Friday, July 4, 2014

In Betsy's Honor

 Today we celebrate our independence as a nation.
There will be a lot of red, white & blue flying,
in many shapes and forms,
and of course many
flags.
 
The American Flag:
"Old Glory"
"Stars & Stripes"
"The Red, White & Blue"
 
 In planning for the Junk Salvation this last June, 
my FB cover received a lot of 'likes'.  
It was a dresser I painted for a fundraiser, 
supporting Buckley Fire Department and 
my brother's Stair Climb for Leukemia. 

Remember "Old Glory"   

Link to  Old Glory Post   

So I decided to do another tribute to the the American flag...meet

"In Betsy's Honor"

  
I don't have any 'before' pictures (gotta get better at that!).
 

It's a mid-century cabinet with 2 adjustable shelves.
(don't have pix of it open either)

 In the shot above you can barely see the sides & top are in grey
(that's the best shot I have of it...noticing a theme about my picture practice?)
 Close ups of the stenciled stars
 
 She was painted with Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint
 
Red - Tricycle
White - Linen
Blue - Artisimo
and
The Grey - Trophy
...then aged with dark wax and finished with clear. 

Because I wanted to be sure I had some chippy texture, 
I used a method I read on Sweet Pickins
 about spraying it with Zinsser Spray Shellac
 
 The wood inside and back were all rubbed with  Howard's.

She didn't sell at Junk Salvation
but I'm confident she'll eventually find the loving 
Americana home she needs.
She's only $165.  
*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*

As a footnote:
Betsy Ross is given the historical credit for creating the American Flag
but in reality, she was one of several contributors.
This painting is likely more true than the images of
Betsy stitching alone in her rocker.

 

So to all the Betsys from long ago
Thank you for the giving us the
 'Stars & Strips', 
'Old Glory', 
'The Red, White & Blue'.

Our American Flag.