Covid fairy
Two Fridays back, I became tired and took a nap. I never take naps so everyone instantly knew I was sick. My body ached and I couldn’t get warm. I…
Mixing paint on the palette
I never use a palette knife on my palette. To mix a tone, I plunge my brush into the paints and use the brush to mix what I need. For…
Yesterday
Yesterday I was late to the studio. I dragged my lazy butt into the studio at 8:30. Morning people know how head-shakingly lazy that hour is. I painted until lunch…
Naphtha
I’ve written before about the difference between paint thinner and OMS (spoiler: they’re just different names for the same thing). I’ve also written about the turpentine that I routinely use.…
Woolybear
The annual Woolybear Festival in Vermilion was yesterday. The weather wasn’t perfect but that didn’t stop 100,000 festival-goers from converging on the little town of 10,000. I went armed with…
Painting flesh
Artists find painting people and portraits difficult. Even artists who can paint complicated landscapes without too much difficulty stumble when they attempt people. Why? Part of the answer is the…
New painting prep
My newest painting, White Ballon, is the standard size for me, 40″ x 54.” The drawing is simple–really the plan for the painting. I define the shapes and clarify the…
Matt Irwin photography
I’m on my third Nikon camera. I bought my first one because the Nikon-produced photos that I saw excited me in ways that the photos from other brands did not.…