Review: Tombow lead pencils
I'm in a drawing period; I haven't touched a brush for three weeks. The drawings serve as designs for paintings, not standalone drawings. The paintings are my typical size, 40" x 54." So, I've used…
Author: Tom Hudson
Drawing tablets
A reader asked if I use a drawing tablet. Before I answer that question, let's talk about what a drawing table is for those who might not be familiar with the technology. There are three…
Starting a painting
Everyone knows how to start a painting, right? You take up your brush and begin--what's the problem? Joking aside, if you want to create a sketch or study, that IS exactly how you start. That…
Premixing tones
Artists spend a lot of time thinking about their palettes; how many colors, which colors, how big, and so forth. My palette is too large to hold in my hand so I keep it on…
Good photo day. Finally.
Cedar Point is known as the "Roller Coaster Capital of the World." It is one of the oldest and largest amusement parks in the United States. In addition to the roller coasters, the park has…
How to save your brushes
Many oil painters keep their brushes upside down in turpentine or thinner. This practice is horrible; it's the worst thing you can do to your brushes. In defense of painters who do this, I used…
Palettes everywhere
The hand clamps I use for carpentry are versatile. Here, I've used one to attach a palette to my easel. My big palette, the one that spills over my paint cabinet, is movable but when…
A bit of drawing
For the past week or so, I've worked exclusively on drawings. More precisely, designs for paintings, as the one illustrated below. These design-focused drawings will be covered by paint. The one illustrated here is the…