It snowed yesterday.
Category: Uncategorized
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I listened to songs by PJ Harvey during this morning’s painting session (actually drawing session). Her songs are filled with the kind of poetry that tears you up–just what I like. Many of her songs are inspired by history, like WWI. That’s pretty unique. Anyway, I found a temporary solution to my slipping easel problem. A large binder clip fastened to the spine provides enough firmness to hold the cross-brace in place. Applying paint while the entire painting slides beneath your brush is VERY ANNOYING.
Bio, Cleveland, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
Spring? You bet!
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Those aren’t whitecaps on Lake Erie but ice flows loosened from the thawing ice–but I’ll take it! We knew spring was finally arriving when we were able to keep the bedroom door open to last night’s warm breezes. It’s still too soon to hear the soothing sound of rolling waves, but–man o’ man!–it is sweet…
Status
I was taught nothing of practical use about painting when I was a student. Worse than the daily dose of esoteric BS was the relentless, sneering attack on the subjects of technique and history, which were held in utter contempt. Pollack, so I was lectured, allowed his brushes to dry in cans of house paint, which he drizzled from stiff bristles onto unprimmed canvas on the floor. If that was good enough for him, it’s good enough for you–so said they. I wrote elsewhere about one professor’s favorite piece of painting gear–fishing boots. My artistic education can be summed up this way: daily attempt by inept professors to destroy the same clumsily constructed straw man. No questioning the received dogma; that was the way it was–and worse
Rubbish–worse than rubbish. Not only not true, not even important to the discussion–mere fashion. Worst of of all, it was all served up without the least bit of humor.
[Rant End]
Shop Talk, Uncategorized
In praise of cerulean blue
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Cerulean blues is an extremely important color. Besides being a core blue (it should be on every palette), it forms complementary tones with most orange-brown colors, such as burnt sienna (another very useful color). Its usefulness is unfortunate because it’s so blasted expensive–one of the most expensive paints on the market. My oil paint brand reference…
Shop Talk, Studio Corner, Tips and Studies, Uncategorized
Complementary neutral tones
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The eye loves complementary neutrals. The eye will accept the ‘truth’ of a well placed neutral faster than it will a piece of carefully crafted modeling. Nature abounds with complementary colors. I remember as a child being amazed by the green shadows cast by the light streaming though the red curtains of my bedroom. What…
Bio, Studio Corner, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
Studio mess
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As this photograph demonstrates, I need more studio space. Not shown are the larger–5′ x 6′– paintings that are precariously stacked on one another. My separate storage area is overflowing with even larger paintings, like Black Lake (72″ x 96″), and other large, primed canvases ready to be worked. We are planning to buy a property…
Uncategorized
In the studio 3/16/2014
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I worked on “The Call” these past two days. It’s getting there-it’s beginning to make my eyes happy when I look at it. The parts finished are the ground, pediment, water bottle, crumpled jacket, and left-hand tree. I might change the title to simply “Calling.” I oiled this workhorse easel on Saturday; the wheels were…