Tips for Using a Grid
I frequently use a grid to enlarge designs for paintings. It’s my preferred method for transferring designs from one medium into another (except watercolors). What do I use to create a grid? Good question. The…
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Transferring Designs to Canvas
I routinely transfer designs as I rework subjects in various mediums. There are several standard methods for transferring designs to a target surface. One long-used method was to prepare a cartoon to the exact dimensions of the…
Turpentine Tip
Put some Venice turpentine into your everyday turpentine (10:1 turpentine to Venice turpentine). You could substitute larch turpentine or Canada balsam for Venice turpentine, both of which are easy to obtain. The admixture of Venice…
Spray Varnish
Varnish is a sore subject. I’ve nearly spoiled some of my own paintings with poor varnish, and I’ve had so-called ‘professionals’ ruin paintings (one frame shop owner in Trenton, NJ left brush hairs in the…
In the Studio 2/17/2013
A productive day with a lot of good sunlight. I finished two self-portraits this morning (a gouache and another pastel-gouache), almost finished the drawing for a new still life (oil), then worked on the oils…
The Galleries at CSU
I visited Cleveland State U's new gallery space on Euclid today. Neither of the two show--Animatopoeia, and Dante Rodriguez: New Works--warmed my winter-insulted bones, although Animatopoeia has some interesting sculpture I would provide a link to the gallery's…
Gaertner at the Cleveland Museum of Art
I'm an idiot, but you already knew that. After writing about discovering Frederick Gaertner in this post, I belatedly realized I had seen--on numerous occasions, no less--one of his paintings at the Cleveland Museum of Art.…
On the Easel Feb. 10, 2013
Picasso said he became an artist because he wanted to have his own collection of paintings. That sounds apocryphal but if he didn't say it, he should have. I've been working on these pieces these…