The ART of Travel

A venerable traveler

Recently I've inherited suitcases from the 1940's and even earlier. Those were the days when travelers, especially women, had well made suitcases for every department of their wardrobes.
They were all hard case, with satin linings, ribbons to hold contents in place (neatly folded), and even removable trays.

Ruffled side pockets, tiny locks with tiny keys, leather trim....details and quality of construction was important.
Yes, they were heavier than contemporary soft luggage, but if you are traveling by car that doesn't matter as much as when your trip across the vast airports of today take almost as much time as your flight.

So, these suitcases are cool, but I'm thinking not fun enough. So I painted one a while ago, in tribute to the trip to Arizona that was planned but cancelled due to my broken leg. I painted the desert on the suitcase; a fitting way to memorialize the untraveled trip.

Desert Dreaming Suitcase painting in progress

After the suitcase was finished, it went along on some overnight trips. Arriving and departing really was more fun with 'Desert Dreaming' as a companion. By now it has been to Madison, Milwaukee and several places in Iowa.

Desert Dreaming Suitcase -the other side

Leo considering a journey with the Desert Dreaming Suitcase

The suitcase was a lot of fun. It inspired a painting project, was interesting to work with, and when finished was still more fun when filled up with my stuff and taken on a trip.

After a while, another suitcase started drawing my attention. It was going to showcase the coloring book  'A Day With The Horses'. After cleaning it up and putting a base coat of white acrylic paint on, the horses were sketched in with pencil, then painted with acrylic.

A Day With The Horses Suitcase

The painting went quickly. I forgot to take pictures of the process, so will show that another time.
'A Day With The Horses' suitcase is larger than 'Desert Dreaming'.  Both are about 12" x 18" but 'A Day With The Horses' is slightly deeper. 'Desert Dreaming' has more side pockets and a satin lining.
'Horses' has leather trim.

A Day With The Horses Suitcase-the other side

The desert is still on my mind! The leather trim added to the western theme.  Inside, this suitcase is roomy but simple; no ruffled pockets, just a nice big boxy space to put lots of travel stuff into.

Inside of A Day With The Horses Suitcase

Finishing this painted suitcase by painting the side panels and putting a protective coating on the painted surfaces completed the project.

Side

Top of Suitcase with Leo the Cat

A Day With The Horses is available on SusanCushingArt.etsy.com Other suitcases will be added in the near future. Visit my blog again soon for updates on the Suitcase Project. Thanks for stopping by!

Mountain Paintings at Wine Guyz in March

   Deep Snow High Mountains continues to keep me busy as the exhibit travels to another venue.   The Wine Guyz will host the paintings from February 27th through March 25th.
  Please join us for the reception on Wednesday March 8th, from 6-8pm. There will be new paintings to enjoy as well as The Wine Guyz ambiance.
  Now, I have to get back to finishing the rest of the snowy mountains, stormy clouds and glacial rivers waiting on the easel. I hope you can join us at the Wine Guyz.

Thank You Driftless Cafe

'Deep Snow High Mountains' paintings had a great showing at the Driftless Cafe in November and December. There were a number of positive comments about the show and also several sales.

I'd like to give a warm thank you to Luke and Ruthie, who have made a beautiful place to display paintings, and their support and enthusiasm was great.  

Sunset on Highway 1 - oil on canvas 11"x14" SOLD

Parkers Ridge - oil on canvas 11"x14" SOLD

After a long break from painting, I'm now finishing several more 'mountain' paintings that didn't get finished in time for display this fall and early winter. Once those paintings are finished, ideas for other subject material are ready to be explored, which really means lots of problems to solve and hard work to do. But it is fun, and learning something is one of the best feelings there is. Each painting has a life of its own, and is a unique experience to create. When one is later sold and goes to live on someone's wall, it's an added bonus to share my experience of that mountain place with other people, through the painting.
Susan

Snow Hoodoos Painting

Snow Hoodoos  acrylic on panel 16"x20" SOLD

Thank you! to the North Carolina purchasers of Snow Hoodoos. May you enjoy the painting in your home as much as I enjoyed creating it. Snow Hoodoos shares a sparkling clear, cold day after a storm created the lovely 'hoodoos' - snow sculpted by wind into huge mushrooms perched atop rocks and trees. In the hoodoos, light refracts through the curved layers of snow, making translucent bands of blue.

This weekend Snow Hoodoos' new home in North Carolina was covered in 8" of new snow. Somehow that seems fitting to welcome this painting!

Monashee Traverse  oil on canvas 24"x30" SOLD

A big thank you to the buyers of Monashee Traverse. It is an honor to have my painting be the start of your art collection.

Monashee Traverse goes to its new home in Seattle.