Charles Fischer – development of “Patina” paintings

2006-11-21T15:19:00.000-08:00

About 1964 I was working at Rings restaurant in downtown Monterey, CA. Rings was the dominant meeting place of local artists, who showed their works of art in the restaurant.

I admired the art greatly and soon decided that I would love to do the same. At the time I had been sketching faces but wanted to do something really different. The idea came to me to try tinfoil instead of canvas, hoping to achieve a brightness that could not otherwise be achieved on canvas.

I experimented much and soon found that the only substance that was transparent enough and at the same time would adhere to tinfoil was indelible ink. I located the manufacturer and purchased a variety of colors. I glued the tinfoil to stiff cardboard and started the process of painting on tinfoil.

I felt so confident that the public would like the paintings as much as I did that I had a one man show in the restaurant. All the paintings were 2’ by 3’ in size, poorly matted and framed with cardboard. (All that could afford at the time.) Nothing sold so I gave them all away and left the idea alone for years.

In 1978 I officially founded the Monterey Sculpture Center; previous to that I called my business Lawrence LTD. I started an art foundry based on what I had learned in College and soon found other artists who wanted their sculptures turned in to bronze. I was unable to find good information on the patinisation of bronze (the process of coloring bronze), so I experimented for months developing colors that would eventually evolve into wide acclaim in the art foundry business. Along with these developments came awareness that polished bronze offered a solution to the brightness idea that had plagued me 14 years previous, along with the application of transparent patinas. I did two, small unsuccessful examples and again left the idea for some years.

I moved the foundry to Sand City, California, nine years later and during that time I did my first successful patina painting on bronze sheet. The pressure running a large foundry kept my ideas unfulfilled until later experimentation in the 1990’s. At that time I pushed ahead with my ideas and soon solved the problem and began selling paintings in the mid 1990’s – called them “Patina Paintings.”

The techniques involved have developed over many years and involve a variety of tools to achieve. The sheet bronze must be of proper copper content, hardness and thickness to achieve what you see. The sheet must be prepared to accept the chemicals. After the preparation and cleaning of the sheet, the design is sketched, and then ground, sanded, etched, burnished or electro-plated into the surface of the sheet. Once the image is complete then the application of the chemicals begins. This portion is done with chemicals that are applied hot and/or cold, using a variety of brushes and multiple layering of chemicals. Varying strengths of chemicals are used to achieve light and dark areas, bright or dull, transparent or opaque, shinny or flat. Much of the success of the images comes from a certain spontaneity that is achieved through practice and the process itself. After the painting is completed, it is left to dry, then heated and sealed to protect the surface from moisture and UV rays.

Because of the 3-D effect, the importance of proper lighting cannot be overemphasized. A single light source, from above and away from the painting is usually enough. If a dimmer is used, so much the better for achieving the desired result. As you walk past the paining it will appear to change, as it will with different lighting situations.