Category: Shop Talk

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Tom Hudson

I had several painting sessions with a new painting titled Washington Square. I finished the drawing yesterday morning (6th or 7th drawing session) and started straightaway on the painting. The 44″ x 60″ has twelve figures–and pigeons! It’s not far enough along to show yet. The painting is very rough and I don’t think anyone looking at it at this point could come away with a sense of its design.

I also put grounds on several canvases. Lately, I favor warm-gray grounds and the new canvases look very inviting–I can’t wait to get started on them. One of the new canvases is 5′ x 6.’

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I get a lot of email from readers, mostly technical questions, which I always answer. A recent correspondent asked my opinion about Blockx oils. Blockx is one of the premium brands and I cover it in my OIl Paint Brands reference. Blockx is really fine paint; Not long ago, I got a terrific price on their…

In the studio 9/7/14

Fourteen figures are in this 40″ x 56″ oil. Main St. #2 is a scene from our hometown’s annual Festival of the Fish (Main st. #1 is another scene from the festival). With every viewer-facing figure sporting sunglasses, I should call it “Sunglasses Festival.” I’ve had 10 sessions with this painting and I still have along way…

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Tom Hudson

Winsor Newton has become my choice for mid-range oil paint, supplanting RGH. While not Old Holland, W & N’s quality is consistently high, and I prefer some of their colors over all competing brands, such as madder lake and cadmium scarlet. I like RGH’s cold-pressed, lead-based whites but their tubes are cheap and prone to break and leak. This is a serious problem for large-size tubes.

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Tom Hudson

My studio journal is filled with hundreds of recipes and formulas for painting mediums. I’ve tried nearly all of them and recorded the results. My shelves are chockablock with oils, varnishes, and other ingredients. . As a teenage apprentice, I spent a lot of time grinding oil paint for my teacher. I like everything about the craft of oil painting, but I do not grind my own paints. It takes too much time and some of the ingredients are poisonous, such as lead and other heavy metals.  I stick to the commercially available brands, which–thankfully–are numerous. I’ve used most brands and many are excellent. I will be updating my oil paint brand table in the next few days.

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Tom Hudson

Whenever someone asks me what is the most important thing about art, my answer is unequivocal: DRAWING!

Many artists don’t like this answer. It’s easy to attack straw men when it comes to drawing, or any other aspect of art. But the main reason this answer is unpopular is that drawing is hard.  Drawing is like sports. It takes practice to develop muscles and it’s easy to get out of shape.  But it’s paramount. Drawing is where you meet yourself and discover who you are and where you find your voice.