Comparing oil paint.

Comparing oil paint

It is important: Comparing oil paint.

People ask me often asked about the art supplies I use. I know well that good quality is not available for every painter. Too expensive or simply not available. Often one has to be content with what is available in the neighborhood. But now more and more can be ordered online, it is useful to read this article.

Interesting: Comparing oil paint. Lately I received this article on oil paint brands, about comparing quality and pricing.

I think it is really worthwhile reading.

Read the whole article.

Read also one of my posts on oil paint.

 

Peculiar portrait commissions.

Peculiar portrait commissions.

After twenty-five years of commissioned portraits there are many anecdotes I can tell. I have had some peculiar portrait commissions.

I have met a lot of people. Occasionally there was something special about a job, like the two times I got an enquiry for a female nude painting. In the first one, the client was the model´s husband; the client making the other request was the model herself. She wanted to give the portrait as a present to her husband on the day of the wedding.  Continue reading “Peculiar portrait commissions.”

Portrait of my stove

Portrait of my stove

Last Friday afternoon, I made a “trifle” as the end of a busy week: Portrait of my stove. To wind down, so to say. The stove, the globe and my wife’s slippers.

Also I was triggered by the colour contrast of the stove window and the globe in the back ground.

Portrait of my stoveI was interested in the light plane below the stove, which basically indicated the volume of that form. Despite the stove was black, I had no my black on my palette. The darkest value I made out of transparent oxide red, veridian green and ultramarine blue.

Clean the glass of the stove

Talking about the stove, I show you an old trick how to clean the glass of the door. No chemicals! I take a damp cloth and use the ashes from the stove as an abrasive. In a few seconds the glass is clean!

How to clean the stove glassHow to clean the stove glass

Nothing to do with portrat painting: How I make Basil-pesto 

State of the art

State of the art

Contribution by Simon Broom: State of the art

Working away on a portrait I am reminded of those invaluable classes I took with you Ben and the various “lightbulb” moments. There is nothing worse than struggling with a painting, knowing you’re making mistakes and you don’t know why!

Tuition is vital.

Each generation of masters handing the discipline down to the apprentice and so on. How could it work any other way? Which makes it all the more surprising that art colleges and state schools in Europe don’t do it anymore. Continue reading “State of the art”

Detailed or blurry

Detailed or blurry

Detailed or blurry
Portrait painting from photography has pros and cons. One of the major drawbacks is the inclination to copy all the details. Detailed or blurry?Apparently every wrinkle, eyelash and hair lock must be displayed faithfully. But a good portrait is not a sum of all observable details. I have said it last week: It’s not about whether it just seems real, the point is that it is true and authentic.

In his book Alla Prima ll Richard Schmid says:” In my view, detail for its own sake is a shallow goal, because I don´t think art is about how much stuff I can depict” Continue reading “Detailed or blurry”