The Millennial Mark

Simply, thank you.

This past weekend, Underpaintings passed the 1000 Followers mark, and I am very thankful to all of you for your support.  I so much enjoy creating these posts, so much more than I would have expected when I launched this blog, and I am happy to have found an audience with whom my ramblings resonate.  There are many more posts bouncing around my head, and I look forward to sharing them with all of you.

The contest for this new milestone is not quite ready, and is currently being tweaked (Who would have guessed having a job, raising three kids under the age of 5, writing a blog, and trying to keep the roof from falling about the family's ankles would be so time consuming?!).  I am excited to announce, however, that several companies have stepped up and have generously agreed to donate products for the event.  Whoever wins this contest will be earning some terrific items.

The first product in the prize is the Accurasee Measurement Kit, a bundled group of grids, rulers, and measuring devices designed by artist and instructor, G Bjorn Thorkelson of Idaho.   Born from a desire to improve the accuracy of his own drawings when Thorkelson was in the Masters program at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, the Accurasee Measurement Kit is filled with time-tested equipment helpful in training artists to capture proportions faithfully.  Included with the kit is the Accurasee SketchCaddie, a nylon carryall for pencils, erasers, sharpeners, and even business cards.

In an earlier post, I mentioned making and using handheld grids, and how they helped me to correct drawing problems where I needed a new and objective perspective to see where I had gone wrong.  Most realists employ some tool to help them compare relationships and accurately plot  features, whether it is a plumb line, knitting needle, paintbrush handle, or some other similar device.  What Accurasee has done is to take those tools, and streamline and modernize them;  visit their website to see demonstrations for using their apparatuses, and to download free software, including an application for automatically gridding photo reference in Photoshop.

Also included in the prize is a sample pack of 6X8 inch painting boards from New Traditions Art Panels, Inc. of Utah.  Each panel features a different weave of linen from the wide variety New Traditions offers, and is mounted on a gatorfoam substrate using a reversible adhesive (perfect for conservation purposes).  These panels are ideal for carrying into the field along with your  pochade box;  they are lightweight, waterproof, and are the perfect size for plein air studies.

I much prefer working on rigid surfaces to working on stretched canvas, not only because I like the feel of resistance under the pressure of my brush, but also because it is more archivally sound.  Paintings done on stretched canvas are much more susceptible to climatic changes, and are prone to cracking or other severe damage, even when the artist was very careful with the application of his paints and mediums.  With the substrate materials and technology available to artists today, stretched canvas is really only a necessary convenience at very large sizes.

I first learned of New Traditions when taking a workshop with Jeremy Lipking, and saw that he was using one of their panels for his demonstration.  I have since tried them, and have really enjoyed working on these panels.  For my last several paintings, I have used New Traditions dibond panels mounted with Claessens Belgian linen, and I could not be happier with the quality.

Finally, Rosemary Thompson of Rosemary & Co. Fine Artists' Brushes has also contributed some of her high-quality, handmade brushes to this contests' prize winnings.  If you use Langnickel's 5590 series for their characteristic brushwork, and  haven't already heard of Rosemary's series 279 long, flat, mongoose hair brushes, then you are missing out on a superior product.  Artists Morgan Weistling, Jeremy Lipking, Tony Pro, Thomas Nash, Richard Schmid, and Nancy Guzik have already switched over to Rosemary's mongoose brushes, and are pleased with how much better these brushes hold up in comparison to the Langnickels which they had formerly used.  Rosemary has sent out a package to me containing samples of her brush-making skills, and I look forward to seeing what she has shared.

Check out the Rosemary & Co. website to see their full line of handmade brushes.

Thank you to all of you who have contributed to the contest, and to all of you have who supported the blog.  Look for the Millennial Contest, coming soon.