Radish Bygone

Even as I was painting a few quick studies of radishes for a larger painting, I was surprised by how quickly the radish leaves wilted. Then, I got distracted by rebuilding my website and came back to my setup a few days later to paint more studies. But it was too late--the radish had shriveled up like a prune! I didn't expect that!

Video: Sealing Panels for Oil and Acrylic Painting

Before gessoing and painting on hardboard or wood panels, they need to be sealed. Sealing, also called 'sizing', prevents the gessoed surface from discoloring caused by naturally-occurring acids in the wood. Sealing panels is really easy to do. This video (3:48 minutes) shows exactly how to seal panels successfully.

In the video, I mentioned two sealing solutions:
Golden Multi-Purpose Acrylic Polymer GAC-100 - 16 oz Cylinder and Gamblin's PVA: Poly Vinyl Acetate Size: 32 oz

Click here to watch the video!

Once your panels are sealed, the next step is to apply gesso.  Stay tuned! Next in my bi-weekly oil painting technique videos, I'll be uploading a video about how to gesso panels and canvas. Let me know if you have any questions about the process.

Evaluating Local Color With an Objective Eye

Funny I should be talking about eyes and accurate seeing having just spent the last day dealing with an eye emergency. On a regular basis, I appreciate the miracle of sight; but, oh how much dearer the miracle of the visual world becomes when facing the possibility of it being compromised! All is fine, so accurately painting color and doing so with lovely expressive brushwork can still be a lifelong challenge!

In my latest video, Monet's painting The Magpie, and Zurburan's Still Life with Lemons, Oranges, and Roses (shown here) are used to compare the local color we associate with an object and the actual colors these masters used to paint these objects realistically. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXo2UnG2K8Q