Category: Turpentine diaries
In the kitchen
For the most part, I've stopped showing the early stages of my paintings. One thing that I've learned after running this site for 8 years is that readers assume that I only post finished work--the…
Watercolors yes
I was a little rusty with watercolors when I started this painting. It's good-quality paper but I forgot to dampen it before I started. Duh. I finally got it going and finished it quickly (for…
Watercolor colors
My recently-started watercolor cycle represents the first watercolors that I've done for sometime. I still have a good supply of colors, papers, and brushes. Of course, I never use my watercolor brushes for oils. This…
New ink drawings
Yesterday, I was preparing for some watercolor work by inventorying my watercolor supplies. I have an acceptable collection of colors and paper. Puttering with the watercolors led to playing with gauche, which led to painting…
Arguing with a painting
I've had a long argument with this as-yet-untitled painting. The argument started as soon as I completed the original design. I spent time taking things out of the design after it was supposed to be…
Modestly-priced panels for oil
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…
Ugly colors
There are no ugly colors. This is a bit of conventional studio wisdom that is actually true. When I was starting out, I used a limited palette out of necessity. My palette had a lot…