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I find a lot of joy in going to thrift stores. There’s always the thrill of the hunt and just maybe finding a great deal. Recently I was at my local Salvation Army and I wandered through the framed art section. I’ve never found anything there before, but it only takes once. During this trip, I found an oversized 4‘ x 5‘ absolutely hideous mass produced painting of a fan. It had a textural quality to the canvas… and definitely not in a good way. I knew I couldn’t paint over the existing canvas but the frame was fantastic, circa 1986 with a beautiful gold finish. Can you imagine how much it would cost today to buy a 4‘ x 5‘ gold frame? I knew I had a good deal at $30. It actually sat in my studio for a while , since I wasn’t sure how I wanted to tackle it. Yesterday was the day. I turned it over, unscrewed all the corner brackets and dislodged the wooden mounting strips. There were actually more nails attached from the frame to the wooden stretcher than I thought, so it took a little effort, but definitely worth it in the long run. I was able to pull the hideous painting out of the frame, and then re-stretched the framed canvas with a fresh piece of white cloth. Just the look of the fresh white canvas in this gold frame in this enormous size is making me very excited in anticipation of what this painting will become. That’s why I always think it’s worth looking at thrift stores, flea markets, and estate sales for vintage frames, you can’t beat the quality. You usually can’t beat the price and you get something wonderful to work with. I will definitely be posting the after photos of this painting when it’s completed. Can’t wait to get started! Happy hunting everyone!