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.…
Year: 2024
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…
Sinking in (canvases)
I always try to be as efficient as possible with my paintings. But I'm also cheap. The combination of efficiency and cheapness has frequently caused me headaches. Instead of saving time and money, I've wasted…
A lot of mediums
I kept studio journals from the outset of my career. At first, I tracked my sales in the journal. Then I started tracking my supplies--the number and size of stretched canvases I had on hand,…
Drawing study
I finished this large study for a painting I plan. Studies like this help me clarify my thoughts. When making a study, I almost always filter out elements--hardly ever add new ones. That's what happened…
New drawing
Normally I don't write about new drawings; we make drawings all the time. This drawing is unusually large for a pencil drawing, 30" x 40". It's also notable for being on hot-pressed watercolor paper. I…