Turpentine diaries 10/7/18
Small paintings (this painting is 30″ x 40″) always take longer than I expect. Starting, I intend to keep it simple, but I’m always discovering more things to explore or problems to solve. I’m only successful with finishing studies quickly when I restrict myself to monochrome. Who knows when this painting will be done. I
Turpentine diaries 7/22/18
I used my homemade drying oil in recent sessions with Down on Prospect Avenue. I substitute the oil for black oil in my medium recipe. Large paintings (Down on Prospect Avenue is 44″ x 60″) have issues that smaller ones don’t have. Matching tones previously used, to name just one. Anyway, it’s getting there. It’s
Turpentine diaries 4/28/18
This photo shows my first painting session with Agamemnon and Orestes. I know, I know, a bit high falutin but I am reading Aeschylus’s Eumenides. Agamemnon and Orestes is 44″ x 60.” I mentioned that I prefer white grounds these days, but I am always preparing canvases, which means I have some prepared months ago,
Turpentine diaries 4/15/18
Last week, I saw one of the better shows that I’ve seen in Cleveland. Global Matrix IV at the Gallery at Cleveland State U contains first-rate prints from contemporary European artists. I plan to review the show later this week after I visit it one more time. Along 4th Street is poking along (ahem), although
Stretching canvas
While it’s true that I didn’t learn anything about painting at art school, it isn’t true that I didn’t learn anything at all. I learned a lot about printmaking, and I learned how to stretch canvases. That canvas-stretching skill has stood me in good stead. I can’t think of a single instance when the technique
Turpentine diaries 3/24/18
I am using Utrecht flake white these past several days. I like it. It has good covering strength and it’s decently priced. While I like RGH better, RGH prices keep creeping higher. Plus, a recently-purchased tube of raw umber is an oily mess. The tube leaks oil and the oil spreads like a small lake
Turpentine diaries 1/28/18
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
Wonderful sun-thickened oil
I’ve written about my everyday-medium plenty of times. I frequently modify my medium for certain situations. Sometimes, for example, I add a little Venice turpentine to the regular turpentine I use in my medium. I add a very small amount of the sticky Venice turpentine to the medium. Other times, I add a small amount of sun-thickened