My three Holiday Sales

 

Three Holiday Sales start today! Ten oil paintings on auction at Daily Paintworks  starting at $12 CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SALE All paintings in my Etsy Shop, BBNewtonART CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SALE My paintings in Puget Sound Group of  Northwest Artists Sale CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SALE

Hog Bristle Brushes and "Morning Light"

 

Yay! My Ultimate hog bristle brushes from Rosemary & Co. arrived today: long and short flats and filberts in sizes 8, 10 and 12. My old hog bristle brushes are an assortment of brands accumulated over the years. This is my first educated purchase of hog bristle brushes. They arrived when I was almost done with the 12x9 inch oil on my easel, "Morning Light." It looked like this...

With a #12 brush I simplified it to end up like this...

"Morning Light," oil, 12 x 9 inches

©2020 Barbara Benedetti Newton

Oiling Out before Varnishing

 

Today is oiling out day. This procedure is done to dry paintings to even out the absorbency of the varnish. After oiling out, I can continue painting or wait a minimum of 3 days and varnish. 

How to Oil Out

1. Apply a liberal coating of 1:1 Galkyd Painting Medium and GamsolOdorless Mineral Spirits to a dry painting. This can be applied to the entire painting or just to the area that needs to be enlivened.
2. Allow the medium to be absorbed into the painting for approximately two minutes.
3. Wipe off the excess painting medium with a soft, lint-free cloth.
   Continue painting. - Information from Gamblin.

Here is a  link to an Oiling Out YouTube Video by Gamblin.

Painting and Gardening

For the past couple weeks I've been putting the flower and vegetable gardens to bed for the winter and sorting out small oil paintings for a couple Holiday Sales that begin November 1.  

When I finally returned to the easel all my paint was dry and had to be removed. Once I got that far, I took the glass off and labeled paint locations so I could easily tell the difference between the dark blues. 

Two blobs of white: I recently discover T-Z (Titanium Zinc) White which is semi-transparent and added it alongside my usual opaque Titanium White. I used the last of my Archival Yellow Ochre and added a blob of M.Graham Yellow Ochre. I was surprised at the difference. The Archival is warm, the M.Graham is cool. 

I was able to put a couple more hours into the two paintings I posted last Saturday. Here is how they look today as I set them aside again. And now, I'm off to the garden again before the rains begin.

A Fall Palette and Lily Bulbs

 

On the easel this week, two oils in "Fall" colors - yellows and browns. They are still in the first stages because this has been a busy week. Here are the reference photos to give you an idea of where I'm headed.

This is my favorite time of year. Making bread and digging lily bulbs. I've posted this easiest, yummiest bread ever recipe here before so here is a link to it again.

I have four big pots of lilies at the entrance to the garage. I planted them six years ago and it was time to dump them out, sort and replant.