Friday, May 04, 2007

New type of brush

A friend loaned me a set of these new brushes called Aqualon Wisps to try. They are suppose to be good for painting grass, beards, etc. Well, an old worn brush or the standard fan brush will do just as well, maybe better.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Interior Decorators

Last evening I was attending an event at a very exclusive condominium. The furniture and carpet was shades of pinks and purples. On the wall was some of the worst artwork I have ever laid my eyes on. But guess what! It perfectly matched the colors in the furniture and carpet. Personally in all the decades I have been painting, I have never once dealt with an interior decorator interested in actual artwork. I'm not offended by this when they visit my studio with a client but I'm aware of their focus which was so evident last night.
What does offend me is after seeing nothing more in a painting than a match to their color swatches, they reduce 40 years of intensive study to create a painting with substance by further expecting the artist to hand them a 50% discount. Artists and their art are nothing more than a commodity to decorators. I hope someday one of them will prove me wrong.

Quick exposure

Most digital cameras today auto focus and auto expose when the shutter button is pushed down slightly just before the picture is snapped. This often leaves you with a photograph that is either too light or too dark. I make a habit of pushing the button down slightly and giving the picture a quick look while still aimed at the subject. If the picture seems too light, I release the button, point the camera into an even brighter area where there is more sun and again push the shutter partway down. Then I swing camera back to where it was originally and the resulting photo will be darker.
Conversely, if the photo seems too dark, swing the camera into an area that is even darker, press the shutter slightly to expose for that darker area and while still holding down the shutter slightly in order to preserve that exposure, swing the camera back into position and your picture you want will be lighter.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

More about Seeing

"A landscape has got to mean a great deal to anyone before it can be painted in any worth-while way. It is harder to see a landscape than to paint it. This is true because there are lots of clever people who can paint anything, but lacking the seeing power, paint nothing worthwhile."
Robert Henri - Ashcan school