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,…
Category: materials
Design process
I've been drawing a lot lately. I made this small study while preparing a large (for me) new painting for my Amusement Park series. I'd planned to make an oil sketch but decided to heighten…
Adobe vs Affinity Photo
Adobe got into trouble earlier this year after they updated their terms of service and users discovered that Adobe claimed the right to use user-created content to train their AI. Adobe defended its action by…
Loaded again
I know what you're thinking but, no, not that kind of loaded. I get excited when I prepare my palette for another painting session. Seeing the waiting colors is inviting. I coat the glass palette…
Delicious copal jelly
I haven't been a fan of gelling paint mediums since my early interest in maroger, a gelling medium made from mastic. But I like to experiment with mediums, sometimes to my harm. My go-to for…
Customizing my easel
I was forced to customize--that is, fix--my easel when its wheels broke. A heavy-duty easel without wheels is next to useless. Now I am glad the easel broke because my fix is a significant upgrade.…
RGH vs Harding
Readers know about my obsession with The Great White--flake (lead) white paint. This all-important color is getting harder to find because some manufacturers stopped making it due to misguided health concerns and regulations. I've discussed…
Good paper for large drawings
Arches make good paper. My roll of hot-pressed watercolor paper is very good for large-format drawing too. My roll of 356gsm is 51 inches wide by 10 yards long. My 30" x 40" drawing like…