I normally work on traditional gessoed (the rabbit skin glue, marble dust stuff, not the acrylic stuff sold as 'gesso') boards from RealGesso or oil primed Ampersand Hardbord or Ampersand Claybord sealed with thin imprimatura of ochre and M. Graham Walnut Alkyd Medium. However, when I work larger or wish for a change in surface,…
Category: studio notes
Advice to painters – an excerpt from Robert Henri
"Was it worth it?" Is perhaps a proper question to ask when one wonders about the relevance of one's work. If there ever was a manifesto on the artist's life, Robert Henri's seminal collection of writings, "The Art Spirit" come immediately to mind. It has been the bible for many a generation of hopeful creators.…
Oil painting brushes
My most important tools are obviously brushes. Here are my favorites at the moment: Escoda bristle filberts Isabey mongoose rounds Silver Brush ruby satin synthetics rounds and filberts I typically use around two dozen brushes in a painting session. I don't like rinsing them while painting and prefer to have new clean brushes per color.…
Successful Paintings – what makes a painting have “it”
Recently I've been exchanging emails with a friend and collector about having that "eye" for spotting good paintings. How do you know if it's good? Is it a gut reaction? The answer is yes, of course. As a painter you know when you need a red color here or when the composition is lacking or…
My palette
I prefer a classical palette composed of earth colors. David Rourke in his weblog All The Strange Hours wrote an informative post on the classical palette, if you're a little more curious. My wood palette itself is one designed by artist William Whitaker and manufactured by Real Gesso (who also make great traditional gesso panels).…
La Dolce Vita – oil painting demonstration
I work in a manner I've developed over the years which may be best described as somewhat similar to a Venetian manner of painting. That is I glaze a LOT. I also use impasto and scumble. I am a solvent free painter and use just walnut oil and M. Graham walnut alkyd medium. I often…
Learning humility through the art of painting – studio process
The more I paint, the more humbled I become. There are times when I paint and all the elements fit in perfectly and it seems as if I've finally gained mastery. I go through the day feeling victorious, thinking, "haha...am genius after all...." Only to come crashing down like Icarus on the very next painting.…
Learning to Draw: the virtues of copying
Originality is a quality highly prized in art. How does one begin to be original? By learning the basics. When it comes to learning the craft of painting and drawing, I believe that there's nothing more beneficial than copying and studying great works of art. It's how I taught myself to draw and then to…
Little Emperor
portrait of a very imperious child...
“In the Moonlight”
My inspiration for this is a small copper painting by Adam Elsheimer, "The Flight into Egypt." Painted in 1609, it was the first painting of its kind which showed the biblical scene in a nocturnal forest, as described by Matthew (2:13). His contemporaries marveled at his rendering of the Milky Way, which has never been…
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