Friends sometimes ask me what I listen to in the studio while I’m painting. Sometimes they’ll even ask me for a recommendation. The answer, of course, is “Whatever works best for you”. But, for long periods of intense focus on detail-oriented work, I have found that some things work better than others. Since this […]
It’s Not Just The Vision Quick – which of your five senses do paintings appeal to? It’s an easy answer, right? After all, it’s called visual art for a reason. While sight might be the most obvious answer, it’s hardly the only sense that paintings can appeal to. In fact, some artists have […]
While painting a particular passage today, I noticed that the reflection of a cast shadow in a piece of silver was substantially darker than the shadow itself. I could see that the cast shadow was being illuminated by the reflection onto the stone of a strong highlight immediately behind it. I also knew that there […]
The Story The story behind this week’s painting has less to do with the painting itself than with how I make paintings. I arrange most of my compositions in a shadow box positioned to the right of my easel. It works well, and I’ve used it for years. But, it limits me to a certain […]
I’m off to a scary late start to this week’s painting. Instead of getting to work on it Monday, which is the normal rhythm, I didn’t start it until Wednesday. And I still need to finish it by Sunday evening. Meanwhile, I’ve spent the last two days reorganizing my studio to improve the workflow, and […]
Keeping it Beautiful at Every Step Sometimes a minor shortcoming can illustrate a larger point. The image above is the completed underpainting for this week’s project. One thing you might notice is that the tones get cooler and bluer towards the bottom. As I got to the end of the working day, I ran out […]
My Current Easel Arrangement Up until about 6 months ago, most of my work incorporated photography as at least part of the reference material. The current setup of my easel reflects that practice. Immediately to the right of it, I have a computer monitor where I’d display photographs I was working from. To the […]
Today’s new video I show you the object that will be the star of my next painting, plus talk about the color temperatures of the light bulbs I use in my shadow box. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel to see more videos like this one as soon as I publish them, and if you […]
Small Paintings on a Big Easel Continuing my behind-the-scenes look around my studio, I talk about my easel. Specifically I show how I mount tiny paintings on my very large easel. I’m a big fan of do-it-yourself improvements, and a huge advocate of taking the equipment we have and making it work the best way […]
Today’s still life painting for you: “Camembert, Knife, Crackers”, Oil on Panel, 5×10 inches, 2009 (sold) Nothing says DRAMA like a narrowly focused beam of bright light in a sea of darkness. Caravaggio knew it. Hollywood knew it during the black and white era. Retailers know it. I’m pretty sure the latter two ultimately learned […]
Today’s painting for you: “Teacup with Oriental Rug XII”, Oil on Panel, 5×5 inches, 2015 (sold) Some of the objects appearing in my paintings have colorful histories. That rug serving as a backdrop, for instance. I found it in the fragments pile in the dim back room of an old, old rug store about 20 […]