Here is another painting from the cycle of large paintings ( this one is 42″ x 56″) that I am doing. The drawing was finished yesterday and it took yesterday and today to finish the initial under-painting. Following my usual practice, the detailed drawing–pencil over a raw umber ground–took several days. After fixing the drawing…
This is my second review of a Cleveland State U. student exhibition. Like last year’s show, the quality is student-grade but compares well with student shows at higher profile schools, like the Cleveland Institute of Art. The biggest difference between the two is that students at the latter produce more formal conceptional pieces. Also like last year’s show there…
Gabriel García Márquez died last Thursday. The great writer was 87. The Colombian writer won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. Marquez was a leading practitioner of magic realism, which is style that incorporates fantastic or magical elements into otherwise normal situations. That is a poor label because is assumes that reality is a known.…
The lower painting has along way to go; the raw umber ground is still visible beneath the figure on the lower-left and other places. It’s 40″ x 56.” The upper painting is nearing completion. It’s called “Explain” or “Plain” or some such. The lower one is titled “Dinner in Trenton,” by the way.
In their fierce competition for the vast pool of entertainment dollars, art museums are attempting to use technology to reinvent themselves. The theme-park-ization of museums is replete with interactive attractions and high-tech gewgaws. On the surface this sounds, if not exactly winning, reasonable. After all, what could be more natural for our (so-called) cultural leaders than to provide technological leadership as well.…
I’ve never understood the fascination with thick, viscous oil painting mediums. Used for special effects, such mediums are perfectly fine, but for everyday work they are completely useless. I scratch my head whenever I see recipes based wholly on balsams or thickened oils–goo. Closely related to the goos are the jelly-like mediums–the glops. There are a…
I finished this painting three days ago. Keith in Front of a White Chair, is fairly large (for me) oil painting measuring 36″ x 48.” It’s kissing cousin to this painting, which is also 36″ x 48.” One thing i always do is I try to get the drawing right. That isn’t as straightforward as it…