WHAT WAS THE SECRET OF THE OLD MASTERS? THE ALCHEMISTS KNEW…AND SO SHALL YOU! That bold claim was printed on the (hilarious) instruction sheet tied to the products sold by the Alchemist. The Alchemist no longer uses that hokey marketing gimmick directly, but that message still pervades their website. Claims to possess the secrets of…
Where and when did modern art start? Let’s start with Courbet.
Methods and Materials of Painting of the Great Schools and Masters by Sir Charles Eastlake is the best resource–by far–for information about painting methods and materials. Just like the title states. The older studio traditions had already faded into the past when Sir Charles published the first volume in 1847, so the book is a…
I can’t imagine why anyone would want to watch me paint but–believe it or not–I get asked to do session videos with some frequency. So I taped some of my session with Directions. Directions is my newest painting and it’s still raw but, hopefully, viewers will find the video useful. I’ll post the video as…
As much as I whine and moan about this or that, I’m not the hot-house plant that I may appear. And sometimes my paintings go well! (Although, I won’t say that too loudly or I’ll jinx it, amirite?) Troopers, after 8-9 sessions is basically painting itself. I could close my eyes and just pitch in…
In this podcast, I look at Clement Greenberg’s influential article from 1939, ‘Avant-Garde and Kitsch.’
I had 2 more sessions with Troopers. That’s 7 sessions. Am I half-way through (12 sessions is par for me for paintings of this size)? I think so, yeah. I used some of my homemade drying oil in today’s session. I recorded a video review of Rublev’s sun-thickened oil in which I compared it to…
Easter. After mass, I had a short session with Agamemnon and Orestes, a painting that is 44″ x 60.” Busy, busy. Crushed with work, which makes me happy. It means the juices are flowing and my energy is high.