Several busy days in the studio. I worked on 10-12 paintings over the past few days, including Sunday Parade. Sunday Parade is finally locked into a good place (even though I still haven’t settled on its name). It felt like I was pushing it uphill for a long time. I’m on the downward side now. Artists…
In my Oil Paint Brand reference I ignore Lukas oils, assigning them to the student-grade category. Recently I purchased an assortment of their 1862 line, which is their premier line. The prices for the 1862 line is inline with affordable professional brands such as Blue Ridge, RHG, and Winsor Newton. After I put them through their paces,…
On the Square is part of my Playhouse Square series–a series of paintings with subjects taken from Cleveland’s Playhouse Square. At 4′ by 5′, On the Square is at the outer limit for an easel painting. Any larger and you need a heavy-duty easel (or two) or a mural-style one. I don’t own one of those. When I…
I am really glad that Blue Ridge Paints is taking orders again. I learned last month about their fire when I went to their web site to place an order. I was concerned that they might not be able to recover. Their paints are very good and are offered at a reasonable price. More and…
I have to laugh when I see my homemade mahl stick in one of these photos. Hey! It does the job, and its large size is useful on large paintings. Two Cakes hit a wall. Sometimes I get blind and can no longer ‘see’ the painting. I’ve learned from experience that that is usually related…
I didn’t rate Grumbacher Pre-tested paints when I created its entry in my Oil Paint Brand reference. I associate Grumbacher with my impoverished student days and hadn’t used their paints in years, so I couldn’t rate the brand. I recently bought several tubes and tried them. My memory proved to be right. Grumbacher is a high-end…
The light today, for once this winter, is good. I worked on these two paintings this morning. I finished (I think) the small (20″ x 24″), gray study. I wrote about this painting before. It is a study for a larger treatment. I finished the to-scale drawing on a sheet of paper then transferred it…
I broke my palette knife this morning, the one I’ve used everyday for 10 years. I was doing what I do every day–creating my usual assortment of mixtures to go with my tube colors–when my stalwart palette knife snapped. The worn handle is on the left in the photograph. The blade is next to it and still…