Sable brushes
Sable brushes are the best. There’s no debate about this. Sure, there are some use cases where the benefits of sable are irrelevant. The fine control provided by sables is…
Review: Michael Harding oil paint
In the past, I used enough Michael Harding paint to add it to my oil paint reference. My initial rating was “good.” Later, I tried their titanium white and was…
Drawing is always the solution
The question is, “How do I fix my stuck painting?” The answer is always drawing. When one of my paintings stalls, drawing is the cure. My most successful paintings started…
Lawrence’s Annoying Paintings at the Cleveland Museum of Art
I have nothing against Thomas Lawrence, indeed, I like his work, but—good grief!—he could make some annoying paintings. The Cleveland Museum of Art has two of the offending paintings hanging…
Poem: Why do I remember this?
Why do I remember? I’ve carried this, and now–see?–here it is. Guided by a compulsion (that has never left me) I painted the walls of my mother’s house the entire…
Art museums and technology
In their fierce competition for the vast pool of entertainment dollars, art museums are attempting to use technology to reinvent themselves. The theme-park-ization of museums is replete with interactive attractions and high-tech gewgaws. On the…
Christmas morning
Christmas morning. My daughter, Jane, is home from college, and we’re waiting for her and our two high school-age sons to wake up. This is the first Christmas that the…
In the studio 6/7/15
Grandfather was turned against the wall for a long time; I just didn’t like the direction it was going. Since then I’ve completely altered the background by adding the landscape…