Tag: paintings

Review: Eyewitness Views

The Cleveland Museums of Art’s Eyewitness Views: Making History in Eighteenth-Century Europe is the best show I’ve seen at the museum since I started my near-weekly visits six years ago.  As good as the show is, however, the theme–artists as eyewitnesses to history–is a stretch.  The paintings are souvenirs of public events in (equally important)…

Two paintings today

I used to think speed is important in art making.  Speed relates to spontaneity–some say–and spontaneity guarantees authenticity, if not creativity.  While spontaneity is important in art making, it’s not fundamental.  Even if you insist that spontaneity is essential, you can’t make the same claim for speed.  Speed is simply irrelevant. Another important idea for…

Turpentine diaries 8/20/17

I finished drawing the cartoon for this painting yesterday and spent the morning transferring it to the canvas.  You can see the transferred cartoon in this photo. I spent the remainder of yesterday and all of today working on the new painting.  In this photo, the gray ground is still visible throughout the painting. Booth at…