Boldly Go : NCC-1701, original upcycled vintage painting

“Boldly Go : NCC-1701”

Portaging in Ontario, Canada is a beautiful, quiet experience… you never know what you’ll see from your canoe! 

I found it amusing the number of times the crew of the original Enterprise broke the prime directive. So this alteration plays with the idea that they perhaps flew a little too low over our northern Canadian landscape sometime in the late 1800’s, and that moment was captured by the original artist. 

I have held onto this painting for some time, considering whether to alter it or not. I don’t usually alter such old pieces, but in the end I decided I would enjoy it more with something fun added to it. I kept the colour of the alterations subtle, working with the original artists palette… and added in some age spots to blend it in with the existing ones on artwork. 

I collected this from a local antique collector. Dated 1875, the artwork is unsigned. On the back of the painting it reads “Academy Board, Extra Quality. Manufactured Expressly for the Art Metropole. Toronto. Ontario. Canada.” The building is still there, but the original company is out of business. There is some faint handwriting in pencil on the back but it is only seen in partial light and is in difficult-to-read cursive writing. 

Restoration : I cleaned this piece, removing a layer of brown grime. There is a lot of foxing (little brown spots) which would take a lot of touching up to remove. 

Mixed media on antique painting
47 x 63 cm (18.25 x 24.25 inch) canvas board
56 x 71 cm (22 x 28 inch) antique frame

Artist’s collection : This painting is one of my favourites and is in my own collection. Sometimes I let pieces from my collection go... if you are interested in this piece please get in touch. It is also available as prints and digital downloads.