I had my first painting session with Taking Note yesterday. Yesterday’s session will be the first of 12 or so. I can’t remember how many drawing sessions I had before I started painting–4 or 5 sounds about right. Taking Note is 42″ x 60″ and it’s a refreshing change of pace to work on a…
I’ve updated my oil brush reference with a review of Creative Mark Pro Stroke 77B bristle brushes. In a word: mediocre (but cheap).
I’ve bought brushes marketed as ‘Russian-made sables’ at different times and from different vendors. The actual manufacturer is obscure. Their only identifying marking is the distinctive logo, which you can see in the accompanying photo. In addition to the logo, the brushes have long, mahogany handles. They are excellent brushes for oil (I’ve never used…
I bought a selection of long-handle ‘pure sable’ brushes from Creative Mark; their Pro Stroke 49R series, and added them to my Oil Brush Reference. In a word: avoid.
I wrote about oil brushes before and it’s a good topic to expand. This post is a companion to my Oil Paint Brand reference and, like that post, I’ll update this one as I get new material. When I started out, my sole criteria for buying brushes was price. Like most in my position, I told myself that it didn’t matter that I…
I’ve had about a half-dozen painting sessions with The News. The 44″ x 60″ painting is mid-flight. I estimate there will at least that many more sessions before it’s finished. Large-sized paintings with just a few figures enable me to really work the figures. A lot of my paintings recently, even the large ones, have small-scale…
Christmas morning. My daughter, Jane, is home from college, and we’re waiting for her and our two high school-age sons to wake up. This is the first Christmas that the children didn’t get us up at the crack of dawn. I’m taking advantage of the quiet before the storm to get some studio time. It’s…
I have a lot of oil brushes, as can be seen in the accompanying photo. I have another much smaller group for watercolor. I NEVER use my watercolor brushes for oil painting. Watercolor brushes are more expensive and should, with proper care, last a long time. Some of my watercolor brushes cost nearly $100. Are…