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!

Suitcase Art

  Disappointments can lead to some good things, so when my long planned trip to Arizona was cancelled the most symbolic object of the trip suddenly became an art project. Made in the 1940's, a dirty old suitcase, long stored in damp basement corners, suddenly had a purpose again.

   There were actually two suitcases; this is the smaller, second one, and shows the original condition of both suitcases.
   There was no plan, I just started painting.

   The desert appeared! I love acrylic paint; it sticks to almost everything and dries fast. That's good for painting things like suitcases, furniture, and more. I'm not concerned with making perfect art with this, I want color and I want to get my ideas out onto a surface. Later I might return and change things, or go on to make a painting on canvas that develops the idea into a more finished picture. Right now, I'm remembering the deserts I love and putting those southwest colors out where I can see them the rest of the snowy, white winter.

   Here's the sides:

   Leo the Cat likes the colors! I worked on the sides while deciding what to do with the pictures on the front and back. I went back and forth between the sides and the larger pictures.

   After the first side was done, it was left on the hearth near the wood stove to dry more quickly, then on to the back for another scene. This one is a view in Saguaro National Park, looking out to the southwest across a dry flat, to the mountains where Kitt Peak National Observatory http://www.noao.edu/kpno/ is located. 

   Here is the ready to travel suitcase. Even though I'm not going to see the desert this year, it was fun to visit it with paint.