They are called “Best Keys” and rightfully so. They are available Here : Utrecht Art Supply As you can see you use a wrench to tighten the canvas. These are really only needed on lager canvases. After I use them I’ll drive a wooden key back into the slot (Like I show earlier in my …

Continue reading »

Check out this Fantastic interview with metal sculptor Stiv Mackey : Listen to internet radio with jared knight on Blog Talk Radio

I have two shaving brushes that I use to clean the surface of my paintings before I put a layer of retouch varnish on top. The one on the left has a softer hair whereas the one on the right has a tougher hair, it’s more of the work horse.

Thank god for the digital age. Remember slides? Ugh… There are still some older galleries out there that take slides only but they are almost completely gone. After all the work that I did in slides it is now useless. You have to keep pushing and working as the world changes.

Keeping up with inventory, storage, web updates, and organizing your taxes are very important. Here you can see one of the racks that I use to store paintings that I am working on and paintings that are finished. I like to wrap my finished work in tyvek, it keeps off dust and it breaths.

I like to put a little felt at the corners of my paintings so that the edges don’t scratch the walls of my clients.

I was leafing though an old scrap book, this one from 1999, and I found this. I used to scribble out archetype figures. Just letting myself fly free and wrap my ink around faces and bodies that were strictly in my head. This has lead to major self discoveries throughout my life. It morphed into …

Continue reading »

Linen and cotton are different materials used in making fabric painting supports. In this picture the support on the left is cotton and the one on the right is linen. You can see the difference in color. There are many types to choose from. There are also many types of weaves like Single Weave, Combination …

Continue reading »

You see how the canvas has grooves in the corners on the back? That’s where you put this tuning key then hammer it in. It seperates the stretcher bars and makes the surface of the canvas tighter. Tip : Use a rubber mallet so you don’t split the key  

Rub this on your hands before you get to work and you won’t need to use gloves. I like to get real close to my work and I feel gloves get in the way, but I also like to stay safe. Make sure you have proper ventilation and you are free to create.