Alchemist’s alchemy
WHAT WAS THE SECRET OF THE OLD MASTERS? THE ALCHEMISTS KNEW…AND SO SHALL YOU! That bold claim was printed on the (hilarious) instruction sheet tied to the products sold by the Alchemist. The Alchemist no longer uses that hokey marketing gimmick directly, but that message still pervades their website. Claims to possess the secrets of
Trekell fails
Lately, I’ve been spammed a lot by the independent brush manufacturer, Trekell. Oil paint is murder on sable brushes so Trekell’s decent quality sables coupled with modest prices led me to past purchases. I have over 20 of their brushes. I also like their linseed oil soap. Readers of my Brush review know that I
Fall along the lake
Lake Erie keeps the Fall weather mild in NE Ohio. Halloween is often shirtsleeve weather here. New Jersey, where we lived before moving here, is always cold by this time. I remember freezing as I pulled the wagon with our costumed-children in it around the neighborhood. It was so bitter cold that we curtailed trick-or-treat
Podcast: Where did modern art start?
Where and when did modern art start? Let’s start with Courbet.
Starting another painting
The drawing is transferred to the canvas for the new painting I’m calling The Entertainer. The Entertainer is 40″ x 50″. I applied the warm ground with a rag. I was careful to keep the ground thin so that the drawing shows through, as you can see in the photo. There are 12 figures in
Goop nope
After talking with Robert Doak, I followed his recommendation and purchased some of his Painting Goop. I shouldn’t have. I normally stay away from thick painting mediums, but I enjoyed my far-ranging conversion, and everything I’ve purchased before was top-quality, I thought, “Why not?” Goop is thick, resembling toothpaste. When thinned with turp and worked
St. Charles’ good book
Methods and Materials of Painting of the Great Schools and Masters by Sir Charles Eastlake is the best resource–by far–for information about painting methods and materials. Just like the title states. The older studio traditions had already faded into the past when Sir Charles published the first volume in 1847, so the book is a
Robert Doak
I was marveling about how good the sun-thickened oil is that I got from Robert Doak. Like everything I’ve ever purchased from him, the quality is excellent. I’m not out of the sun-thickened oil yet but I only have a half-bottle left. I hate to run out of supplies and I tend to stockpile them,