Month: January 2014

Oil

The best oil I’ve used has been cold-pressed linseed oil. Cold-pressed oil combines with colors well, and doesn’t ‘suede’ like refined oils. Cold-pressing refers to extracting oil from flax seeds with a mill or press and without heat or chemical processes. The resulting oil is highly acidic, which is why it combines well with pigment.…

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Tom Hudson

I updated the oil paint brand list with information about the binders used by some manufacturers (Blockx, Old Holland, Michael Hadring, Blue Ridge, and Holbein). I also downgraded my ratings for Blue Ridge. I prefer cold-pressed linseed to alkali refined method they use. They also use a blend of walnut and linseed oils. Finally, I’ve used paint from Michael Harding (ultramarine blue) which seems very good, but I haven’t used it enough to rate it.

Main Street x2

Today I worked on these paintings. Both are titled ‘Main Street.’ Each is taken from a one-block area of–you guessed it–Main Street in our small town. #1 (bottom painting) might end up being called ‘Antique Shop,’ or some-such. While not identical, both are roughly the same size. As you can see from the photograph, both…

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Tom Hudson

Due to the bad weather, the usually crowded Cleveland Museum of Art cafeteria was practically deserted today. The fare isn’t good enough to fight jostling lines, but  today’s peace made the none-too-good food perfectly acceptable. Especially hungry, my designer salad was delicious, piled delightfully high with anchovies and blue cheese. After lunch, I did my usual tour, storing away much to think about and study–stolen treasures.

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Tom Hudson

What could be better than lingering over lunch with a beautiful young lady? My daughter Jane and I had lunch in a cozy restaurant near the Baldwin Wallace campus. Jane started her second semester there this week. Over Philly-cheese steaks and fries, she described her courses for the semester: religion, philosophy, psychology (taught by her roommate’s uncle, nonetheless), music, and English. The class sizes are small (which is one of the reasons we picked BW), and she is enthusiastic all about all of them.

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Tom Hudson

For Christmas, my son and I built new computers. For ease of maintenance, both computers have the same specs. We used Haswell-type motherboards (Asus Z87-A) and, of course, Intel processors–Core i5 4670 (4670K for my son). I’ve had good results with Asus products in the past, and I love my Nexus 7 tablet (Google brand but manufactured by Asus). We’ve built our own computers before, and it’s a great father-son project.

Poem: Why do I remember this?

Why do I remember?
I’ve carried this,
and now–see?–here it is.

Guided by a compulsion (that has never left me)
I painted the walls of my mother’s house
the entire length of the hallway;
floating above the floor–I was light.

You’ll laugh, but it was art.
That’s the simple truth.

My mother didn’t see it that way,
in fact, she was outraged.
Again you’ll laugh, but I was flabbergasted.
I didn’t understand her.