To some, my studio might look like a jumbled mess, but to me, it looks ordered and purposeful. I have three easels. I use the third one, the one not shown, for drawings. I expanded my palette from my habitual dozen colors to what you see now on my home-made palette. Just because I no longer count…
The unfinished painting The Press is 40″ x 50.” I’ve used RGH’s walnut-ground flake white for a couple of weeks and I like it more and more. It keeps its body even when thinned to the constancy of gouache, such as the white shirts in the painting. I plan to write about preparing canvases soon.…
RGH has the best deal for the all-important flake white. Their cremnitz white extra fine is $46.25 for a 250 ml jar. By comparison, a 237 ml jar of Williamsburg’s flake white is $57. Old Holland, which I don’t buy because of their lurid prices, costs $172 for 225 ml tube. That’s after heavy discounts. The…
Sub Rosa, on the easel, is part of the Main Street series. I’ve been using RGH’s ultra-fine flake white regularly, which can be seen in the middle of the palette. I like it. Last week, I used the last of a tube of flake white from Blue Ridge, which is also excellent paint. I was…
I used RGH’s extra-fine flake white and viridian green in today’s sessions. RGH sells both paints in jars, which I don’t like. But both jars have remained fresh. I’ve had the viridian for some time and it’s still fresh. The pile of paint on the paper palette is a mixture of viridian and blue-gray. I used it…
After spending the morning drawing, I fully intended to finish Euclid Avenue #1, which I wrote about in the previous Studio journal post, and you can see it in the background of this photo. Instead, I worked on Jane and Keith Aboard the Betty Jane. Both paintings are 48″ x 60.” I plan to finish Euclid…
Goodbye, Old Holland, I’m done with you. In my Oil Paint Brand Reference, I rated the Old Holland (OH) brand as top; best in breed among high-end brands. Its dense pigmentation gives it unrivaled covering power and performance. Funny thing though, I noticed that lately there are no OH paints on my palette. Why? Price. Their…
I worked on these two paintings today before my daughter and I went to the marina to work on The Betty Jane. The left-hand painting, The Delegate, is sailing along, to use a nautical allusion. Two days ago, I lightly varnished it with my special varnish. Now, the surface is really sweet and the colors no longer…