I recently read Dan Chaon’s 2017 thriller, Ill Will. This is my first book by this author, which reinforces my resolve to ignore online reviews. Can it be that they’re all fake? These days I’ve replaced my Kindle Oasis with a Kobo Libre 2. I reviewed the Kindle and I’ll provide a review of the…
I enjoyed preparing my last video so much, I am charged-up to do another. In my last video about Jan van Goyen, I mentioned his fellow Dutch Golden Ager, van Ruisdael. I’ve got a lot of material about this artist so I’ve already started the next video. One benefit of visiting art museums regularity is…
I published a new video on YouTube about the artist Jan van Goyen. As I’ve done with other videos, I used a painting in Cleveland’s Museum of Art as the starting point. In the video, I analyze van Goyen’s View of Emmerich in the Cleveland Museum of Art, and discuss van Goyen’s career, the Dutch…
For me, visiting the Utrecht store on 3rd Ave. in Manhattan was like going to Disneyland. An entire store dedicated to art supplies! Utrecht along with Pearl and other independent icons like David Davis made New York City a mecca for working artists. Those days are gone. Pearl closed and when Utrecht’s founders, Harold and…
Recently, a reader emailed me several questions that I want to share: i am looking for the perfect oil paint and it is not easy to choose and find the one that suits me. it would save me from buying several brands to test. it scares me. I have seen your excellent work on testing…
In an act of savage terrorism Darya Dugina, the daughter of Alexander Dugin, was killed in Moscow last night. A bomb exploded in the car that Darya drove killing her instantly. It is reported that Dugin had intended to travel with his daughter only changing plans at the last moment. It’s believed that the bomb…
I am in the midst of another fiction-consuming binge. When I tire of listening to podcasts I fire up an audio book. Between listening to books and reading them with my Kobo e-Reader, I go through a lot of books. The fantasy novel Lord Foul’s Bane by Stephen Donaldson is the first book in the…
In the past, I trolled titanium white users–zinc white users too. These whites, inferior as they are, provide the only competition for the champion of oil-paint white, lead white. Actually, it isn’t even a contest; lead white wins easily on every metric that matters: blending, body, and all-around handling. Titanium white is so unnaturally bright…
Some artists have goals similar to my own. Among these artists are some I find especially sympathetic–my protectors. My protectors are the artists from whom I learn the most. My protector list is different from the artists that influenced me when I was young. My youthful influences include Rodin, Monet, and van Gogh. Of these,…
Today, I received the sad news that one of my teachers, Ray Must, died. I didn’t cotton to art school. I was a difficult student; actually one of the worst types: impatient, judgemental, and burdened with an extra-large dose of youthful angst. Luckily for me, Ray was an angst-ridden student whisperer. With his patience, kindness,…
I posted yesterday and then realized that it’d been almost three weeks since my last post! I knew it had been too long but I hadn’t realized it had been that long. I’ve been busy working on my long-planned updates. Eventually, this blog will move to the domain hudson.studio and merge with my SubStack site,…
I am testing the excellent Michael Harding brand Cremitz white. It really is good stuff. Along with Kremer’s Cremitz white, it’s among the best lead whites that I’ve used. Of course, the lead whites from all the manufacturers still providing the all-important paint are excellent. By the last count, there are eight art supply manufacturers…
I am embarking on a new series: Amusement Park. After my last visit to Cedar Point, I’ve amassed 1500 photos. I bought a season pass and intend many more visits. Amusement Park joins my two other series: Playhouse Square, and Main Street. I am still have many more paintings in the works in the Main…
After a bitter and scandal-filled election and with an increasingly divided nation, you might think that the Biden administration would move with circumspection and try to heal the country. Not at all. They are dead set on ‘The Great Reset,’ which turns out to mean overturning the social order without changing leadership. Because the ballot…
My Ancestry DNA test contains few surprises. As expected, the results show I am mostly English and Scottish. Also expected is a Northern European connection, pointing to Northern France and Belgium. Family lore maintains that we have Native American ancestors which turns out to be true. But there are a few surprises. 3% Welsh? I…