"Spring Cleaning", pastel on self-prepared board, 14" x 20", 2006 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Spring Cleaning, a Little Magic and Memories in the Air

"Spring Cleaning", pastel on self-prepared board, 14" x 20", 2006 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

“Spring Cleaning”, pastel on self-prepared board, 14″ x 20″, 2006 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

I regularly passed the backyard of an old farmhouse near me, and was drawn at first by the forsythia, which was right on the edge of the road as I drove past, then as I slowed down I saw the colorful hanging laundry, always a favorite subject. That hazy spring sunlight with long shadows on the grass, easily distinguished bare lilacs, young leaves on the trees and the white-sided house all combined in a scene that could have been any year in the previous century when everyone hung their laundry outside and that first spring day warm enough to dry it left it smelling so fresh.

This scene and this painting have many levels of memory for me. I passed this house because it was on a corner very near the personal care home where my mother lived for six years, and as I approached, seeing this angle, I thought about how she would like this scene and the stories she would tell. I painted it while she still lived there, remembering those drives and thinking of her. Just a few years later the house and grounds were remodeled, changing the corner completely, so that only the painting held those memories.

More than one friend mentioned there was a sense of a spirit there, flitting among the laundry, perhaps someone who had lived there years ago and planted all the shrubs, or perhaps my mother’s memory, dressed in one of her early 1950s tiny-waisted dresses, her dark hair in a pert cut with bangs, bringing in the laundry in the late afternoon.

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A friend, who has also purchased other paintings from me, purchased this painting in 2011, and it reminds her of many of the same things as it does me. I’m so happy it’s in a home where all its little quirks are appreciated.

Purchase a Print

“Spring Cleaning”, 20″ x 14″, is done in various pastels on self-prepared sanded pastel paper. I offer full-size giclee prints as well as a variety of digital and canvas prints.

SHIPPING AND CHARGES

Shipping within the US is included in the cost of each print.

Prints up to 16″ x 20″ are shipped flat in a rigid envelope. Larger prints are shipped rolled in a mailing tube unless otherwise requested; flat shipping is an extra cost because it’s oversized.

GICLEE PRINTS

The giclees are printed on acid-free hot press art paper for a smooth matte finish using archival inks. Giclee is the highest quality print available because the technique uses a dozen or more ink ports to capture all the nuances of the original painting, including details of the texture, far more sensitive than any other printing medium. Sometimes my giclees look so much like my originals that even I have a difficult time telling them apart when they are in frames.

I don’t keep giclee prints in stock for most of my works. Usually I have giclees printed as they are ordered unless I have an exhibit where I’ll be selling a particular print so there is a wait of up to two weeks before receipt of your print to allow for time to print and ship.

DIGITAL PRINTS

Digital prints are made on acid-free matte-finish natural white 100# cover using archival digital inks. While digital prints are not the quality of a giclee in capturing every nuance and detail of color, texture and shading, I am still very pleased with the outcome and usually only I as the artist, could tell where detail and color were not as sharp as the original. Digital prints are only available up to 11″ x 17″ and some of the prints are cropped to fit standard mat and frame sizes.

Digital prints have at least 1/2″ around the edges depending on the size of the print. All are countersigned by me.

CANVAS PRINTS

Because the standard size canvas prints are not proportional to the original painting, canvas prints of this painting will have a portion cropped off.

I usually have at least one of the smaller sizes of canvases on hand, but order larger ones as they are ordered because I have limited storage space. Smaller canvases are a 3/4″ in depth, Canvases 12 x 16 and larger are 1-1/2″ in depth. I set them up so the image runs from edge to edge, then the sides are black or white or sometimes I slip in a color that coordinates with the painting. This canvas mirrors the edges of the image around the sides.

FRAMED PRINTS

The price below would include a 16″ x 20″ gold frame with decorative corners, but it would likely not be identical to the original, unless I happen to find a similar one at another thrift shop. I do all my own framing and can custom frame a print for you. Please ask.

Also visit my galleries of:

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Landscapes

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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

 

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