In the studio 11/15/15
I’ve been under the weather for several days and haven’t painted much. I’ve gotten ill the last several birthdays it seems. I did get a little painting done, but not much, like I said. During typical painting days, the more I work, the more energy I have. Painting is like exercise that way. This morning, after
In the studio 11/7/15
When the painting ground (surface) isn’t up to snuff paintings take longer. The ground for The Photographer is one of the poor ones. A small change in the preparation can have a major effect. I’ll not repeat the same experiment again. It’s taking a long time to get the surface right–sensitive and firm. I spent
In the studio 11/1/15
The ground on this painting, Three Women (VW Bug), is wonderful. It’s a traditional oil ground applied over acrylic gesso. A traditional oil ground is essentially white oil paint with the addition of chalk. The chalk makes the ground more covering and absorbent than oil paint alone, even when sanded. It’s really great to paint on. I
Artists’ studios
Most of modern arts journalism is marketing. One infrequently encounters critical journalism these days. A recent article in Canadian journal The Walrus is pretty typical. The piece, A Portrait of the artist’s Studio, is about the photographer Joseph Hartman’s series of portraits of artists’–Canadian artists–studios. I was not familiar with any of the artists. The photos
In the studio 10/25/15
After drawing this morning, I worked on Picnic. In addition to the four main figures, there are 27 other figures, or parts of figures, in the background. I’m having fun with all those figures. I went back and forth several times about this painting. The central figure’s back to the viewer has the potential to take the painting in
The Stendhal Syndrome
I am familiar with the great French author Stendhal’s novels–The Red and the Black, and The Charterhouse of Parma–having read them some years ago, but until I read an article in the online magazine The Point I’d never hear about Stendhal Syndrome. The Stendhal syndrome is a psychic disorder that causes dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when someone is exposed
I Finished The Woman in the Purple Boots
I thought I was going to finish The Woman in the Purple Boots a few days ago but wasn’t able to. After letting the last work dry thoroughly, I finished it today in a short session. I added a few touches to the right-most figure and the right-hand background. Most of today’s work was on
In the studio 10/18/15
It took awhile for Parade to get going. The ground is nonabsorbent and I fought it during the first several sessions. I still don’t like it but it’s starting to cook with gas now. Another thing that is challenging is the scale of the figures. They’re at that in-between scale; too small for full treatment,