“Who’s your favorite artist?” That’s a silly question, isn’t it? If you’re like me, you enjoy the work of many artists, so how could you choose? No, it’s a silly question. It’s not that I’m easily pleased, or that I’m one of those inclusive types–hardly. I’m a tough grader; I’m judgmental. My time is important…
I had several sessions with this painting, Dinner in Trenton, over the past few days. It was the first opportunity to use my new Terkell flats; first-rate brushes–and affordability priced. How many more sessions? Hard to say. Working on a large painting (Dinner in Trenton is 42″ x 56″) is a series of calculations. It’s easy to make…
Poussin is something of an acquired taste–an artist’s artist. Cezanne adored him, characterizing his own art as ‘making Impressionism something solid, like Poussin.’ Poussin has a very great artistic imagination and easily holds his own with other gifted designers, such as Rubens and David. In addition, and almost unique in the history of art, he…
This morning I finished the 40″ x 48″ oil titled John Fishing. It should be titled John Fishing–ha ha. My son John is not an avid fisherman. Dropping his pole in the water then settling down for a nice snooze is his favorite fishing method. This is one of my boat series. Unlike the other…
I am extremely happy with my new easel. It’s wider than my old workhorse easel and the mast expands higher, which means it can accommodate much larger paintings. For as big as it is, it moves easily on its solid rollers. There are stops next to each roller to keep it in place. It can…
Yesterday was my wife Kathleen’s birthday. As a present, I planted these perennials in our front yard. The day was mild and the work was enjoyable. Like all good husbands, I cannot recall her age. I know she gets younger each year. Happy birthday, Kate!
To address my acute storage problem, I decided to convert our two-car garage into a full-time studio. Unlike my current studio, the garage has a high ceiling, which means I can work more easily on large-format paintings. Besides, I already use the garage to stretch and prepare canvases.
In order to re-purpose the garage, we are installing a 10′ x 12′ shed in the backyard. We will move the camping, boating, and garden equipment–like the lawn tractor–into the shed. The garage doesn’t have north-facing windows but it does have good light. We will install baseboard heat like we did in my last studio in New Jersey.
So, after mid-August I will have my current studio with its bank of north-facing windows and the high-ceiling studio for big paintings.
Besides finishing The Call, I recently worked on the paintings in this photo. Today’s session was the second painting session for the one on the right, Heated Discussion (the drawing took several sessions). The painting in the upper-left, Explain (or maybe just Plain–I haven’t decided) is almost done. I am hoping that one more session will…