As a house painter I collected a lot of things, old brushes, over used buckets, paint splattered clothes, and some pretty good sayings. My favorite of which I didn’t hear on on a job site but from my mom, “putty and paint make it what it ain’t”. It also happens to be exactly what I say back to her every time I am scorned for getting paint on another piece of clothing. While I may take the saying too literally, the sentiment behind it is beautiful. Whether it be clothes or clapboards a few simple materials can make something more than it was before.
My mother doesn’t wanna hear it but worn out jeans and an old house do have one thing in common, they are both lived in. We live in and around these objects, but by doing so we slowly break them down. Ripped knees and frayed cuffs just like peeling paint and rotten siding need to be repaired less they grow worse and completely infect the object.
Unlike a house, clothes are easily replaceable, and it can be hard to convince ourselves that something is worth the effort it takes to hold onto it. Personally, I have always preferred the one of a kind splatter pattern that comes from a well worked shirt. Unfortunately we live in a society where trends come and go faster than you can refresh your Instagram feed.
To slow things down and stick it to my mom I used the same material I was told ruined my clothes for years. Each object has days and sometimes weeks of paint layered onto it through dipping, pouring, and drying. The results are proof that gravity, time, and house paint can truly make it what it ain’t.
Gus Williams 