Family mystery
My great-grandfather Ramey had a fierce personality. Even in his 90’s, he had no time for nonsense, epically from unruly children such as me. My grandmother ascribed her father’s fierceness…
Winter might end?
Just when I finally lost all hope, we saw the sun. This winter has been harsh with bitter cold and snowstorms followed quickly by more snowstorms. But Lake Erie has…
I bought manganese violet
Like the title says, I bought some manganese violet. Some artists maintain that they can reproduce every color by using a small collection of paints. While it’s true that you…
Ragged easel
My Utrecht easel has served me well. True, it’s held together with glue and clamps, but it still handles the large-size paintings that I make. One thing the easel lacks…
Who needs culture anyway?
One of the biggest shocks of my life and one of my biggest disappointments occurred when I went to France for the first time in 1993. France! home of great…
President Trump, pardon Assange
On President Trumps’ last day in office, I’ve signed the petition that urges the president to pardon Assange. For more background, here’s a recent NY Times article. If you want…
British judge rejects Assange extradition
Surprisingly, this morning a British judge rejected the US request for extradition of Julian Assange. Assange, as most of you know, is the beleaguered founder/leader of WikiLeaks. Previously, Judge Vanessa…
Review: Master’s Touch
Hobby Lobby, for those like me who hadn’t shopped there before, is a craft supermarket that also does a brisk business in frames and framing. They carry art supplies too–stretchers,…















