Preparing a big painting
Lately, my paintings are in the 40″ x 60″ range. For example, the painting in this photo, The Fair, is 44″ x 60.” My next big painting ups the scale. The grided canvas in the photo is 60″ x 72″ (5 x 6 feet). As usual, I’m working on the design and when it’s done
Eagles above us
American bald eagles are nested here. Yesterday I was able to get some photos of the eagles cartwheeling and cavorting above our house. There are a lot of bird species here: gulls (of course), herons, bluejays, cardinals, crows, robins, and many others. And these days there are flocks of geese. But the eagles are bird
Another canvas ready
I applied the second and last oil ground to this new 44″ x 60″ canvas. I made the tone by adding a little burnt umber and burnt sienna to the Williamsburg lead-oil ground. I applied the ground with a scrapper as usual. After letting it cure for a few weeks, I’ll prepare a drawing for
Changeable Lake Erie
Because Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, it’s very changeable. Mild storms can transform into violet cataclysms instantly. Inexperienced boaters are regularly caught out. Small boats swamped while desperately making for the safety of the river is a common sight. But this changeability provides never-ending entertainment for those living along the shoreline.
Pre-dawn moon
When I woke at 6:00 AM, I thought a helicopter was outside my bedroom shining a searchlight onto the shore. The authorities still haven’t found the body of the man drowned in a recent boating accident. A helicopter searched my shoreline a fortnight ago looking for his body. I thought they were searching once again.
Christmas season 2021
As with every Christmas week in NE Ohio, the weather is dismal and gray. When I saw this gold stuff spread about our living room, I grabbed my camera to memorialize the strange event. “What is it,” my daughter asked in amazement? “Beats me,” my son shrugged. “I think it’s sunlight,” my wife suggested. By
Mixing paint on the palette
I never use a palette knife on my palette. To mix a tone, I plunge my brush into the paints and use the brush to mix what I need. For example, on this nearly-fresh palette, I dipped my brush into the cobalt blue–the second blue from the bottom right–and used my brush to mix it
Yesterday
Yesterday I was late to the studio. I dragged my lazy butt into the studio at 8:30. Morning people know how head-shakingly lazy that hour is. I painted until lunch at 12:00. After lunch, I was back in the studio until 3:00. The studio sessions were good–better than the previous day where my energy was