Anything Is Fair Game

About 11 years ago I was talking to my neighbor about different surfaces on which to paint.  I mentioned to him that it would be fun to paint an old round propane tank to use as a sculpture in my yard.  You know the kind…they were used in the 40’s and are about 4′ + in diameter.  He’s the kind of guy who has access to lots of things like this.  I wasn’t really asking for it but within a week I had an old rusty dirty round propane take sitting in front of my house.

My husband, being the very handy guy that he is, used a welding torch to take the valves and collar off the top, sandblasted  it, and put a primer paint on it. He welded a hook on the top so we could move it when it was finished.  Ok, now what?  I had to think of something to do with it.  By now it’s November and pretty cold.  We set up out art display canopy and put the tank in that.  I wanted to make sure it would be weather worthy so decided to use Rustoleum paint.  It is pretty awful stuff to be honest.  Because it was cold the paint didn’t flow or mix well.  Even being outside, I couldn’t stand the odor so only worked for about 30 minutes at a time.  When it was finished it was sprayed with a clear gloss finish coat.

I decided on a theme, calling it “Evolving Earth”.  There are colorful undulating lines around the globe and sayings from environmentalists, poets, and my grandchildren.

Moving it to it’s new home between two trees was a little tricky but my neighbor, who has every tool known to man, used his forklift and placed it on the cement pad we had ready for it.  Did I mention we live in the country?

The finished piece is shown above and below are the developing stages.  So you can paint on anything!