My fav…raw umber
Next to lead white, raw umber is my most-used color. Because it’s fast drying, it’s ideal for every use case, whether I’m making a quick sketch or preparing the underpainting on a large painting. Additionally, its high transparency means it can produce the widest range of tones. Raw umber has always been on my palette,
New drawing
Normally I don’t write about new drawings; we make drawings all the time. This drawing is unusually large for a pencil drawing, 30″ x 40″. It’s also notable for being on hot-pressed watercolor paper. I wrote recently about how happy I am with my roll of Arches watercolor paper. Girl with a Bunny Purse is
What’s in the kitchen
This corner of my studio shows two paintings that I’m working on. The unfinished painting on the floor is the latest in my Main Street series. The large vertical painting is the newest work in my Amusement Park series. I had my first painting session with it yesterday. I’ll continue to work both of these
New camera lens
I tested my new 35mm F1.8 prime lens today with my Nikon z7 camera. This prime lens joins two others in my collection–50mm F1.8, and 85mm F1.8. The latter two are exceptionally sharp and are the best lenses that I’ve owned. It’s too early to tell if the 35mm is as good as its siblings.
‘Liberty Avenue’ again
Art students frequently struggle over how to start a painting. Once started poorly, a painting is hard to correct. I’ve shared the starting stages of several of my paintings for art students struggling with starting a painting. I expected my previous post about the progress of my new painting, Liberty Avenue, to be the final
Updates
Yesterday I noticed that I haven’t updated my galleries for a while. So, I added two paintings that I finished last year. Here is one of them, Woman in Black-stripped Dress: Read moreCleveland Museum of Art Opens RenovationsWoman in Black-stripped Dress is 40″ x 54.” While working on the gallery, I noticed that the gallery
Arguing with a painting
I’ve had a long argument with this as-yet-untitled painting. The argument started as soon as I completed the original design. I spent time taking things out of the design after it was supposed to be finished. I work hard on designs and only start painting with the drawing is finished. But it’s a large painting,
Backslide
I know me. When I finish a painting, if I don’t put it away I’ll find something to fix or improve. Paintings never get finished that way. It’s the deepest and rabbit-ity of all rabbit holes. I finished this painting, Phone Call on Main Street, some time ago, but every time I look at it,