A New Millenium

This past weekend, the Underpaintings blog passed a new milestone when the number of followers climbed above 2000 members!  I just wanted to thank all of you once again for supporting this effort of mine;  I have gained much in producing these posts, and I can only hope from the number of subscribers to Underpaintings that you too have gained something from the blog's presence here on the internet.  

In honor of this achievement, it is time for a new contest!  Pictured below are 50 paintings, waiting to be identified.  To the first person who names all 50 works, by artist and title, and who also provides 

the factor which links them all together, goes a special prize bundle valued at over $300.

Judson's Plein Air Outfitters was kind enough to provide the first item in the prize package, one of their sturdy pochade boxes, the 5" X 7" Guerilla Painter® Pocket Box™.  The perfect traveling kit, this lightweight painting box is only 1 pound, and measures a mere 8" X 5½" X 3" when closed.  You can paint with it in the palm of your hand, your lap, a tabletop, or even attach it to a tripod with the option of adding a camera mount.  And with all of the accessories available from Judson's, you can easily customize this take-anywhere pochade to suit your plein air needs.  This particular prize comes with the Pocket Box™ carrying bag, and with the tripod mount and rubber tabletop feet pre-installed. The retail value of this item with accessories is over $120.

I began ordering from Judson's several ago, when I first decided to try my hand at outdoor painting.  They have been a pleasure from which to order, and they are responsible for introducing me to some great quality items, including the Holbein brush washers and palette cups, which I highly recommend.  The company also shared the stories of their friends, the Guerilla Painters, those intrepid souls who kept painting outdoors, despite any obstacles;  on those days when I was dodging hamburgers tossed at my head while painting, and being chased off property by the police, it was good to know I was not alone. You can follow more stories of the trials and tribulations of painting en plein air at the blog, Guerilla Painter Chronicles.

The White Monk by Richard Wilson (this is not part of the contest)

George O'Hanlon of Natural Pigments provided the second item in the giveaway, a $100 gift certificate to his store.  I have mentioned George's products several times before, and how much I enjoy listening to him share his knowledge of pigments at his booth at the annual Portrait Society of America Conference.  He is really a wonderful old-world type "colourman," who I suspect only started his company to fund his curiosity about historic painting materials and processes.  His products are the "real-deal," based on years of researching old texts to find out exactly what our predecessors knew about the materials they used;  any changes he makes to historic recipes are all scientific improvements based on his own knowledge of chemistry, and on the results of conservation data from around the world.  And to top everything off, he's a really nice guy, who never has a bad thing to say about any of his competitors;  he knows most of them, and how they make their products, and will give you his honest, and often positive, opinion on what they have to offer.

Besides having several of Natural Pigments' paints regularly on my palette, I have recently begun using a new item that George has created - Wilson's Medium.  Based on an 18th century oil painting medium used by Great Britain's "father of landscape painting," Richard Wilson, Natural Pigments' Wilson's Medium is a mixture of pale bodied linseed oil, pure distilled gum spirits of turpentine, and rheological castor wax.  I have been using it to oil-out my paintings between layers;  it restores the depth to an area which has dried and become matted, does not bead up, and dries overnight when applied thinly.

I too have thrown in two items to the prize bundle.  The first is a brand-new Holbein Series SX size 2 painting knife. I have previously posted on these knives, and they are a great product.  Before this model was discontinued, it routinely retailed for over $40.  Additionally, I have thrown in a very good copy of the out-of-print book, Beyond Impressionism: The Naturalist Impulse by art historian Gabriel Weisberg.  It is one of my favorite art books, and were I stranded on a desert isle, I'd want to have it with me (see the March/April 2011 issue of Fine Art Connoisseur for Nancy Bea Miller's article on the subject).  This book can still be found used, online, ranging anywhere from $70 to $900!

This contest is NOT limited to just residents of the United States.  I will ship the items to whomever wins, wherever they live, provided there are no prohibitions from either the shipping or receiving countries.

Please send your answers to underpaintings@innisfineart.com.

Best of luck to all entrants (I think this competition should be easier than the last). 

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