Robert Smith
Robert Smith was an American artist who died in 1985. When I knew him, he already was an elderly man. He lived with his teenage son in Kettering, Ohio in…
Come on, RGH
I support the paint maker RGH by regularly buying their paint. RGH prices are drifting higher off their initial lows, but their paint is still among the best value on…
Titanium white sucks
I take back all the nice things I said about titanium white. I was never a fan of titanium white but after trying some of Michael Hading’s versions of the…
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…
Castles in the air
I knew a writer who wanted to transition from the technical documents that he wrote to pay his bills to fiction. His vision inspired a whole universe; not one novel…
RGH and Blue Ridge oils
Along with Winsor Newton, Blue Ridge and RGH oils get a lot of use on my palette. The categories I use to rate manufacturers in my oil paint brand…
What happened to Kremer pigments?
The Germany-based art supplier Kremer was the best source for hard-to-find items not long ago. Now? It’s impossible to complete orders online, not difficult–impossible. I recently attempted to place an…
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…