Category: featured
This collection of articles provides some discussion on different aspects of painting and my own art journey. Some of these posts are longer and more in-depth than my typical content.
Older posts are shown first.
Preparing Linen - A Short How-To Guide
by Simon Bland / 13 Apr 2016
In this blog post I show you how to prepare and prime linen and cotton canvas for painting. This step-by-step guide will help you create your own high quality painting surfaces for a fraction of the cost. ...
How Do I Make My Own Painting Panels?
by Simon Bland / 21 Apr 2016
Some tips and techniques for making linen and canvas painting panels for a fraction of the cost of store-bought....
How Can I Make My Own Oil Painting Mediums?
by Simon Bland / 29 Nov 2016
Some recipes and methods for making your own oil painting mediums....
How to Mount a Pochade Box to a Tripod
by Simon Bland / 18 Jan 2017
In this blog post I show an easy way to mount a pochade box onto a tripod using a few simple things that can be purchased at any hardware store....
How to Paint Green Landscapes
by Simon Bland / 18 Dec 2017
In this blog post I show some ways to paint landscapes without using out-of-the-tube greens and some strategies for using greens more effectively. I will try to answer the question: "What are the best oil colors for landscape painting?" ...
Writing an Artist's Statement
by Simon Bland / 31 Mar 2018
This article is about the what, why and how of writing an artist's statement. I show how a typical artist's statement can be improved by making it shorter and more specific to the artist....
What is Liquin and How Do I Use It?
by Simon Bland / 22 May 2019
For this blog post I wanted to talk about using Liquin in your own oil paintings. Although the information available online has improved in leaps and bounds, I think this will help to bridge the experience gap that new artists might have and prevent some easy-to-make mistakes, too....
Setting Up a Contemporary Still Life
by Simon Bland / 16 Jun 2022
In this blog article I attempt to deconstruct the set up for a still life painting by the British artist Euan Uglow....