I’ve updated the Oil Paint Brand listing with new ratings and comments.
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Bio, Paintings, Shop Talk, Studio Corner, Uncategorized
In the studio 2/9/2014
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Here’s some recent work. This unfinished painting–‘Man and Woman in a Room’-has already undergone several changes. Originally you could see the open door on the left. Then I took out the door. Then I put it back, as you can see here (I think). Initially the wall behind the girl was blank. Then I added…
Bio, Paintings, Shop Talk, Studio Corner, Tips and Studies, Uncategorized
Study: ‘The Call’ Part 6
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This is the sixth post in this study. The next–final–post will be about the finished painting. I have finished my initial plan of attack. I always a have a goal when I start out, and I know when I’ve reached it when everything is in its place. Often, the road is circuitous as I uncover…
Paintings, Studio Corner
In the studio 2/2/2014
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Here is a photo of some recent work. I have discussed the larger, The Call, in the series of posts I wrote about it, which I’ll update tomorrow. The smaller painting, Two Women Before a Window still has a ways to go. Today I closed the window. Originally the window in the painting was open…
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I don’t follow pop music like I did when I was a teenager. The iTunes playlists I listen to while painting have very few artists that weren’t popular by, say, the 80’s. But I recently added several songs by PJ Harvey to my playlists. I discovered her while listening to ‘Tom Waits’ radio on iTunes. I especially like The Last Living Rose.
Bio, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
Winter stays center stage
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The winter of ’14 has been the coldest in recent memory. Lake Erie remains frozen, as can be seen in this recent photo from my bedroom balcony. Take cheer! Summer will return and transform the lake into scenes like this one:
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Two recent links will be useful to people interested in the technical aspects of painting. Tad Spurgeon’s site provides a wealth of information about oils. This site describes how to make oil paints.While I haven’t followed the advice of either:-), both have a lot of reference material.
Bio, Fiction
Poem: On and on played they
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In the corner of the ruined room,
she was crying,
frightened of herself
and angry at us.
‘Freedom is full of monsters.
Just get out.’
I ran to summer
in the next room,
where the Goes Orchestral band members,
led by the red-haired midget on saxophone,
made intricate, drug-induced patterns on the stage.
On and on played they.
I wish they were more self-critical.
Bio, Paintings, Studio Corner, Vermilion, OH
In the studio 1/26/214
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Considering today is Keith’s birthday, it’s fitting to be working on paintings for which he posed. Both paintings are almost finished. My wife laughs when I say this because I am notorious for reworking ‘finished’ paintings. I’m liable to pick up a finished work at any time and start in if I see something that…
Shop Talk, Studio Corner, Tips and Studies, Uncategorized
Bad Blockx
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Here’s a tube of Blockx that’s gone bad. Phtalo green is so strong it overpowers other colors so I don’t use it often, but even so this tube should still be usable. I have other tubes that are much older. As you can see, this tube of phtalo green has become so firm that it can…
Artists, Bio, Uncategorized
Awakenings
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Do you remember your first encounters with great art? I vividly recall my introduction to certain artists–life-changing discoveries that revolutionized my views about art. The composer Berlioz recalled his introduction to Shakespeare this way: “Shakespeare, coming upon me unawares, struck me like a thunderbolt. The lightning flash of that sublime discovery opened before me at…
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Added Richeson and Grumbacher to the table and updated information about the types of oils used in binders; updated several ratings.
Shop Talk, Tips and Studies, Uncategorized
Oil
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The best oil I’ve used has been cold-pressed linseed oil. Cold-pressed oil combines with colors well, and doesn’t ‘suede’ like refined oils. Cold-pressing refers to extracting oil from flax seeds with a mill or press and without heat or chemical processes. The resulting oil is highly acidic, which is why it combines well with pigment.…
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I updated the oil paint brand list with information about the binders used by some manufacturers (Blockx, Old Holland, Michael Hadring, Blue Ridge, and Holbein). I also downgraded my ratings for Blue Ridge. I prefer cold-pressed linseed to alkali refined method they use. They also use a blend of walnut and linseed oils. Finally, I’ve used paint from Michael Harding (ultramarine blue) which seems very good, but I haven’t used it enough to rate it.
Bio, Paintings, Studio Corner, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
Main Street x2
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Today I worked on these paintings. Both are titled ‘Main Street.’ Each is taken from a one-block area of–you guessed it–Main Street in our small town. #1 (bottom painting) might end up being called ‘Antique Shop,’ or some-such. While not identical, both are roughly the same size. As you can see from the photograph, both…