've had for many years. I believe I bought it in the mid-1990s. It's a pen and ink drawing of Parliament Hill (one of my favourite places to visit, and again: Gothic architecture. Sadly, the mat used was not very high quality, and the core has yellowed and "bled-into" the artwork. I'm sure I paid under 10$ for this piece (and it was framed).

3. - This is an antique print of St. Martin's Church (aka St. Martin-In-The-Fields, UK). It is a hand-coloured lithograph, and it came with a line-decorated mat. I picked it up for 5$ from a local second-hand store. The frame was a yard sale find (I paid maybe 1$ for it?) that had been painted off-white(click to see the frame restoration). I really love this piece.

4. - This is a pen and ink of the Bluenose II. It's dated 1980 on the back, and I'm not sure if it's an original or a print. It was also a yard sale find that I've had for many years. The greyish mat is nearly the same colour as my wall, which is fun.

5. - This is a "mystery piece", simply because I can't remember how I came across it. It's an original pen and ink (you can see some nib marks on the paper and faint pencil lines), and it's signed: Dwayne St Louis 1978. I picked up the beautiful gold fame (no glass, no mat, no back - just the frame) along with a few other empty frames for 5$ at a local second-hand store. For the mat, I actually used some very thick water colour paper that was on clearance (1.89$ for a very large sheet), and I cut it myself with a mat cutter (it needed to be a custom size, and I didn't want to spend 20$ to have one cut). I also cut the glass from a spare sheet that I had on hand.

6. - This black framed print is an original lithograph from 1836(!) and shows the "Radcliffe Camera" (part of Oxford University in London). The building (which is the library) is still standing and it is jaw-droppingly beautiful. This was a Value Village (thrift store) find, and I believe it was around 5$. It is also hand coloured.

7. - This is an original pen and ink by my mother JoAnne. This is the only piece in the grouping that has sentimental value, since it's one of the few pieces that I have that my mom made. She's quite a good artist, but like me, never really finds the time to paint or draw. I believe this is a piece she did when she was in high school. I asked her if she remembered where this covered bridge was, but she said it was just copied from a stock photo. I framed it with a custom cut mat (also the watercolour paper), and I used a very simple black frame that I found at Value Village (4.99$).

8. - This was a very interesting piece that I came across at the Salvation Army Thrift Store just down the street from my house. It's a romanticized version of some sort of sail boat/row boat. The corners have Fleur-de-Lys decorations, and the main sail has some sort of horse/boar/animal on it. It's done in embossed brass. I wasn't sure whether or not I should get it, but since I love old brass (and it ties in well with all the brass on my clocks, old lamps, and accessories) I thought it might look good in a grouping or a vignette with other items. I have no idea how old it is, but the back hanger is stamped with "Made In England". I believe it was 3.99$.

9. - TBD. This was a 2$ frame (one of two), and I think I might have bought it when I went to Lac-Mégantic. I can't be 100% sure. I just remember that it was from a Giant Tigre store, and that they were on clearance for 1.99$. I will likely frame an architecture photo or print in this one.