New paintings, hot off the easel, and some thoughts on art and life ...

I’ve always thought it ironic that the beginner is given inferior tools, whether it’s music or art or auto shop. A fourth-grader often learns to play the violin using a sub-par rental instrument, but the professional musician plays the best one she can afford. A good violin sounds better than a poor one, no matter who plays it – beginner or master. The same is true of painter’s brushes. A beat-up, bent-bristled brush might make some interesting marks, but try using it for deliberate strokes, like painting a child’s eye or the edge of a rose petal. You need the right tool for the job you’re doing, and the master knows which tool will make the work easier. I’m sure there’s a parallel example about an auto mechanic’s work and tools, but you get the point. All trades have “their gear and tackle and trim” * and a master of any art knows the value of the best tools. I may not be a master painter (yet) but here are some of my favorite tools.

Gamblin paints. I love these oil paints, and I’m not getting paid to say that. Robert Gamblin knows what he’s doing, and his company has some of the best paints and mediums you can buy. Listen to an informative interview with Robert here. Try the Radiant series of colors, or the range of whites (I’m gonna write about whites in this blog soon).

Michael Harding paints. As much as I like Gamblin, I use M. Harding for a few colors - Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Orange – mainly because the texture is better.

Gamblin Torrit Grey. It’s free! That much alone makes it attractive, but I find that these gift tubes of paint are a way to get different temperatures of grey. Gamblin scrapes up the leftover pigments once a year and mixes them into a grey paint just for you – read about it here:  https://gamblincolors.com/torrit-grey/

Gamblin Solvent-free Gel. This is my current favorite medium - easy to use, comes in a tube so there’s no spilling and it’s easy to pack up. (Ok, that was my last plug for Gamblin, at least for this post.)

Rosemary brushes. If you don’t know about Rosemary brushes, go check her website immediately. This is an English company but easy to order online and the pound to dollar conversion is done for you. Founded by Rosemary; you can listen to an interesting (and sometimes amusing) interview with her daughter Symi here.  My favorite Rosemary brushes are the Ivory series.

Trekell brushes. A California company, so for me it’s shopping local. I especially like their sable cat’s tongue brushes.

Trekell brush soap and/or Murphy’s oil soap. If you ask three artists about the best brush care you’ll get four different answers. I used to clean my brushes with Trekell soap after every use, but now I mostly give them a rinse in solvent to remove paint, then let them dry. About once a week I use Trekell or Murphy’s to condition them. Trekell soap is linseed oil-based. As for Murphy’s - I don’t know what’s in it but the bottle says all natural and I know that it works well!

Princeton Catalyst "blades." I think these are expensive considering they look like a mini kitchen spatula stuck on a paintbrush handle, but they’re incredibly useful and almost indestructible.

That's a short list, but I'll have more on this subject soon, in another blog post.

*From “Pied Beauty” by Gerard Manley Hopkins. A beautiful poem – read the whole thing at the Poetry Foundation.