I continue to update the survey of oil paint brands. I have been using a lot of paint from the small producer Blue Ridge Colors. I am constantly on the lookout for reliable day-to-day paints, that is, paints that are good quality and reasonably priced. In this pursuit, I’ve recently used Rembrandt, Winsor Newton, and…
Category: Shop Talk
Paintings, Shop Talk, Studio Corner, Tips and Studies, Uncategorized
Study: Making ‘The Call’ Part 4
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OK, so where are we now? The under-painting is done and the finishing work is started. To recap, my process is divided into several stages: Design/Drawing: I draw the deign with pencil then fix it with ink. The drawing is a plan: I work through every area and identify any issues. I can change the…
Shop Talk, Studio Corner
Tip: Closer, Farther
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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 closer forms are painted over those farther back. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen works spoiled when things farther away are painted over…
Shop Talk, Tips and Studies, Uncategorized
Painting Mediums Revisited
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Someone asked why I fudged the proportion of varnish in my medium recipe. Varnishes differ widely from one another. Some are made with oil and some are made with thinner. Some start concentrated with the expectation that they will be thinned later, while others are already thinned to some desired consistency. Damar, which along with…
Shop Talk, Uncategorized
Bad, Bad, Bad (ingredients)
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Anyone who knows me knows that one of my hot button issues is premium-priced art supplies that are actually inferior, or, as is often the case, pure crap. So don’t get me started. Recently I opened a bottle of black oil from Williamsburg. Although the bottle had been purchased some time back, to my disgust,…
Shop Talk, Studio Corner, Tips and Studies, Uncategorized
Painting Mediums
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Painting mediums are a never-ending topic for discussion and debate among artists. Mediums profoundly affect how oil paint handles, and many preparations are complicated or dangerous, filled with ancient lore and alchemical processes. Oil by its nature is flowing and slow drying, qualities that during the early Renaissance led to the birth of large-format paintings…
Shop Talk, Tips and Studies, Uncategorized
Tip: Painting Flesh
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There is not a single best way to paint Caucasian flesh. Any orange-brown tone can serve as a base that can be made lighter and darker, and cooler and warmer as needed. As simple as this sounds, it’s maddeningly easy to misfire when painting portraits or figures. The eye scans portraits and notices false notes…
Bio, Paintings, Shop Talk, Studio Corner, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
In the Studio 7/14/2013
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As usual, here is some current work. The small self-portrait at top was recently finished (it’s still wet). It’s a companion to a gouache I did earlier this year. The painting on the lower-right (tentatively titled ‘Down’) has a warm orange-brown ground. I favor this tone for my grounds although I have used others.