Finding a Creative Solution for a Difficult Painting Problem
Feb 19, 2017
Low Tide. 10 x 17.5, oil on linen panel. 2017. One of the biggest problems I've found with paintings of the shore is that it can be difficult to make them look interesting. There is a tendency (except in very specific light conditions) for everything to look flat. This headland in Magnolia is o...
Painting a Rabbit
Feb 17, 2017
Rabbit. 8x10, oil on linen panel. 2017 This rabbit is done from an older reference photo that I'd been saving (the rabbits in the local park in Seattle are domesticated ones that have been released into the wild and seem much less interesting). The palette is just cobalt blue, burn...
Safe Solvents in the Studio - Non-Toxic Choices for Artists
Feb 13, 2017
D-limonene is a safe alternative to turpentine and OMS in the oil painter's studio. In this post I discuss some of the benefits and cost of switching to this solvent....
A Painting With Strong Color Harmony
Feb 7, 2017
Fractals. 9x12, oil on linen panel. 2017 Painting's a funny business. You spend what feels like forever struggling to create something decent and then you get in the studio on a random day and paint something effortlessly. It doesn't make any sense at all. In this painting I was trying to creat...
Finding a Center of Focus and Adding Interest to a Painting
Jan 26, 2017
View Across to Edmonds. 11x14, oil on linen panel. 2017. This painting is based on a small plein air study from last winter. It was a cold day and windy enough to blow over my easel onto the rocks; I ended up doing the sketch on a setup that was held together with string. T...
How to Make Your Own Oil Sticks
Jan 23, 2017
A simple method and formula for making your own oil sticks....