My summer vacation
What is a vacation summary without photographs? Originally, the seven of us planned to tour Virginia and North Carolina with a stop in Washington. No sooner had we started than Hurricane Debby plopped squarely in…
Year: 2024
Delicious copal jelly
I haven't been a fan of gelling paint mediums since my early interest in maroger, a gelling medium made from mastic. But I like to experiment with mediums, sometimes to my harm. My go-to for…
Customizing my easel
I was forced to customize--that is, fix--my easel when its wheels broke. A heavy-duty easel without wheels is next to useless. Now I am glad the easel broke because my fix is a significant upgrade.…
Photography Summer
I've been busy this summer with my new Nikon Z8 camera. Since getting the camera in April I've taken thousands of photographs. Earlier this month I revisited Cedar Point, a NE Ohio amusement park known…
Tissot etchings at Cleveland
I think James Tissot (1836–1902) is a much better artist than I once believed. I had lumped him with Sargent and other late-19th-century artists who I consider superficial and fashionable. He's much better than Sargent.…
Painting by Tissot
I love it when I visit a museum and discover a new painting. I found this painting, The Proposal, by James Tissot (1836 - 1902) during my last visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art.…
Drawing is always the solution
The question is, "How do I fix my stuck painting?" The answer is always drawing. When one of my paintings stalls, drawing is the cure. My most successful paintings started with studies where I clarified…
RGH vs Harding
Readers know about my obsession with The Great White--flake (lead) white paint. This all-important color is getting harder to find because some manufacturers stopped making it due to misguided health concerns and regulations. I've discussed…