Margret E. Short Fine Arts

Portland, Oregon artist Margret Short - a modern day master of 17th Century Dutch art using the chiaroscuro technique to create still life and floral paintings.

Historical Pigments

Composition Juggling

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Sometimes in the process of working on a painting, things change. Things that seemed perfectly placed just do not come together as planned. If you are lucky this does not happen very often, however for the painting on my easel at this time, I had to juggle some of the objects to make my concept work better. As you can see, I initially placed some … [Read more...] about Composition Juggling

Final Results – Stack White Process – Part lV

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Stack pots after two weeks of corroding. The smell of acetic acid (vinegar) is still present inside the stack shed, but not as sharp as it was initially. The temperature within the compost heap is raising, but on the surface it is still at ambient temperatures. Flakes have formed on the lead coils. The relative humidity inside the shed is nearly … [Read more...] about Final Results – Stack White Process – Part lV

On the Easel

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Often followers ask about current projects. Though at this time, I have no in-depth project involving an ancient culture or goddess from an ancient world, there are endless pigments, mediums, brushstrokes, or canvas textures to investigate. On my easel right now, is the painting posted here in its early stages of development. Dramatic light is … [Read more...] about On the Easel

Stack White Process – Part lll

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In the next step of the lead white making process, specially made earthenware pots were arranged and then filled about one-third with vinegar. You will notice a variety of pot colors which indicate varying amounts of lead inserted into certain pots which were processed differently.  The rolled lead coils were then placed into the pots. Some pots … [Read more...] about Stack White Process – Part lll

Stack White Process – Part ll

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You might ask why the term “flake” is applied to describe authentic Dutch flake lead white. The answer comes from the appearance of the material as it actually flakes off the metallic lead strips during the formation process. Modern lead white pigment found commonly in art supply stores is not a true flake white made in the process called Dutch … [Read more...] about Stack White Process – Part ll