A BETTER MAULSTICK
Painters often use a maulstick to steady their hand when working on details. The Dutch word “maalstok” means “painter’s stick”. The traditional maulstick has a bulb on the top covered
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Technique
COLOR UNDER-DRAWING
An artist friend in California sent an email with this idea. Historically, charcoal and pencils have commonly been used for under-drawings on canvas. The problem is, graphite can show through
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ARTIST DESCRIBES USE OF SPIKE LAVENDER
It is always interesting to hear about the different ways artists use Oil of Spike Lavender. This is a description from one artist who recently wrote us: “Oil of spike
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PAINTERS WHO PREPARE THEIR OWN MATERIALS
“The painter who prepares his own materials knows them in a very different way from one who buys them ready made.” Max Doerner, 1870-1939 Doerner always felt that knowledge of
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THE SECRET OF THE OLD MASTERS!
Artists sometimes are fascinated by the search for a “Secret” that makes old master paintings last so long and look so great. One eighteenth century painter, Sir Joshua Reynolds, suggested
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THROUGH THE ARTIST LOOKING GLASS
Working on a creative project up close, hour after hour, can make it difficult to get a fresh sense of how it looks – particularly the values and shapes. To
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NO MORE LOCKED PAINT TUBE CAPS
This idea was sent to us by a painter who solved a problem. The problem is that the caps on tubes of oil paint get locked onto the tubes when
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PAINTING KNIVES IN HISTORY
Painting knives are certainly great tools for contemporary artists using impasto techniques. Some form of the painting knife has been in use for centuries. In painting frescos, artists used iron,
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Plein Air Artist Inventions
During the 1800s, Plein Air painters were scattered throughout the country, from far west to the North Pole. Landscape painting had become the dominant genre in America, and Plein Air
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TRANSLUCENT PAINTING – AUREOLA
Around 1122 A.D., an author known as Theophilus wrote a manuscript called On Divers Arts, where he described the technique of Translucent Painting, sometimes called “Aureola”. In this technique, a
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