Back when I was in Ohio teaching a workshop earlier this spring, my host and artist friend Ruth Ann Sturgill showed me a little trick. Cleaning brushes is a snap with Murphy's Oil Soap and a large toy tennis ball such as you might buy for a dog.
I used to be a big fan of Turpenoid Natural, but Murphy's is cheaper, readily available in most grocery stores and works just as well. The tennis ball is cut in half, and rather than rubbing brushes in the palm of your hand, you scrub the brushes in the ball. The ball has the same shape as your cupped palm, but it's a lot more durable. Plus, the dissolved paint won't penetrate your skin and get into your system.
This week, I had students from Maine, New Hampshire and faraway France. Although we had a small amount of rain and fog, we had some excellent weather, too. Today, we had clearing weather, and I did two small demonstrations. In the first, I use my usual six-color, split-primary palette; in the second, I used a limited palette of cadmium yellow light, alizarin crimson and ultramarine blue. The choice of reds in this palette is important. Cadmium red will push the painting more into the warm range; alizarin crimson will keep the harmony a little cooler. (6x8 on the left; 5x7 on the right; both in Art Cocoons.)
6x8, six-color split-primary palette
5x7, three-color limited palette
By the way, I still have some space left in the summer workshops. Visit www.PaintCampobello.com for full details.
