[At left: Untitled work by Robert Rauschenberg, 1963]
About a week ago, I bought a copy of A Painter’s Guide to Design and Composition: 27 Masters Reveal Their Secrets, after skimming it at the art supply store. It’s already making a huge difference in how simple it is to compose my paintings.
The tip that made [...]

I learned two lessons today: First, when the winds are gusty, be sure that my canvas can’t fall face down onto my wet palette. Fortunately, I’d used up most of my paint when this happened, but I still had to wipe portions of the canvas and repaint it.
Second, when someone asks really good [...]

I’ve made two big breakthroughs this week.
The first is using a wooden palette. Colors are far more easy to understand — how light/dark, vivid/muted they are — against the medium tone of the wood. I wish that someone would manufacture a disposable paper palette in that medium tone. Then again, when I [...]

In the past, I’ve enjoyed the convenience of a disposable paper palette for my work. They’re generally white paper coated with a plastic or waxy surface. However, after reading several books and articles that recommended switching to a neutral-toned painting palette, I bought a wooden palette to see if it really makes a [...]