I worked on 4 paintings today, including the 3 small portraits in this photograph. Recently, I wrote about breaking my palette knife again. My favorite knife is (was) marketed as a painting knife, although I rarely used it for that purpose. But I painted with a knife today. I finished Garth in a Yankees Cap with a…
In January, I wrote about breaking my stalwart palette knife. After using the knife daily for years, I really miss it. It was like losing a hand. I have plenty of knives but the one that broke was my favorite. So I ordered three replacement knives–model Richeson 830 just like the one that broke. You can…
Along with Winsor Newton, Blue Ridge and RGH oils get a lot of use on my palette. The categories I use to rate manufacturers in my oil paint brand reference–low-end, mid-range, and high-end–are based on price and quality. While there is a lot of churn in the low-end category, most brands are student-grade and…
Visit to the Square is part of the Playhouse Square series. I worked on it yesterday and today. It’s early evening now and the light is gone but I plan to work on it some more before finishing for the day–the figure on the lower-right. Visit to the Square is 40″ x 50″.
The Press is based on several photos I took during the RNC in Cleveland this past summer. The Press still has a long way to go but I think you can get the sense of it. The Press is 40″ x 50″.
I worked on Three Women in Sandals. I toyed with calling the painting The Three Graces… I have always had a hard time settling on names for paintings and the problem seems to be getting worse. The issue is that one can only use “Portrait of a Woman” or “Portrait of a Man” only a…
I worked on these three small paintings yesterday. I am trying to keep all three simple. Millie Talking, the painting sitting on the floor, is almost done. There are a few that still needs ‘saying.’ According to my Studio Journal, I notice that I’ve worked on the two landscapes at the same time, one after the…
Some recent work on view in this photo. Break, lower-right, is part of the Playhouse Square series and is close to being finished. Press, lower-left, is sill very raw. Sunday Parade, on the easel, was recently (yesterday) finished. At any one time, I work on a lot of paintings that are in varying degrees of completeness. I…
My studio corner is jammed with things I’m working on, including the recently finished Woman in Purple Boots II. Woman in Purple Boots II is 44″ x 60″. In the bottom-right of the photo is a box of surgical gloves. I buy them by the case. My medium contains lead-based ingredients and turpentine, plus some…
I worked a little while on this small painting, which is part of the Playhouse Square series. I also spent time working on a large drawing. It’s been awhile since I’ve done that. Of late, most of my drawings have been as preparation for paintings. I have a mess of canvases ready to go, everything…
Have you read many turpentine reviews lately? How about ever? I use turpentine every day in my oil painting. Winsor Newton is a pretty reliable manufacturer. Their oil paint, while not the best, is very good and it’s reasonably priced. Their English Distilled turpentine is my usual choice. It handles well in my medium and performs…
This painting, Girl in the Purple Boots II, is typical of how I work these days. Like the earlier version, Girl in the Purple Boots I, the painting is based on a mash-up of several photos taken around the same time at the same location. In the case of the Purple Boots paintings, the photos…
This photo shows painting cups in front of my custom-made palette. I always use this selection of mediums and solvents when I paint. In the left-most container is my medium. My medium is very drying which means, among other things, that it is very rough on brush heads. Not only does it dry out the brush hairs,…
I worked on several paintings over the past few days. I also applied the ground to the canvas on the right-side of the photo. The tone is burnt sienna, raw umber, and white. I used to use warm grounds based on burnt sienna but lately I’ve used gray. So I am reverting to my earlier…
I am a voracious reader. Since I got acclimated to my Kindle (actually the Kindle app on my iPad mini), I think I am reading more than ever, which I didn’t think possible. Add my Audible app to the mix and my day is spent reading (or listening) to books from can’t see to can’t…