Mixing paint on the palette
I never use a palette knife on my palette. To mix a tone, I plunge my brush into the paints and use the brush to mix what I need. For example, on this nearly-fresh palette,…
Category: How to
Painting flesh
Artists find painting people and portraits difficult. Even artists who can paint complicated landscapes without too much difficulty stumble when they attempt people. Why? Part of the answer is the uncanny valley. The uncanny valley…
Leaded oil completed
I began my latest batch of leaded linseed oil on July 27, 2021--38 days ago. I protected the oil from debris with a cover. I gently rocked the tray periodically to prevent surface skin. When…
Get the lead out
OK, the title of this post is a bit of misdirection. I mean to say 'get the lead in.' Quick-drying oil is very important for oil painting. Not only do quick-drying oils enable artists to…
Almost ready
I put the final toned ground on the linen-cotton blend canvas that I recently wrote about. The canvas is dry, indeed, it was dry the same day I applied the ground, but it still needs…
Commercial canvas
I spend a lot of time preparing canvases--stretching, priming, and grounding. The process works well for me but it's time-consuming. I would gladly buy commercially-prepared canvas but my experience with it has been bad. In…
Smooth is best
Rereading what I wrote about preparing a canvas, I realized that I didn't emphasize the main goal enough. Yes, it's important to protect the canvas, but the real goal is to make a great surface.…
Modestly-priced panels for oil
Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) makes a good (and cheap!) support for painting and drawing. A 4' x 8' piece from a lumberyard is $20. That is 40 9" x 12" panels for less than .50$ per…