I recently bought some of Rublev’s Lead Oil Ground. I’ve had mixed results with Rublev products. Their oil paint is excellent. Their burnt sienna is top shelf. However, much of their stuff is less than wonderful. They purport to be experts but I don’t see any evidence for that claim. They sell a lot of thick,…
Due to changing my ISP, I am late posting this journal entry. I finished the underpainting for Down on Prospect Avenue and started some over-painting. The painting has a long way to go but I’ve gotten this far with just a few sessions, so it’s moving rapidly. As usual, I struggled with the title for…
I worked most of the day on The Candidate, the painting in the upper-center in this batch of current work. The underpainting is done. I’ll say it’s done. I don’t like the ground on this canvas. It is another of my experiments with materials that has proved unsatisfactory, but it does have the happy side…
I worked on these two paintings today. They are at the opposite ends of their cycles. I just started the underpainting on The Candidate (painting on the floor). The other painting, Phone Call on Main Street, is cruising into the dock. I’m not ready to tie it to the dock and cut the engine, but…
I’m late posting this journal entry. I actually posted a later version of the bottom painting, Girl in the Lavender Dress. That painting plus the painting on the easel, Break, are both in the Playhouse Square series. Break is 40″ x 50.”
I’ve always approached painting as a process of carving away and revealing, the way I imagine a sculptor approaches sculpting. Not modeling but carving. I bring this up because this unfinished painting, Sub Rosa, is a pretty good example of my approach. There are many ways to talk about painting, of course. I used to talk about…
I spent the day working on Picnic. I’ve written before about how I stalled out on Picnic. The issue was predominately the background figures. I put them in; I took them out; I put them back in again. I use ultramarine violet a lot, it’s especially useful for cool grays. I used ultramarine violet on the shirt of the guy at the…
I’ve titled this new painting Down on Prospect Avenue. The other day, I shared the painting after my first painting session with it. I finished the under-painting on this canvas and started “over-painting.” What’s the difference between under- and over-painting? During under-painting, I treat the painting like a pen and ink drawing. The lights…