Project Journal

After a successful first evening, we had the process down with regard to handing out paint and getting a photo of each face. We’d gotten in the habit of washing the day’s used brushes in the evening but had enough initially to last for a full day (bin of new, clean brushes shown below). We used a bucket with water to hold the used brushes and it quickly became a reddish-colored soup after a couple painting sessions. We’d wash the brushes that evening in our kitchen sink while not worrying terribly about their condition (see below). These cheap foam brushes weren’t expected to hold up well anyway, although I would sometimes use a scissors to trim off a fuzzy or rough edge on the brushes to create a better edge for painting. We’d then lay them out on our kitchen counter to dry overnight.

Things started a bit slower on Friday, after the big rush of people during the kickoff the previous evening. We developed a practice of not bugging people to participate. There were the obvious people who were looking for ArtPrize entries, and others who were not. It was pretty easy to identify the two types, though some people would show a bit of interest and require a bit of prodding to step forward and choose a color.

I was guilty a few times of getting distracted in conversation when I should have been taking photos of people, so odds are I missed capturing the faces of a few painters. I tried to point out the need for people to vote for us, but didn’t want to nag too much. A few people were proactive with the voting but most just enjoyed painting. While I thought a minimum age restriction would be wise initially, I removed it and just made sure parents were asked to assist their young children.

The pace picked up as that Friday went on. It was great to see people getting excited by painting (or maybe just getting a free sticker!). Some groups were likely work associates out for lunch, but the painting made a nice background for group photos.

One of the first surprises we encountered was trying to control the number of people painting at the same time. The canvas was large enough to allow 4-6 people space to paint, but there were times we had to slow people down a bit and allow people to finish. Fortunately no disasters occurred where paint got spilled on a follow painter.

We also were surprised to see that several people didn’t get the message to paint only one space! I watch as some quickly started a second or third space and had to be reminded to only do one. Early on it wasn’t much of an issue, but as the spots began to fill, we had to communicate things more clearly. Everyone was very respectable with the paint, brushes and cups. It was interesting to see some people take their time and be very careful, while others did it quickly and with little effort.

By the end of day two, the canvas was still quite abstract in appearance, which better drew the curiosity of people passing. We’d made it through our first full day, with the craziness of Saturday and Sunday to follow!

One of my first realizations after day one was the need to communicate clearer and quicker about the project. The first things I added were two small print-outs of what the final painting was going to look like. During the first day, I heard a few different people ask what it would look like when completed. I thought I would have been able to whip out my phone to show those curious, but printing out the art and taping to the bottom of the easels proved much easier to see.

I’d long intended to have two 24″ x 36″ posters near the canvas that provided info about the paint times and about the sculptor Alexander Calder. I had designed these two posters on my computer (shown in their digital form below), but thought I’d challenge myself and execute them by hand on poster board. They ended up taking entirely too long to draw out and letter, but I used a digital projector to get the rough elements in the right place. I then used markers to add some color. The “descriptor” sign as I call it, intended to clearly state what the project was about, in the simplest of terms. “Paint The Calder – A 1,600 Person Paint-By-Number.” I added a couple of these 8.5″ x 11″ print-outs to the larger signs, so people could more quickly comprehend what we were doing. I also added the QR code signs so people didn’t have to search for where to vote.

This view shows the two side posters referring to Alexander Calder and the paint times. In the back, you can see the start of the Artist Mosaic poster, which was intended to show people what I was creating by taking their photos. I ended up adding to this poster a couple of times over the first two weeks before having the final version up during the last week.

Thursday evening (9/14): After we saw Dante paint his spot on the canvas, we saw a series of people walk by with varying looks on their faces. The area off the sidewalk that the canvas sat in was a bit hidden from south-bound foot traffic, so the canvas was a surprising site to many. The 6’ x 12’ size and mostly white appearance made it something people needed to study for a few moments before they had a reaction. There was no visible signage at that point to inform what the project was specifically about. Seeing the numbered spaces didn’t immediately resonate with people. One of us was usually quick to offer some encouragement in the form of “want to paint a square?” or more plainly “it’s a paint-by-number”.  This was effective to connect the dots for most people. I would often describe the process for them too. “You pick a color and we give you a paint cup and brush”. This was usually enough to get a buy-in. They’d approach the table where my wife or a volunteer would welcome them with a card of swatches. Seeing the cups of paint on the table was often an effective reinforcement for what we were asking of them. Skeptical types would take a bit more time. Some would indicate a bit of resistance while often accepting the terms. Many would immediately express some sort of glee at the opportunity, or exclaim how wonderful the opportunity provided.

As each person approached the canvas, picked their spot and carefully filled the space (sometimes spaces) with paint, they frequently turned around with a big smile on their face. We would give them an I Painted the Calder sticker (which I joked was more popular than the painting). I would then try to be there to capture that smile for our Artist Mosaic. All of us working got a lift from the enthusiasm people showed. Comments such as “that was so fun” or “what an awesome idea” gave us the clue we were offering a unique experience. That first evening, we had a fairly steady stream of people but didn’t quite use all hundred cups of paint we’d packed. At the same time, we were pleased that those who painted had enjoyed themselves and that the weekend would be busier.

After Deb and I carted the canvas and easels to the Hyatt Place lobby, we sat it in a temporarily open space and were glad it was sitting safe and stable. I had an interview with a cameraman from Fox 17 the next day and met him on Wednesday the 13th of September to talk about the project. I asked if he wanted to capture me painting the first numbered rectangle and he thought that was a good idea. I painted the first orange spot on camera (and didn’t do a great job frankly).

When we pulled the canvas and easels outside the following afternoon to start public painting, a gentleman named Dante immediately expressed interest in being the first painter. It was nice to see someone ready to start the project with us. He wanted to paint the top corner yellow spot so that he’d be able to identify it in the future. I found a chair for him and he became public painter #1 and did an awesome job. Thanks Dante for starting the process!

Not everyone who passed by that afternoon immediately understood what we were doing. Due to the lack of painted spots, many people didn’t know what we were up to, or that they were invited to paint on the canvas themselves. I tried to remedy that a day or two later by posting a panel saying “A 1,600 Person Paint-by-Number”. This seemed to make things click for passerby’s and we were off to the races!

Working with the paint part of the project was certain to take some thought and effort. From selecting the color swatches, determining how much paint would be needed, to transferring the paint into hundreds of small cups, it would be the last major effort before the actual painting event would begin.

To determine how much paint would be needed, I painted a sample area on an old canvas that was roughly the same size as the areas on the real canvas. I determined that just about a teaspoon of paint would be enough. Of course, the paint could be applied heavier or thinner by the participant, but the teaspoon amount was a good place to start. From there, it was simply a matter of counting how many spaces there were of each color and doing a little math. After doing so, we ended up with a good idea of how much paint we needed.

Number of colored swatches per color:

– 1 Yellow: 6
– 2 Light Orange: 26
– 3 Orange: 56
– 4 Red Orange: 111
– 5 Blue: 191
– 6 Light Blue: 243
– 7 Dark Blue: 298
– 8 Orange: 110
– 9 Purple: 117
– 10 Red: 446 or 1 Gallon

The paint we purchased was available in three size: a sample jar, a quart and a gallon. One sample jar has 40 teaspoons of paint. One quart has 192 teaspoons of paint. One gallon has 768 teaspoons. From there, we were ready to purchase what we needed.

Somewhere I’d heard the idea of using syringes to transfer paint, so I purchased a 10-pack and started putting paint in the required number of cups for each color. After measuring how much a teaspoon of water filled the small cup, I was able to eyeball the amount as I began transferring the paint from the container to the cup. My wife Deb and I began the process on the Tuesday evening before ArtPrize began. We were able to get about three-quarters of the paint transferred before calling it a night and finishing up the following evening. Deb is my “logistics manager” so took command of how the paint cup organization proceeded.

After two evenings of transferring paint into roughly 800 cups, we were done (and tired of doing it!) but it felt good to be beyond that task. Depending on how the painting process went, we could reuse some of the cups for a second use, or perhaps purchase additional paint for the second weekend of painting if needed.

I had an exciting interview with Shelley Irwin on her morning show where I got to describe the project and a bit about my intentions with it. I visited the WGVU studio and spent about ten minutes sharing information about the the painting process how the project came to be. It was great to spend some time with a local radio legend who’s a big ArtPrize fan!

Listen here »

It was fun to be interviewed on camera by our local Fox station and get a chance to spread the news about Paint the Calder. We covered lots of aspects and I painted the first numbered spot on camera. I’d considered moving it outside to our daytime location, but didn’t have the help to do so and we did it inside the Hyatt Place hotel where the canvas sits overnight.

Read and watch here »

We kept the canvas and easels in a second floor classroom at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre and had to move everything about four or so blocks down to the venue. Getting the canvas down to the first floor was my first concern. It was so big and cumbersome that making turns though the doorways and stairways would be a challenge. Fortunately my wife Deb had two co-workers, Jared and Josh who helped make it a breeze. We got it down to the first floor and put it on a cart that Deb had procured from the theatre. The process of moving it down four blocks didn’t seem terribly daunting at first, but once we starting moving down the uneven sidewalks, things got a little hairy.

The wind moved the canvas around on us and I had fears of it sliding off the cart and causing damage or even flipping over on us. Just when we were battling the biggest wind gust, a couple of good samaritans asked if we needed help and assisted us in getting it the rest of the way. Thanks to all who helped!

As a small token of appreciation, we’ll be handing out color stickers for participants proclaiming they Painted the Calder! The stickers will proudly announce they were part of the collaborative process and “did their part”! Each person will receive one.

A key time saver for tracing all 1,500+ spots onto the finished canvas was being able to project my computer-drawn image to fit. The room we assembled the canvas and easels worked perfectly for this as we were able to darken it and create a vivid image to trace. Matt had suggested using colored markers, rather than black, to draw the spots. This would prevent the dark black marker from showing through the paint, so I investigated what types of markers might accomplish this. Acrylic markers provide good coverage while also resembling the paint colors. This would allow for minimal bleed-through. The process took us close to four hours but it was rather straightforward once we had the image adjusted to fit the canvas. The non-painted canvas with all 1,500+ plus shapes and numbers is quite interesting without paint. I can’t wait to see what it will look like with the colors added!