As with every Christmas week in NE Ohio, the weather is dismal and gray. When I saw this gold stuff spread about our living room, I grabbed my camera to memorialize the strange event. “What is it,” my daughter asked in amazement? “Beats me,” my son shrugged. “I think it’s sunlight,” my wife suggested. By…
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 example, on this nearly-fresh palette, I dipped my brush into the cobalt blue–the second blue from the bottom right–and used my brush to mix it…
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 at 12:00. After lunch, I was back in the studio until 3:00. The studio sessions were good–better than the previous day where my energy was…
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. Why haven’t I written about Naphtha? I use Naphtha to clean etching plates but for painting, I use it less frequently than the other top…
I got my tube of Maimeri Puro Naples yellow with my last paint purchase. All paints purchased that day were unrated on my oil paint reference. I’ve used this brand before and put it on the list but I hadn’t used it enough to rate it. I’m not sure why I haven’t used it before.…
Bob Ross oils are low-end. Cheap. Their intended audience is people inspired by Bob Ross to try their hand at painting. I bought a tube of Ross Indian yellow as part of a recent purchase of paints that I intend to review, shown here. Bob Ross oils do not have their pigments listed on the…
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 my Nikon Z7 camera and managed 875 pictures in 2.5 hours. The annual festival began in 1973 and has occurred every year except for the…
To update my oil paint brands review and reference, I bought some paints that I don’t normally use. I have never used Cranfield or Bob Ross. I list Maimeri Puro and Richeson in my reference but I haven’t used them enough to rate them. This purchase allows me to correct that. I previously rated M.…
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 uncanny valley. The uncanny valley refers to the mechanisms people have for recognizing other humans. It turns out that these complicated mechanisms are difficult to…
The more I use Blue Ridge oils, the more I like them. I continue to use their flake white, of course, but I’m enjoying their entire lineup. My recent small order contains colors I use all the time, cerulean blue and permanent crimson, and others I’m testing–terra rosa and cobalt teal. Earth colors like terra…
Cedar Point, a Disneyland-like park on Ohio’s Lake Erie, is only a half-hour trip from my house. I picked the perfect day for my visit last week The weather was fine and because it was a school day, the crowds were smaller than normal. Finding parking was easy and the line to get in was…
By my 3rd session with the painting titled White Balloon, I finally have the entire surface covered with paint. One issue large paintings present (White Balloon is 40″ x 54″) that is not encountered on small canvases is coordination. It’s too easy to work out the details in an area only to discover the area…
I began my latest batch of leaded linseed oil on July 27, 2021–38 days ago. I protected the oil from debris with a cover. I gently rocked the tray periodically to prevent surface skin. When I checked the oil today, it was thick and sluggish which means it’s ready to decant and store. Forgetting to…
Last time I wrote about getting my painting titled White Balloon ready–the preparatory drawing and the first painting session. I am carrying the painting forward with this update. Here is White Balloon after my second painting session. You can better see the painting’s bones in this photo. It’s going to take time to put flesh…
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 relationships between objects: light on dark, light on light, light on dark and light, etc. For large paintings like this, it’s immensely helpful to address…