Review: Charvin Fine Oils
I bought some cerulean blue from Charvin. Actually, Charvin doesn’t produce a true cerulean blue but something they call ‘cerulean blue hue.’ Charvin produces two lines of paints: Fine, and…
Starting a painting
Everyone knows how to start a painting, right? You take up your brush and begin–what’s the problem? Joking aside, if you want to create a sketch or study, that IS…
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…
Smooth Move—Smooth Painting Surfaces
All artists are self-taught today. It doesn’t matter if you have a masters degree or never set foot in an art school–everyone is on their own. The most important piece of…
Best deal in flake white
RGH has the best deal for the all-important flake white. Their cremnitz white extra fine is $46.25 for a 250 ml jar. By comparison, a 237 ml jar of Williamsburg’s flake…
Preparing a canvas surface for oil painting
This is a companion to my canvas stretching post. After you stretch a perfectly taut and square canvas, you’re ready to prepare the surface. Read moreIn the Studio Oct. 14…
Wonderful sun-thickened oil
I’ve written about my everyday-medium plenty of times. I frequently modify my medium for certain situations. Sometimes, for example, I add a little Venice turpentine to the regular turpentine I use…
Study: Making ‘The Call’ Part 4
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…