The Cuban-born, Cleveland-based artist Augusto Bordelois is showing some striking works at Cleveland State U. The exhibition, titled “Based on a True Story,” is filled with large-format paintings full of bold colors and simple shapes that burst their frames and overflow the shallow space, as in the accompanying photo. The designs are strong although simple;…
More recent work. The church is from a drawing I made in Colorado. I am using a mastic-based medium in this painting. In the past I used a jelly-type medium (Maroger), but stopped long ago. This medium isn’t jelly-like in the least even though it uses mastic. It’s an OK medium but not nearly as…
I continue to update the survey of oil paint brands. I have been using a lot of paint from the small producer Blue Ridge Colors. I am constantly on the lookout for reliable day-to-day paints, that is, paints that are good quality and reasonably priced. In this pursuit, I’ve recently used Rembrandt, Winsor Newton, and…
Here is a photo of paintings I’ve worked over the last several days. None are finished, although the bottom-most is nearest to being done. I’ve spent a lot of time on the drawings for 4 large paintings (for me–40″ x 50″), but I won’t show them until the drawings are done to my satisfaction.
OK, so where are we now? The under-painting is done and the finishing work is started. To recap, my process is divided into several stages: Design/Drawing: I draw the deign with pencil then fix it with ink. The drawing is a plan: I work through every area and identify any issues. I can change the…
Have you ever struggled with a passage even though you know the colors and tones are right? One corrective, especially when the tones are extremely close, is to ensure that closer forms are painted over those farther back. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen works spoiled when things farther away are painted over…
My wife hates this unfinished self-portrait. She says it doesn’t look anything like me–I look a bit crazed. Ha! In the recent batch of self-portraits, I want to be relentless. My fellow artists will understand my meaning.
Through the narrow window, the full-blood moon floated in the black water of the bathtub, next to where you laid with your face against the wall sobbing. Pressing my cheek to yours, I glimpsed, the unfurled flags of defeat and something I didn’t understand. Aug., 2013
A favorite chair. I have used a white lawn chair in my paintings several times. I like its sensuous shape and the matte color provides an interesting contrast to the objects around it. The two paintings on the lower-right show my children with the chair, Jane on the far-right, Keith in the middle. The other…
Someone asked why I fudged the proportion of varnish in my medium recipe. Varnishes differ widely from one another. Some are made with oil and some are made with thinner. Some start concentrated with the expectation that they will be thinned later, while others are already thinned to some desired consistency. Damar, which along with…
The Cleveland Museum of Art, like most museums, rotates the paintings in its permanent collection. The museum recently rotated its Dutch School collection, happily bringing into view this little gem by Gerrit Dou. When I say little, I do mean little. This exquisite painting is a mere 6 3/8″ x 4 3/4.” Take a moment…
Anyone who knows me knows that one of my hot button issues is premium-priced art supplies that are actually inferior, or, as is often the case, pure crap. So don’t get me started. Recently I opened a bottle of black oil from Williamsburg. Although the bottle had been purchased some time back, to my disgust,…
What’s unusual about today’s ‘In the Studio’ post is the works I’m showing were both finished today! The larger is titled ‘Jane Hudson and Her Father,’ (yes, it’s me holding my daughter Jane when she was about three). The landscape, ‘Colorado River #1,’ is on linen, which I do not often use.
NE Ohio Joseph O’Sickey died Monday at the age of 94. I Reviewed his current show at The Bonfoey Gallery here.
An artist is like a man sitting in a dark room holding a mirror. There in the dark, little can be seen. But if he opens the ‘Nature’ window, light floods the room and an impossibly beautiful vista opens before him. He can study the beauties through the window or study his own face in…