Wildflower Ridge

 I hiked to the end of the lake to find this special vantage.  My favorite TWSBI fountain pen is running out of black ink, so I used Thunderstorm by Robert Oster in another favorite pen. It's dark and chromatic, and separates when wet.  There are baby wildflowers planted all over this place, and this will be gorgeous in the coming years!  Painting number 5029 in 5029 days. 

Art Tip - Freezing the Palette

Palette in the Freezer?

As a daily painter, I am constantly reaching for my oils to paint.  It is a real time saver to me to simply pull them out of the freezer!  Using an old metal china painting palette, which has a lid, I load the glass or plexiglass surface with my oil paints.  After each use, I put the lid on, slip it into a ziplock freezer bag, and pop it into my freezer.  I have a top shelf in my freezer that is reserved for all my palettes.  I keep them in freezer bags to help prevent oxidation, and to protect the food from any cross contamination that could occur.  I have many different palettes for each pochade box, fitting the internal shapes of those boxes.  I even have a couple of Altoid tins for those small thumb box pochades!  

When I pull the palette out the next time, within a few minutes, the paints are pliable enough to use.  Over time, a skin will form over a worm of paint from natural oxidation.  Often times, I will just punch through with my paintbrush, scraping out the paint underneath.  If the worm starts to get too hard for use, I will scrape it off with a razor and start anew.  

Biggest benefit of keeping a palette in the freezer?  I am always ready to paint at a second’s notice.  Once I land at my plein air location for the day - I can start painting immediately.  No squeezing out paint before the process starts.  When every minute counts, this little timesaver really helps.  In case you are continuing a painting started the day before, your paints are just like you left them, no premixing needed to match yesterday’s colors.  Another benefit?  Little clean up!  I simply put the lid on and place it in the bag.  It gets tossed in the freezer as soon as I get home.  If it will be hours to and from my location, I keep it in an insulated lunch carrier with an ice pack.  It just keeps my paints fresher for longer.  

Guarding Her Filly

Guarding Her Filly
Instant Coffee on paper, 12x9
Jeek's Farm, Augusta, Missouri

I have sketched this in charcoal and painted it in oils this last month, but THIS time - I have painted with instant coffee!  That's right, I said coffee!  Folgers is the best brand, and it leaves a wonderful glossy look where the "paint" is the heaviest.  A couple of years ago, this was something we tried in a monthly Tri-County meeting for our workshop.  Finding my supplies for this - I remembered how I loved the rich, warm color these leaves on the paper!  It makes me want to paint more subject matter with it!  It flows onto the paper beautifully, and has such an antique feel to it.  I can just see cowboys on their horses painted in such a medium.  It is important to use Folgers brand instant coffee, because I am told that the others do not have the same color and gloss.  You simply mix a little coffee with water, and start painting.  So fun!  This is painting number 199 in 199 days :)