The lady who gave up
Fresh off the boat that summer; I was a wide-eyed kid in New York for the first time. I gorged myself on galleries and museums. I was as fresh and raw as a nineteen-year-old can be. One day I was in a Madison Avenue gallery when an elegantly dressed older woman entered. As I was the only
Ladies Celebrating Diwali
What are they doing? What’s happening in this dark and mysterious scene? The full moon broods over several women holding lights or sparklers over their heads, much as revelers in the U.S. do on the 4th of July. In the distance, jets of fireworks illuminate the night sky. In the middle distance, pleasure seekers watch the fireworks from boats on
In the studio 2/15/15
After a marathon 13-hour session with The Picnic, I think I’ve wrestled it to the ground. The Picnic has fought me since day one.. First, the canvas, from a sub-par batch of cotton duck, wants to sag against the cross bar. Worse is the lousy ground. I’m always looking for efficiencies and this time it
In the studio 2/8/15
I worked on these paintings this morning. I painted-out some foliage in the upper-right of Three Girls. The tone in the photo of that area is more yellow–by far–than the actual tone. The under-painting is done (has been for a bit) and I’m driving toward finishing it. It’s a lot of fun painting the VW Bug. Three
In the studio 2/1/15
I had my first painting session with Taking Note yesterday. Yesterday’s session will be the first of 12 or so. I can’t remember how many drawing sessions I had before I started painting–4 or 5 sounds about right. Taking Note is 42″ x 60″ and it’s a refreshing change of pace to work on a
Brush reference update 1/31/15
I’ve updated my oil brush reference with a review of Creative Mark Pro Stroke 77B bristle brushes. In a word: mediocre (but cheap).
Oil brush update 1/30/15
I’ve bought brushes marketed as ‘Russian-made sables’ at different times and from different vendors. The actual manufacturer is obscure. Their only identifying marking is the distinctive logo, which you can see in the accompanying photo. In addition to the logo, the brushes have long, mahogany handles. They are excellent brushes for oil (I’ve never used
In the studio 1/25/2105
Main Street #1, or ‘The Antique Shop,’ is on the easel in this photograph. I had a couple of good, long sessions on it today. I’m having fun painting the bric-a-brac in the shop window. Vermilion is a lake-front town (biggest concentration of small-boat marinas on the Great Lakes) and many shops have a nautical