Category: anecdotes

Not Spring

A few sunny days last week tricked me into thinking Spring was coming to NE Ohio. Today’s snow proves that hope was false. My son’s golf outing yesterday was cut short by a snow squall and high winds. There is more snow in the forecast. Yes, this is a color photo of the lake from…

Castles in the air

I knew a writer who wanted to transition from the technical documents that he wrote to pay his bills to fiction. His vision inspired a whole universe; not one novel but a series. He spent what little free time he had as a single dad and technical writer working on his project. I admired his…

Reader gift

For me, visiting the Utrecht store on 3rd Ave. in Manhattan was like going to Disneyland. An entire store dedicated to art supplies! Utrecht along with Pearl and other independent icons like David Davis made New York City a mecca for working artists. Those days are gone. Pearl closed and when Utrecht’s founders, Harold and…

Ray Must 1929 – 2022

Today, I received the sad news that one of my teachers, Ray Must, died. I didn’t cotton to art school. I was a difficult student; actually one of the worst types: impatient, judgemental, and burdened with an extra-large dose of youthful angst. Luckily for me, Ray was an angst-ridden student whisperer. With his patience, kindness,…

Memorial Day 2022

In the U.S.A., Memorial Day is the day we set aside to honor those who died in the service of their country. In my family, my maternal grandmother King’s grandfather was wounded and left for dead at the Battle of Shiloh. He survived to tell the story to his granddaughter. My paternal grandfather, John Hudson,…

Struggles

I have been struggling with a painting for the past week. It was not going as I wanted and it was difficult to “see” it. This “blindness” happens to me periodically. The first few times it happened when I was young, it troubled me a lot. I thought I’d lost my talent. Sudden changes like…

Another canvas ready

I applied the second and last oil ground to this new 44″ x 60″ canvas. I made the tone by adding a little burnt umber and burnt sienna to the Williamsburg lead-oil ground. I applied the ground with a scrapper as usual. After letting it cure for a few weeks, I’ll prepare a drawing for…