Review: Of Human Bondage
I’ve had this experience a lot lately. Maybe you have too. You reread a book that you once admired only to discover that it doesn’t resemble in the least what…
My easel is not worthless
I wrote glowingly about the Utrecht easel that I purchased. I said that it was a great bargain–an under-$300 medium-duty easel. But soon a support broke and the mechanism to…
Geneva Oil Paint non review
Readers have asked why I don’t have a review of Geneva brand oils in my Oil Paint reference. The short answer is that I haven’t used their oils. The longer…
RGH vs Utrecht
A reader asks wether I prefer Utrecht flake white or RGH’s. To answer the question directly: I prefer Utrecht (barely). Utrecht covers better and has more body. To demonstrate this,…
Grove’s heat-polymerized oil
It’s true that I’ve used the same medium for several years. That doesn’t stop me from trying new materials–far from it! My invariable practice provides a baseline to which I…
RGH Atelier Series oil
I bought a small 4 oz-bottle of RGH’s Atelier Series of refined linseed to oil to test. According to RGH’s website, the Atelier Series is “…clarified, hand-washed, cold pressed linseed…
Alchemist’s alchemy
WHAT WAS THE SECRET OF THE OLD MASTERS? THE ALCHEMISTS KNEW…AND SO SHALL YOU! Read moreIn the Studio Oct. 14 2012That bold claim was printed on the (hilarious) instruction sheet…
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…