Purge
Winter time; bitter, bitter cold. More snow this morning. I’ve written before about the benefits of working on a lot of paintings simultaneously. Working this way allows paint layers to dry thoroughly. Painting over a layer too soon leads to bad problems (to use a technical term), such as cracking and sinking in. Working this way
In the studio 2/1/15
I had my first painting session with Taking Note yesterday. Yesterday’s session will be the first of 12 or so. I can’t remember how many drawing sessions I had before I started painting–4 or 5 sounds about right. Taking Note is 42″ x 60″ and it’s a refreshing change of pace to work on a
I am working on a new oil brush reference that is a companion to my Oil Paint Brands reference. I will discuss the brushes I’m familiar with and rate them too. I’ll update it as I have new material.I thought it would be done last week but stuff happened.
Oil paint brand update: Kremer Pigment added
Kremer Pigment is known for their pigments and their vast selection of rare and hard to find materials. Their only ready-made oil paint is cremnitz white. You can order this white in linseed or walnut oil. Their linseed white is excellent–among the best I’ve tried. A 250 ml jar is $62, which is a bargain compared to
RGH Paints fail
RGH makes decent paint. Their affordable prices make them a good value. Not only that, you can select the oil type when ordering white (they have a nice variety of whites, including the all-important flake). For someone, like me, who prefers cold-pressed linseed, this is compelling. As far as I know, RGH is the only producer with this
Bad craftsmen–a cautionary tale
One of my pet peeves is subpar or crappy material marketed to artists at boutique prices. I will swallow hard and pay premium prices for premium material, but too often I end up paying top-dollar for unusable junk. The art supply market is chockablock will hucksters, con artists, and amateurs. Many producers simply do not know
In the studio 9/28/14
This morning, as usual, I worked on drawings, this time for a painting titled The Photographer. This was the 2nd drawing session for it. I spent the rest of the day painting on the 44″ x 56″ Washington Square. Today’s painting session was the 3rd for this painting; it’s still too raw to show. Yesterday I had
I get a lot of email from readers, mostly technical questions, which I always answer. A recent correspondent asked my opinion about Blockx oils. Blockx is one of the premium brands and I cover it in my OIl Paint Brands reference. Blockx is really fine paint; Not long ago, I got a terrific price on their