Guess My Weight
Steve Bogdanoff after prepping canvas
I have been asked on numerous occasions, “Are these pieces painted on slate?”, or “This looks like it weighs a ton. Is it stone?” Many years ago while living and running my gallery in the New Orleans’ historic French Quarter, a story had circulated that a woman once saw me drop one of my ‘granite’ pieces from a second-story balcony onto the street below to achieve the aged effect of my work. This was just lore; however, I loved the publicity.
My canvas consists of a plaster, lime and gypsum rock compound, which is much lighter in weight than the appearance I create. For instance, a 4ft. x 4ft. fresco weighs approximately 50 pounds, and the majority of my other work is smaller and weighs anywhere from 5 to 30 pounds. The end result is an art piece that looks like it weighs a ton, yet is actually very manageable to handle and easy to display.
