For me, visiting the Utrecht store on 3rd Ave. in Manhattan was like going to Disneyland. An entire store dedicated to art supplies! Utrecht along with Pearl and other independent icons like David Davis made New York City a mecca for working artists. Those days are gone. Pearl closed and when Utrecht’s founders, Harold and…
Today, I received the sad news that one of my teachers, Ray Must, died. I didn’t cotton to art school. I was a difficult student; actually one of the worst types: impatient, judgemental, and burdened with an extra-large dose of youthful angst. Luckily for me, Ray was an angst-ridden student whisperer. With his patience, kindness,…
In the U.S.A., Memorial Day is the day we set aside to honor those who died in the service of their country. In my family, my maternal grandmother King’s grandfather was wounded and left for dead at the Battle of Shiloh. He survived to tell the story to his granddaughter. My paternal grandfather, John Hudson,…
I have been struggling with a painting for the past week. It was not going as I wanted and it was difficult to “see” it. This “blindness” happens to me periodically. The first few times it happened when I was young, it troubled me a lot. I thought I’d lost my talent. Sudden changes like…
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…
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.…
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…
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…