On this page you will find links to some of my favorite websites and also sites that feature products I use in the course of creating my oil paintings and other works.
There are two types of hyperlinks on this page. Click on the corporate logos to link to their respective websites and there are also some text links here and there in the notes.
These are some of the brand names I see in my studio. This section is woefully incomplete since my full complement of equipment, supplies, and tools must comprise well over a hundred different logos. The ones you see here are posted only because their products feature prominently in my painting process. These links are not subsidized by their respective corporate identities. I review these links from time to time but I do not make a concerted ongoing effort to keep them current. Don't be surprised if you get a redirect. Things change faster than my ability to keep up with them.
BINNEY & SMITH is the parent company of LIQUITEX, producers of artist's acrylic gesso, and CRAYOLA, the major supplier of wax crayons. I melted together two different gray Crayola crayons to simulate graphite pencil notes in my painting Endangered Species.
Fine artist grade oil paints and durable brushes are available from WINSOR & NEWTON and GRUMBACHER.
D-LIMONENE is a natural extract of citrus peel. It's pleasant orange aroma is preferable both to traditional turps as well as to odorless spirits which can overpower the user without warning! It holds a bit too much oxygen compared to superior diluents such as Spike Oil of Lavendar, which you will also find mentioned further down. Though I don't use it any longer in mixing paint and glaze mediums, I keep it handy on my taboret to clean my brushes while I work and to lift excess paint from my support surface. It retails under several labels, including Grumbacher and ECO Design Company of Santa Fe, New Mexico. I buy it in gallon containers directly from the supplier at the link above.
STUDIO PRODUCTS is the place to shop for the highest quality, most purely formulated artist painting mediums, diluents, and other formulas. And CENNINI FORUM is the place to discuss time-tested tried-and-true art chemistry formulations and art production procedures. You will find no better products nor superior advice. The bona fide experts at this website purvey the finest goods and proffer the last word in applied art advice. This is where you can purchase the finest Maroger Medium, Spike Oil of Lavendar, and Oil of Clove. Want to experience a pronounced difference in paint handling and material quality? Shop here for superlative goods and visit the forum for the low down straight skinny how-to.
KRYLON Matte Finish No. 1311 acrylic fixatif provides a durable final finish. It appears to be based on ROHM AND HAAS Acryloid formulas, synthetic polymers of acrylic and methacrylic esthers. KRYLON also produces superior workable fixes that I used extensively in the past on intricate multilayered color ink drawings. They also maintain an extensive inventory of related products. A site worth exploring.
I have CORELDRAW GRAPHICS SUITE versions 6 and 11, PC-based graphics on a par with Mac standards Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. I used PhotoPaint6 only during certain critical sessions with my EPSON Perfection 3200 scanner to oblige the TWAIN in a full-featured third-party scanner GUI software app that supports nothing above version 9. The native EPSON GUI works superbly for most jobs since the TWAIN in it is seamlessly compatible in either version under WindowsXP Home. Regardless of which version I used to capture scan images, I employed PhotoPaint11 exclusively to prep all bitmaps in this current incarnation of my website. Both Draw6 and Draw11 were used to create certain special effects, such as the creative headliner typography you see at the tops of the homepage and each of the gallery pages. Click on the gekko to see the latest version.
CORNINGWARE no longer makes the fabulous brilliant white hot tray that I use as a palette. Still, they make elegantly sculpted unbreakable dinnerware.
MASONITE hardboard panels changed the way Maxfield Parrish painted. He began using hardboard as soon as it became available and also took to the first synthetic artists' acrylic gesso. Untempered indoor panels are preferred for art paints; instead of the resin binders used to fortify tempered outdoor panel, the natural pressurized wood byproduct lignin serves as the glue that holds the wood fibers together.
The latest big deal from MASONITE is their super-pressurized ultra-rigid DURON panel. It affords superior support characteristics at half the thickness and half the weight of traditional hardboards. Unfortunately, it seems to be unavailable on the west coast, probably because weather conditions here are more forgiving than back east, where it's widely used in construction. I order mine pre-cut even though the shipping and handling costs add up to about twice again the cost of a single 4×8-foot panel. In 2010, the panel cost $18 plus $12 packaging and $23 shipping. Still, I get four substantially-sized support panels out of each sheet, so figure the painting panels average about $13.50 each. If you want to order some DURON, contact Chris Boulter for a quote or visit the Boulter Plywood website by clicking on this link:
THE GOLDEN RECTANGLE is a geometric derivative of a mathematical expression, the Fibonacci Sequence. It is an interesting natural phenomenon adapted to art and practical design. Find out more about it at these fine sites or click on one of the many links to that term scattered throughout my website.
Here are some links to websites that are peripherally related to my art endeavors. They reflect other interests that have taken on a crossover significance in my paintings.
CHESS GRAPHICS is an extensive well-organized chess image library, part of a much larger chess site maintained by Alan Cowderoy in France.
GOJU-KAI KARATE-DO National Headquarters is in Danville, California and the Honbu Dojo is in San Leandro. To learn more about this first-ever modern synthesized martial art click on the photo just above of its late founder, The Cat.
The MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM has expanded since I took classes there 40 years ago. The original building is a sensational Eero Saarinen structure. I used to lounge in its swank Mies van der Rohe lobby chairs. Saturday classes are still offered.
TATTOO is a fascinating art form. I encourage the reader to visit some of the many tattoo websites in this webring.
