Detail of black on black pottery in painting #2 Painting black on black pottery on canvas is tricky, in that, the darkest coolest black is quite dark and dense. For this I used ivory black with just a tiny addition of burnt umber dark to facilitate the drying. The Burnt Umber Dark from Cypress is the darkest I have found. As you remember, … [Read more...] about Pots, Black on Black
pigments
Spider Woman’s Cross
The Spider Woman is one of the most important goddesses in the Southwest Native culture. She is multi-faceted and has amazing power over her people. There are geographic landmarks named for her as well as constellations, myths, and stories of all kinds. As I have said, she is the equal to Isis in Ancient Egypt and Athena in Greece. The row of … [Read more...] about Spider Woman’s Cross
Spider Woman Meets Wedding Planner
The first painting in this Southwest themed project, Lessons from the Spider Woman, is finished. The entire painting, actual title, and size will be revealed as time draws closer to the exhibit date. My artistic license is used lavishly here not only in the Spider Woman mythology but also in the imaginative depiction of the story. Spider Woman is … [Read more...] about Spider Woman Meets Wedding Planner
Lessons from the Spider Woman
Announcing Pigment Project #5 Coming in autumn of 2012. Lessons from the Spider Woman Spanning all the way from Rembrandt's bling in the Dutch 17th Century to the dazzling riches in Land of the Pharaohs and most recently, the protective arms of Athena in Ancient Greece, this latest in my Lessons pigment series will focus on the folklore, art, and … [Read more...] about Lessons from the Spider Woman
Your Approach?
If you can imagine you wanted to replicate the image of this jar, how would you attack the task? Would you paint the light colors and apply the design wet in wet? Or would you try my technique described in the previous entry below? What colors would you use? All three vessels were a huge challenge and a matter of trial and error involving … [Read more...] about Your Approach?
Uber Umber
There are several colors I could not do without on my palette. This is a splendid very dark burnt umber from Cypress. It is very dark almost black with a warm undertone and is easy to make. There are many versions of this pigment, but this dark one is my favorite. One terrific and useful characteristic of this pigment is the drying quality; … [Read more...] about Uber Umber