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Friday, December 5, 2014

After December Rains ... and the Finger Cot Test

After December Rains
12x9 pastel
Available - $ 300 - unframed, shipping included

As you may recall, in my last post I wrote about cracked fingertips and split fingernails as a result of my pastel addiction.  After trying a variety of gloves, creams and alchemical concoctions, I settled on finger cots.  Today was my first test with the finger cots, and I am  happy to report they work as advertised.

With the ones I got (blue, pictured here), I was able to take them off and re-use them a couple of times before one of them split.  Not a problem, since four bucks bought me a gross of them.  They go on easily, come off easily, and they sweat a lot less than full gloves.



Best yet, though, is that I discovered they make the perfect blending tool!  Better than a moist (or oily) fingertip, better than a color shaper, better than a styrofoam packing peanut.  But the ultimate discovery is that they are great for "putting out the lights" - Doug Dawson's phrase for removing the little light spots in the dark areas.  (This happens if the paper tone is lighter than the darks you apply.)  A touch is all it takes.

In the test painting above, I left some of the "candles" (as Doug calls them) because I liked the sparkly effect of a sunny day.  (This, after two days of rain!) Here's a detail shot:


(Try this Amazon search to find the finger cots:  Medi-First Latex Finger Cots, Blue, Large #70035, made by Medique Products, Fort Myers, FL 33967, 1-800-634-7680.  There are a variety of places to get them at a variety of prices.)