Bad easel
I listened to songs by PJ Harvey during this morning's painting session (actually drawing session). Her songs are filled with the kind of poetry that tears you up--just what I like. Many of her songs…
Category: Shop Talk
Rant
I was taught nothing of practical use about painting when I was a student. Worse than the daily dose of esoteric BS was the relentless, sneering attack on the subjects of technique and history, which…
In praise of cerulean blue
Cerulean blues is an extremely important color. Besides being a core blue (it should be on every palette), it forms complementary tones with most orange-brown colors, such as burnt sienna (another very useful color). [caption id="attachment_3284"…
Complementary neutral tones
The eye loves complementary neutrals. The eye will accept the 'truth' of a well placed neutral faster than it will a piece of carefully crafted modeling. Nature abounds with complementary colors. I remember as a…
In the studio 3/23/2014
Here is my usual weekly post about what's cookin'. The top painting is 'Deb.' [caption id="attachment_3282" align="aligncenter" width="500"] On the easel 3/23/14[/caption] The lower painting isn't very far advanced but I think you can get…
No black paint one my palette
Someone asked if I inadvertently omitted straight-from-the-tube black from my palette. The omission wasn't inadvertent. I don't use ivory black (or any other black) 'as is.' Ivory black is too cold to use as is,…
Prevent oil paint from drying with oil of cloves
Artists usually doctor their oil paint to make them dry faster. By decreasing drying times, paintings can be reworked sooner and completed faster. Siccative agents, such as lead, also enhance the handling qualities of oil…