I wrote glowingly about the Utrecht easel that I purchased. I said that it was a great bargain–an under-$300 medium-duty easel. But soon a support broke and the mechanism to lower and raise the tray support was frustratingly difficult to use. My praise transformed to scorn. I repaired the broken support with glue and a…
I was in the studio at 6:00 AM to prepare my palette. I had to scrape-down the entire surface. Most mornings I take a pause to gather my thoughts before starting to paint, but yesterday I plunged right in. I couldn’t wait to pick up the brush. Things were going great when I put down…
For the most part, I’ve stopped showing the early stages of my paintings. One thing that I’ve learned after running this site for 8 years is that readers assume that I only post finished work–the opposite of what I actually do. But one of the reasons for this blog is pedagogical. I like sharing information…
I was a little rusty with watercolors when I started this painting. It’s good-quality paper but I forgot to dampen it before I started. Duh. I finally got it going and finished it quickly (for me–2 sessions). I plan a series of small (9″ x 12″) watercolors like this one. The goal is to keep…
My recently-started watercolor cycle represents the first watercolors that I’ve done for sometime. I still have a good supply of colors, papers, and brushes. Of course, I never use my watercolor brushes for oils. This photo shows my favorite watercolor palette. It has enough compartments to contain my normal color selection. My watercolor palette contains…
Yesterday, I was preparing for some watercolor work by inventorying my watercolor supplies. I have an acceptable collection of colors and paper. Puttering with the watercolors led to playing with gauche, which led to painting with ink…which finally led to these unplanned drawings. The two ink drawings are on Arches’ artboards. The self-portrait is on…
I’ve had a long argument with this as-yet-untitled painting. The argument started as soon as I completed the original design. I spent time taking things out of the design after it was supposed to be finished. I work hard on designs and only start painting with the drawing is finished. But it’s a large painting,…
Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) makes a good (and cheap!) support for painting and drawing. A 4′ x 8′ piece from a lumberyard is $20. That is 40 9″ x 12″ panels for less than .50$ per panel. If you don’t have a table saw, you can buy a pack of 12 pre-cut panels for 1$ –…