Featured Another Painting: 3 Qs

Hi again. This measures 18" x 24" (45x60cm) and seems to be oil paints on thick paper posterboard / cardboard.

Three questions, if I may:

Does this look like student work to you?

What are the yellow shapes on his right knee?

How can / should I try to flatten the board? (I'm gonna want to put it in a spare frame, but probably not under glass. (This one'll go in my classroom.))

Thanks for any responses or comments.

 

I like it...sorta; there's something placid, peaceful about it.

The fellow has what appear to be mangos between his huarache-clad feet; so perhaps Central America is the region of origin. The only thing I can think of for the yellow shapes is chunks of candied or dried pineapple; I note one of them (lowest on the right) is a bit cylindrical, an' a few of the others show curved or radiused sides.

Got no idea about artist's skill level, but the flattening of the cardboard might be accomplished with moderately elevated ambient moisture, along with uniform pressure; all over, say, a month or so...let time do the work.

 

A Mexican peasant. (That's a sombrero by his side. And the red, green and white underneath and behind him are picked up from the Mexican flag.) The cylindrical objects between his feet look like mangos. Perhaps the others have symbolic meaning. I wouldn't be surprised if a student work, especially given the improvised nature of the painting's surface.

Debora

 

That's a good idea. Thanks. I also thought they might be cheese, but that wouldn't make sense gravitationally...

Ok thanks. I was thinking something along those lines too.

 

Great observation Debora. Thanks!

 

...and by that you mean the cardboard itself, right?

 

I like it too. Almost Cubist in its own way .

 

Yep, the cardboard.

Debora

 

They definitely could be mangos, or they might be peeled coconuts.
Tough to guess on skill level because it could be a quick study for a mural-like the Mexican flag allusion plus the sandals and sombrero.

 

The pointy things in your pic look like Jicama to me, Bosko.

 

Definitely that vibe.

Also some of that 20's -- 30's Mexican muralist vibe celebrating the 'common' worker.

 

I would say student/amateur based on the proportions, brush work, gaps in-between areas, and the cardboard. Still, someone who was on their way to being confident with their brush.

Typically low heat is used and not moisture because moisture creates problems with paint adherence, mold, etc. So a restorer would use a heat table with vacuum to relax the fibers without damage like cracking the paint afaik. If the paint is fairly thin then I'd probably feel okay diy-ing it with weight and time. Make sure you lay something down to protect the paint from whatever you put on top of it (or the surface you lay it on). I'm not a restorer though, so this is only what I would do in my devil-may-care way and not necessarily the right advice lol.

 

Thanks for the assessment @mirana. I like the idea of using mild heat somehow... I'll try to think if / how that might work.

 

Usually it's a table that heats up, with plastic on top of the painting sealed at the edges, with a vacuum pulling out the air to gently flatten it. There are restoration videos on yt. Dry mount press also works that way, but y'know more aggressively since it's a press. I've only used the press on prints.

 

The squarish objects could be small baskets. I regularly saw men peddling home made small baskets and basketry ornaments when I was in Mexico.

 

That's not a bad thought. Here's some examples from Michoacán.

Debora

 

I have my moments.

 

24/7 to the annoyance (and envy) of the rest of us.

Debora

 

I didn't have an alternative suggestion but they did look to me like they're tied together and light weight in the way he carries them. Also, different in shapes.