The story of how I ended up transforming a gigantic picture of spaniels into a mirror begins with me revealing an addiction. It’s nothing obvious. Yes, there are people who drink, get high and gamble the house away on the horses but my name is Amanda and I’m an auction addict.
Like all addicts, my obsession is draining my bank account. I am sure there are people out there who can bag a bargain but – in my anxiety to secure an auction lot – I always go a bit crazy.
It doesn’t help that the local auction takes place on a day when I work, so I have to leave a pre-auction bid. Thus, when the crumbling picture of a two spaniels was introduced by the auctioneer as having a ‘commission bid’, everyone was clearly on high alert that it could be an undiscovered John Emms (his dog pictures sell for hundreds of thousands) rather something painted by his mother with her toes.
The spaniels picture had ‘no estimate’ in the catalogue meaning it was of very little value. I ended up stirring up the crowd and paying my maximum pre-bid amount of £75.
Even so, I drove to the auction rooms in good spirits. I love my little cottage and I wanted my entrance hall – get me, it’s tiny – to embody country house chic.
I didn’t even panic when the auction room porter said he hoped I hadn’t ‘Come in a Mini’. As he struggled to lift my painting, I realised my mistake.
The measurements I’d assumed were cms were in fact inches.
The spaniels pic’ was only meant to be a small part of a ‘country images’ montage on the main wall. As it happened, it nearly filled the entire wall and was so blooming heavy, the hanging of it required a structural engineer’s report.
Hubby was alarmed; “It’s a bit big isn’t it? Those Spaniels are almost life-sized.”
The more I tried to live with it/blend it in – the bigger it seemed to get. The twitching noses of those dogs almost seemed to be saying, “’I smell your fear”. The night I heard them snarling in my dreams I decided something had to be done to bring those darned hounds to heel.
My efforts to sell the picture.
The French artist Leon Danchin (1887-1938) is quite renowned – in America. Even on Ebay UK there are similar etchings for sale at anything from £300-plus. But it’s one thing having an inherent value and quite another getting someone to pay for it. Artwork clearly goes in and out of fashion. In 2010 another of Danchin’s spaniel etchings sold for £665 at Christie’s. Regrettably, spaniels are clearly so last decade as mine went on and off the auction site for weeks without so much as a sniff. Then I had another idea.
Re-use the frame.
Etched mirrors hark back to 1970s pub interiors and – whatever vintage stallholders tell you – haven’t really been back in fashion since. These days it’s hard enough looking in a mirror as it is without having a pint of Irish stout looking back. But then I saw this Bowie ‘Rebel Rebel’ lyrics mirror and felt inspired. The only problem; I had an old picture frame – not a mirror.
It was time to…
Buy some Rust-oleum Mirror Spray
I have seen chirpy American women on YouTube using similar products and making things good enough to stick in high end furniture shops. It goes without saying that my attempts went wrong from the start. Let’s learn from my mistakes. If you do use this product:
- Clean your glass first – otherwise your dirty streaks will be set in the ‘mirror’.
- Spray on the reverse side of the glass – I’d used two cans before I realised it had worked…on the other side of the glass.
- Do a practice run – I wanted an antique speckled effect so splashed on some dots of oil and vinegar to give me a mottled look; effect is for the experienced crafters only. If you can’t tell a pinking shear from a rotary cutter, forget it. You need a steady hand and eye. Talking of which…
- Spray across glass in smooth even strokes; you are not trying to cover the rust on a Ford Cortina so no jerky movements please.
- Spray, leave for a few minutes and spray again. Five coats should do it
Buy a glazier’s tool and POINTS
No, I had no idea either. All pictures have metal supports at the back to keep the frame. picture and glass nicely secured. Who knew those little metal bits had a name. Points. As for the glazier’s tool; I have my own now and I am licensed to use it and free to install double glazing on Fridays and Saturdays.
Pick your lyrics
You can buy your own stencil kit if you are a crafter (see above). It may be simpler to browse the internet and buy some stickers. The John Legend ‘ All of Me’ lyrics seemed strangely fitting for a mirror with such a chequered history. Okay, so getting it on was not easy – you do need a steady hand and a dry sponge – but I was thrilled with the end result.
Have I cured my addiction?
Not a chance. I’m currently grieving being pipped at the post for an old campaign desk when I don’t have the floor space for a small notepad. The experts call it ‘auction fever’; the thrill of the chase which sees you over-bid for a car boot full of broken junk. It goes without saying – says she – that you MUST set a limit and do not pay a penny more.
As for what is the right amount, as American actor and self-confession auction addict William Sadler (Green Mile) says; “It’s a question of what it’s worth to you. If it’s going to make you happy every time you look at it for the rest of your life, then that’s a treasure.”
NB: Spaniels picture (unframed) sold for a pittance on EBay and I had to send it to Paris. En route – see what I did there – it was stolen. If anyone sees it for sale at a French brocante sale – please don’t send it back….
