Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) makes a good (and cheap!) support for painting and drawing. A 4′ x 8′ piece from a lumberyard is $20. That is 40 9″ x 12″ panels for less than .50$ per panel. If you don’t have a table saw, you can buy a pack of 12 pre-cut panels for 1$ –…
Category: Tips and Studies
materials, Shop Talk, Tips and Studies, Turpentine diaries
Artists with small brushes
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•Most of the tropes we learn about art and art-making are rubbish. One meaningless trope is, “Real artistes only use large brushes.” Alright, then. “A six-inch brush for this five-inch canvas, right Professor?” “Don’t get cute! Use a brush suitable for the job, Nimrod!” But that’s not what you said. Use the right tools for…
Artists, Drawings, materials, Shop Talk, Tips and Studies, Turpentine diaries
Sketchbooks
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•I keep sketchbooks and doddle-books. Sketchbooks are for quick sketches where freshness and directness are important. Sketches can be simple or elaborate. Aaron Blaise is a good artists who has some YouTube videos about his sketchbooks and why he keeps them. If you are an artist or art student, keep a sketchbook. I also keep…
How to, materials, Paintings, Studio Corner, Tips and Studies, Turpentine diaries, Uncategorized
Oil of Cloves
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•How to, materials, Shop Talk, Tips and Studies, Turpentine diaries
How to–grounds
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•Most artists do not know how to prepare grounds for oil painting. I know this is true because none of my teachers were able to prepare acceptable grounds, and none of the commercially-prepared canvases that I’ve used have been acceptable. This is even true for vendors who claim the highest expertise. A bold statement maybe…
Main Street, materials, Paintings, Studio Corner, Tips and Studies, Turpentine diaries
Grounded
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•materials, Shop Talk, Tips and Studies, Turpentine diaries
Those who live in glass houses…
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•…or use glass palettes. I get a lot of questions about my homemade palette. I’ve been using this palette for several years and by now it’s pretty beat-up. In fact, I attempted to replace it recently but the replacement’s glass cracked before I could use it. What is it? It was a glass-framed reproduction that…
materials, Shop Talk, Tips and Studies, Turpentine diaries
Not all synthetic brushes are awful
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•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 synthetic rounds from Winsor and Newton are OK. Monarch brushes are made from “synthetic mongoose fibers,” whatever that might be. Winsor Newton claims that they…