Tuesday
Art talk: In oil on masonite below is “Rough Going Seas” which measures 9 x 12 and follows as a quick study, part of my ongoing “daily painter” series.
This painting is all about mood, and the feeling of being alone. I used oils, my lean painting and glazing medium made up of : 1 part stand oil, 1 part damar varnish and 5 parts odorless mineral spirits turpenoid (you can use turpentine here !) (If you use mineral spirits in the mix it will be cloudy and not work; this is what happens when your bottles are not labeled! I recently switched from turpentine to turpenoid (expensive) then to mineral spirits due to costs and odor, and mineral spirits is what I use when I buy a store bought medium only. When I mixed up the 3 part mixture of stand, damar and turpentine it lasted a long time since it was allocated for the nightly posts,” I mix up a very small jar and use medium sparingly. One empty peach jar size of this mixture can lasts me months for these small scale paintings.” So, the lesson is label your jars (!) and decide if you want to buy the readily available mediums at your local store and use the odorless mineral spirits with them or go thru the process of mixing the potion that will ONLY work with turpentine or turpenoid (low odor version). At least that was my experience.
Easy Way to Clean Your Brushes Without Creating a Lot of Mess or Garbage: A few swipes over the next block of masonite you plan to paint on (or canvas) will remove much of the leftover paint in the ferrule- and eliminate the need for using many paper towels or much mineral spirit. Usually, the mother color left in your brush can find its way diffused in the background or under painting and who knows if it will be ever seen at all, or perhaps blended into one of your initial colors used when you pick up your brush again on this new painting?
Then, remove any more paint with just one paper towel usually works followed by swish in mineral spirits, before you coat bristles with corn oil in a circular motion in a small tin cup. Next follow with a dime size amount of Dawn detergent and mix until corn or vegetable oil and Dawn create a foam-like mix and rinse until water is clear. Larger brushes may require several oil and Dawn mix rinses.
Daily Quote for Painters: I can’t find one to top yesterday’s quote just yet.
Ambiance to Paint by: I have jumped on the ipod craze and now how a music shuffle of favorites like: Shania Twain’s Up!, Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie by Jay & The Techniques, and all the songs I have mentioned in my past posts. Noticed with the new studio artists joining CAL today, we all have a common love of music and art and a room of ipods we paint with.
Thanks for viewing!
“Eco Art of the Carolinas:” Marshscapes and coastal estuaries pull at my heart so these images fuel my process. More images and information can be found on my website: www.rlistudios.com.
Studio location: 1517 Camden Road in Historic South End design district of Charlotte, NC
ECO ART GIRL’s “Environmental Ecology Message:”
I hope to promote environmental conservation and awareness with my art and message. Wetlands are the number one threatened ecosystem in the world today. Losing our wetlands to the impending threat of global warming as well as over development will impact our ecosystem and ultimately our quality of life.
