March 18, 2008

Use Big Brushes

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I have long been an advocate of the bigger the brush you use the better. For most of my paintings, even the smaller ones, I use a #10 bright, which is about 3/4 of an inch wide. To quote John Cogan, “get the largest brush you can possibly use for the job, then use the next size higher”. (John is one of my favorite artists, and definitely my favorite acrylic artist.)

The last few weeks I have been working on a large commission, using primarily a #12 bright. Yesterday, I took a break and continued working on a series of Yosemite paintings. I used the same #12 bright, which is about an inch wide, and painted an entire 16×20 using only the one brush. (I did use a #12 round for just the sky in order to have softer edges.) Although it is painted in a fairly loose style, I had no problem painting to the level of detail wanted. Although I might touch it up a bit, below is the resulting painting.

glacier point, yosemite, california

Morning Light on Glacier Point * 20×16

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Artists Deduction Bill

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For all of you who are looking for fairer treatment with art auctions and tax write-offs, you might want to go online and sign this petition:

Artists’ Deduction Bill:

This artist deduction bill (S.548) would give artists the right to deduct the fair market value of their work when donating it to a charity. We artists are always asked to donate work to charitable causes for fundraising purposes but when our work is auctioned, the buyer gets the benefit of being allowed to deduct their contribution above the market value, whereas the contributing artists and artisans can only deduct the amount of the material costs of creating their work (the cost of paint, canvas, clay, paper…).

This bill is non-partisan and fair. Please click on the link above and type in your zip code; a letter of support will be sent to your senators and congressmen.

Please forward this link to all of your artist and art loving friends.

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