Finished? Not finished? Finished? Not finished?
Many artists have trouble determining when a painting is finished. It can be excruciatingly painful to let a painting go, especially after you worked on it for a long time.…
Turpentine diaries 7/21/19
The first day painting on a new design is always exiting. True, paintings almost never live up to the vision in my mind’s eye, but I start every new painting…
Rublev Sun-thickened oil
Rublev’s new version of sun-thickened oil is much improved from its earlier offering and is good oil. This is far different from my conclusion of their first attempt at this…
Tip: Closer, Farther
Have you ever struggled with a passage even though you know the colors and tones are right? One corrective, especially when the tones are extremely close, is to ensure that…
Glop, goo, and jelly
I’ve never understood the fascination with thick, viscous oil painting mediums. Used for special effects, such mediums are perfectly fine, but for everyday work they are completely useless. I scratch my…
Move-in day in the new studio
My first session in the new studio! In this photo, you can see two easels set up and ready to go. The third one is off the frame to the…
Applying an oil ground
I am preparing a bunch of canvases just now–six size 40″ x 50″, and six size 36″ x 48.” Typically, I apply 2-3 coats of acrylic gesso over 2 coats of GAC…
In the studio 11/1/15
The ground on this painting, Three Women (VW Bug), is wonderful. It’s a traditional oil ground applied over acrylic gesso. A traditional oil ground is essentially white oil paint with the addition…