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…
When I was starting, my budget restricted my paint choices to the cheapest brands. When I had some extra money (haha), I’d treat myself to a tube of Rembrandt paint. Rembrandt was decidedly low-end among the professional-grade oils, but a step up from my day-to-day paints. Rembrandt oils are still at the lower end of…
I’ve written a lot about the small paint manufacturer RGH for several reasons. First, I always support the small suppliers who are inspired by a high view of the craft. Suppliers such as RGH and James Grove are rare. Importantly, they continue to produce the all-important lead-based paints. Also, I use their stuff in my…
I’ve written several times about the oil paint manufacturer RGH. No, I don’t have a relationship with them, it’s just that I use their product a lot. Their flake white is my current go-to white. They also sometimes send me free paint when I order from them, such as the jar of blue ochre on…
I worked on Booth at the Fair these past two days. It’s starting to move my way. I can struggle with paintings for a variety of reasons, sometimes technical, sometimes who knows what. This painting hit a groove straightaway and began to slide into place, except I didn’t want it to go that direction. Now, like…
Along 4th Street is 40″ x 50.” The surface is very good and the painting is moving well. When the surface is solid, I do less re-painting and things go faster. I’ve written about how much I like RGH’s Extra-fine Flake white. That white is ground with safflower oil. I’ve also been using walnut oil…
The studio is busy just now. The drawing is a study for a large painting I’m preparing to launch. The figures, except for the right-hand two, are prominent in the new painting’s design. I plan 2-3 more figures in the large painting. ‘Large’ in this case means 4.5′ by 5.5′, The drawing is pen &…
RGH has the best deal for the all-important flake white. Their cremnitz white extra fine is $46.25 for a 250 ml jar. By comparison, a 237 ml jar of Williamsburg’s flake white is $57. Old Holland, which I don’t buy because of their lurid prices, costs $172 for 225 ml tube. That’s after heavy discounts. The…