I worked on the drawing/cartoon for Down on Prospect Avenue for a week. In the top photo, I just finished tracing the cartoon, which you can see still stapled to the canvas. I removed the transfer paper to examine the drawing. If I miss something, I can cover the canvas with the cartoon and trace it…
Paintings take on a life of their own. Sometimes that’s good; other times, not so good and I argue with the painting. I am not arguing with Playhouse Square Visit but I am surprised at the direction it insists on taking me. Not unhappy–just surprised. Yep, I am getting ready to stretch more canvases, as…
The poor old thing finally gave up the ghost. I knocked the Pearl brand in my Brush Reference, but this old brush kept its usefulness for a long time. The once mighty Pearl Paints has been gone for–what?–5 years. I placed the brush alone on the palette for this photo. I was using it on the…
The cheery sunlight made me pause as I entered the studio and take this photo. The easel has the painting Break on it. Break is 40″ x 50.” Studio corner with some current work drying. Break is the painting in the lower-center. Break is part of the Playhouse Square series.
Sub Rosa, the unfinished painting on the easel, is moving along. The underpainting is nearly done. The white-seeming ground visible throughout the painting is actually a middle-ish gray tone. Compare it with your eyes to the dab of white in the middle of the palette. Sub Rosa is based on photos taken during last year’s Festival…
I wrote before about some of my experiences with Lukas 1862 oils. I wanted some more time with the paints before completing my review. With these recent sessions, I’ve had my fill of Lukas oils. Typical for me, I set up the palette on Friday morning (first photo) and used it over the next two…
These two recent pastel drawings are on canvas. Primed canvas is an unusual support for pastels or charcoal because it’s not absorbent enough. Pastel chalk falls off too easily. I originally intended to use these canvases for paintings. I had actually started painting on the larger of the two (the gray area in the lower left),…
I didn’t plan it, but yesterday I worked on two paintings of my son John. I finished the larger painting on the easel, John Hudson and His Father. It’s based on a photo of John when he was a wee lad. The smaller painting, John in a White Shirt, is based on a recent photo. After taking…
Here’s the studio corner with recently-worked paintings drying. The bottom-right painting, Sub Rosa, is still in the starting stages. You can see the gray-tone ground throughout.
I used some of the Lukas 1862 oils I wrote about before. I’m still not ready to add the brand to my oil paint reference because I need more testing. In their marketing material, Lukas emphasizes the ‘smooth, buttery’ quality of their paint. Virtuality all low-end brands make this claim. I can attest that…
It took all day to trace the cartoon onto the canvas for this painting. The new painting, Sub Rosa, is 44″ x 60″ and has seven figures in it. After finishing the tracing, I lightly sprayed the surface with fixative. I’ll start the painting tomorrow. I worked on the drawing for several days, as you might…
Euclid Avenue #1 took up my time today. Euclid Avenue #1 is part of the Playhouse Square series. Push-pull. I’ve disdained synthetic brushes in the past, but I finally found a model that behaves decently: Escoda Primera. The Escoda Primera model, like all synthetics, is rugged. It handles well for a synthetic; not as sensitive as a sable…
I worked on the 48″ x 48″ oil, Two Cakes. Two Cakes has been long in hand. I really do not like the surface; a commercial canvas by Fredrix. I bought an assortment of Fredrix canvases from a NJ supplier who was going out of business. Even though I got a great deal on the…
Bitter winter has hit NE Ohio. The highs are in the single digits. Days are dark and gloomy, so when the sun poured into the studio, it was cheering. The blinds-streaked sunlight is a happy sight, eh? The canvases have transformed into a riot of color.
I thought I was going to finally finish Main Street #1 today but I fell short. I am still not satisfied with the right-most figure. So, I keep working until I’m happy with it. Today I used walnut oil that I bought from James Groves. Really good stuff–for walnut oil. As I’ve written before, James really…