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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Desert Dreaming Suitcase -the other side |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Side |
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| 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!
