Tuesday 26 June 2012

Frank W. Benson

I am so sick of Jun-u-ary I could hurl. I love American Impressionist and Frank Benson's sunwashed, romantic paintings are almost enough to dispell the cold, grey, wet skies. Check him out.

Thursday 21 June 2012

Summer Solstice Celebration

 We had a first day of summer paint-in at Crazy rAvens Studio

 The intrepid Tony, Wolfgang and
 Leslie showed up to explore gelatin prints. I made small plastic containers of gelatin that we used for a plate. We inked them, applied different objects for texture and layered our effects.
 Nice t-shirt Leslie!
 Wolfgang considers his options.
 Tony experiments.
 Some results



 Trying to improve on nature.
 I always get into my work!

Tuesday 19 June 2012

Advice

gelatin print

There is an excellent article on giving advice (something I hate to do and resent receiving, at least artistically) by Robert Genn here:  http://clicks.robertgenn.com/advice.php



Monday 18 June 2012

Gelatin Print

The Headwaters Art Society will meet at Paula Cravens house Wednesday, June 20th at 7 pm and make some gelatin prints. If you are from outside the Flats but want to take part just email me.


And thanks to those people who helped me figure out where Rowena's paintings had gone. That issue is now happily resolved!

Wednesday 13 June 2012

I hate my Brain


 the start of a large painting (24x24)


I am looking for four paintings that Rowena Sinha had put in the PMP show. I promised her that I would pick them up AND THEN totally forgot!! I am the bad guy, the one who didn’t pick up paintings.

They were:          a large native American portrait
                              A large mother and child portrait
                              A painting of chickens
                              A barn painting

If anyone knows of the where abouts of the said paintings, please email me and I will come and pick them up. I truly apologize for the inconvenience. I can only blame my menopausal brain and the discombobulation of starting a new job interfering with my thinking patterns.

Monday 11 June 2012

Gesso and an abstract dubbing




 It's always challenging coming up with titles for abstracts but I like the idea of using "Transit of Venus" for this one.


From the book "New Acrylics Essentials Sourcebook:

"When re-priming surfaces, use proper ground, never wall pant. An artist acrylic gesso is designed to be compatible with flexible and rigid substrates. ...A wall paint is designed for a flat, rigid surface and does not carry enough binder and thus will not adhere as permanently to the support, nor will it be flexible enough to weather any structural changes; this type of primer will crack and or flake off and will ultimately have a negative effect on the permanence and structural integrity of the entire piece."


I used to prime my hardboards with just latex paint. On one painting, as I was adding layers, the layers below began to disintegrate and pull off. Lesson learned. Invest in gesso and use it. If you want really smooth canvases or boards, use several thin coats of gesso, sanding (when dry) between coats.