Is there something wrong with stand oil?
After reading some of my disparaging remarks about stand oil, a reader asked me if there was something wrong with stand oil. The short answer is no, there is nothing wrong with stand oil. The…
Category: Shop Talk
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…
Basic oil painting medium
There is a lot of information about painting mediums on my site but if you're new to painting, an abundance of information is the same as no information. Where to start? The good news is…
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 product. Sun-thickened oil's consistency should…
Brush graveyard
My brush graveyard is getting too big. I throw out most of my worn-out brushes. I've also been known to snap in two misbehaving brushes. Those I also throw out. But my favorites I inter…
Transparent earth colors
Oil paint can be profitably judged for either its covering strength or transparency. This comports with some well known bits of studio wisdom: "fat over lean," and "thick lights, thin darks." Covering colors, often called…
The problem with blended commercial oil paint
The ideal palette consists entirely of single-pigment colors. Such an ideal palette provides artists with total control over values and tones. This is especially important for artists, like me, who use lead white. These days,…