Artist exhibits paintings on paper towels

Stamford, Connecticut based artist Ken Delmar, is opening a Manhattan art exhibit featuring his oil paintings on the surprising medium of paper towels. The artist decided to forgo the traditional canvas and linen after making a chance discovery. On an evening in January 2013, he closed up his studio as he always did by cleaning his brushes and knives with paper towels. But then he observed something that sparked an idea. The 72-year-old artist told Reuters, "I noticed that the colors on the paper towels were much more vibrant and snappy and calling out from the bottom of the trash bin. As opposed to the thing I'd been so carefully working on for hours."

Delmar’s edgy paper towel work features the faces of regular people and celebrities. The artist uses Bounty two-ply saying that it’s so absorbent and, "I like that, that the paper towel grabs the paint right off the brush and then piles it up into two layers. And then the colors get really snappy." Prices for Ken’s art range from $1,500 to $10,000, not a small sum for what may be thought of as a biodegradable art surface. To that Ken responds, "People say, 'Oh, it's a paper towel, you know, how long could it last?' Well it's going to last a long, long time because the paper is primed. And then I imbue every dab of color with a gel, almost like fiberglass. And then the whole thing is framed between two sheets of Plexiglas with UV protection. So, you know, these things are going to be here a long time."

If you’re interested in Ken Delmar’s paper towel paintings, his exhibit will be on display at the George Billis Gallery in Manhattan from September 5th through 14th.

More information: Reuters, WNYW, Youtube/BountyBrand