Glowing lights
I have several themes in mind for today's post. One theme is about varnish--intermediate varnish. An intermediate varnish is used to seal the surface and prevent subsequent paint layers from sinking into the earlier layers.…
Category: materials
Those who live in glass houses…
...or use glass palettes. I get a lot of questions about my homemade palette. I've been using this palette for several years and by now it's pretty beat-up. In fact, I attempted to replace it…
Not all synthetic brushes are awful
I heap abuse on synthetic brushes. But some synthetics are not too bad--for oils. I haven't found any synthetics that can replace sables for watercolor painting. Not even close. These synthetic rounds from Winsor and…
Maulsticks
When my daughter was very young, with a very serious face she asked, "Daddy, why do you hold a big stick in your studio?" To a child, the most question-provoking thing about the studio was…
Bristle brushes
Even though I sometimes disparage bristle brushes, I use them all the time. I use them for medium or broad passages--not for finer areas. Like most students, I was taught that real painters used bristles…
Good flake white
Utrecht flak white continues to surprise me with its good performance. Considering its modest price, it's a good value. I am using it throughout this painting titled The Fair. It covers well and handles crisply.…
Paint bigly
I am painting three new canvases that fit the bigly category. Big for me, is 4' x 5' or thereabouts. In the preceding weeks, I was drawing bigly too--working on the drawings for the new…
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 can compare the new materials…