The Art Department

Frankslist: assorted art links

2009-11-20T05:49:00.000-08:00

There are millions of art related sites online. These are just a few that I really like and visit fairly regularly.

While here, please visit a few links in the ads to the right too... Thanks!

Online Color Challenge... a real challenge

Color is Relative

The Golden Ratio Calculator

A great talk by Milton Glaser ...check out the other talks on TED ...amazing stuff.

A remarkable way to stretch a canvas

Call for Entry ...public art opportunities

American's for the Arts ... a national advocacy group that has made your life better whether you realize it or not.

The Clark Art Institute ... a world class gem here in the wilds of western Massachusetts

Mass MOCA ...Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams MA

Pearl Paint ...very well stocked art supply store with decent prices

Utrechts ... both a manufacturer and retailer- great paint and gesso.

Jerry's Artarama ... inexpensive art supplies

Cheap Joe's Art Stuff ... more inexpensive art supplies

Art Supply Warehouse ... yet more inexpensive art supplies

Dick Blick ... and more inexpensive art supplies

The Guild Art Center ... local Pioneer Valley art supplies

Sinopia ...hard to find old world supplies and pigments

Mural Supplies ...nice collection of specific items

Simon Liu ...custom stretchers, canvas and other great stuff

Judson's Plein Air Outfitters ...nice cllection of supplies

Open Box M ...really great plein air easels

Artwork Essentials ...another great plein air easel

Winsor & Newton ...top manufacturer of oil paint

Gamblin Artist Colors ... really great American made oil paint

Old Holland Oil Paint ...some of the best paint in the world since 1664

Golden Acrylics ...arguably the best acrylic paint.

Mark Golden's Blog ...interesting.

Nova Color...inexpensive acrylic paint prized by muralists.

Liquitex ...top acrylic manufacturer.

Wet Canvas ... a large art and critique message board

Dr. Sketchy ... well, um... figure drawing workshops... with a twist... ya.

The Worlds Longest Picture Frame

Everything Leonardo

The Essential Vermeer

just a beautifully painted face .. a woman becomes paint becomes a woman

Art Daily ... online art magazine

Art Forum Gallery Guide

Rijksmuseum

Making Custom Stretcher Bars

2009-11-16T05:07:00.000-08:00

In my frame shop I am often asked to stretch existing paintings on canvas. Sometimes the canvases are custom sizes (in fractions or metric) or otherwise won't work on pre-made off the shelf stretcher bars. The usual way framers deal with these is to make a strainer, not a stretcher. The difference is that a stretcher, by definition can stretch at the corners, making the rectangle larger to tighten a loose canvas. A strainer is a fixed size, usually glued and nailed at the corners. Pre-made stretcher bars achieve this with wooden keys that are hammered into a complicated finger joint. This type of joinery is beyond the tool and jig setup of most artists or framers. This article will show you how, with a table-saw, a simple jig and small turnbuckles available at most hardware store, you can make better stretcher bars than are typically available.

There are two attributes that make a good stretcher bar. First, it must be straight and true; and second, it should minimize the amount of contact with the canvas. I use 1" x 2" poplar or basswood for my stretchers, but knot-free pine or even finger jointed pine length is fine if the canvas is not too large.

First off, you need to alter the shape of your stock so the face of the stretcher is not completely in contact with the canvas. This can be done by running the length stock through the table saw with the blade set at an angle, producing a bevelled face,

After mitering the corners, attach the four legs together using staples only on the back. If necessary one staple can be put at the high point on the front also. The frame will be fairly wobbly and fragile, the goal at this point is only to hold the legs oriented together while they are run through the splining jig on the table-saw. If it is a large stretcher, each corner can be stapled and run through the saw individually, taking care to mark which corners go together.

I use this splining jig to make custom splined corner hardwood frames in my shop, gluing up the corners first.

Once the slot is cut, rip a scrap piece of wood to the thickness of the kerf of your blade for the splines. Make sure the blade is set at 90 degrees to the table, and cut the spline a whisker fat. It should fit tightly, but still go in by hand or with light taps of a hammer. If it is too thick you run the risk of splitting the stretcher bar. The splines are easy enough to cut off installed with a sharp utility knife.

Once the stretcher is assembled and held together with the splines, true up the corners to 90 degrees. This is easy enough to do by measuring the distance from opposite corners and making sure they are the same.

To make this work as a stretcher, attach a small turnbuckle to each corner and turn to open the stretcher. I have this one screwed to the back, alternately, small slots can be let into the inside edge of the stretchers to accept the hardware.

The NEW Art Dept.

2009-11-03T06:25:00.000-08:00

I've sort of held onto this blog for a few years now, not quite sure what to do with it. First it was a recipe blog, as I really enjoy eating. Then it became a place to just show some of my photography as my paintings are featured on here. Stay tuned because now I have an idea that is more fitting with the title and my interests.

Flume & Liberty

2008-08-07T16:33:00.000-07:00

Emi and I climbed Mt. Flume and Mt. Liberty last Tuesday. We did the loop up the Flume Slide Trail, over to Liberty and down the Liberty Springs Trail back to where we started.

I did this hike once before... 27 years ago. The Flume Slide Trail is one thing at 19 years old, and quite another at 46. Still, I felt great and really enjoyed the trail. It is dangerously steep in places with hand over foot climbing required for a lot of it. Simply spectacular.

From Liberty towards the Pemigewasset Wilderness.

Emi summits Mt. Liberty and stands on the edge of Franconia Notch.

Low ceiling from Liberty toward the Cannon cliffs and beyond.

The Green River Festival Greenfield Massachusetts 2008

2008-08-06T04:45:00.000-07:00

Eilen Jewell performed on Friday evening on the main stage during some high wind and rain. Her music is a great mix of old timey Americana country, with a bluesy surf guitar played by Jerry Miller. Johnny Sciascia thumped and slapped solid bass and with Jason Beek on the kit and back up vocals, they were, for my money the highlight of a great festival this year.

They also performed as the Sacred Shakers on Saturday with Eric Royer and some others. As the last act on Saturday in the dance tent opposite Lucinda Williams on the main stage, Eilen and her band just rocked the place. The crowd kept growing and growing. The band looked a little surprised that this many people preferred to hear them to Lucinda. Eilen was really enjoying the moment, even telling Lucinda at one point to "keep it down out there."

Jerry Miller scorching his Gretsch

Jimmie Vaughan is the genuine article. He plays and knows a Strat like few do. It's unfortunate that he will always be compared to his more influential brother Stevie because he has a great style all his own. Stevie once said that Jimmie can play anything, but plays only 10% of what he knows, while he (Stevie) only knows 10 % of what Jimmie knows, but plays 100% of it.

Billy Pitman, Jimmie's rhythm engine.

The Green River Festival started out as a balloon fair with some music. It's now a music festival with some balloons. The weather kept them from launching, but they did a great night illumination.

Mavis Staples can still belt it out, even in 90 degree humidity.

Los Straitjackets

Eric Royer's One Man Band with his incredibly inventive guitar machine. I saw him many years ago performing on the streets of Boston with a large crowd just in awe of this. He is supremely talented and also plays banjo and sings with the Sacred Shakers.

Lucinda Williams music is the definition of honest. You really feel that she has lived every one of those lyrics.

Grace and Melissa showing everyone how to do it.

Emi hoopin'

There were many other great performers at the festival this year and we really had a great time as usual.

Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Lafayette Circuit Loop

2008-07-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

The Barn, The Horse

2008-04-22T17:41:00.001-07:00

Angry Beaver

2008-04-22T05:05:00.000-07:00

This is another shot of the tree in the previous post. Can you imagine the hours it took to chew through this 10" diameter tree, only to have it fall into the branches of it's neighbor? That must have been one disappointed beaver.

A Few More From Mt Toby

2008-04-21T19:34:00.001-07:00

Interestingly, these three have very similar compositions.

Wasp on a Window

2008-04-21T04:15:00.001-07:00

Wasp on a window on a cool spring morning.

Get a room...

2008-04-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

Today's Hike

2008-04-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

Today's Hike was up My Toby in Sunderland, MA. It was a fairly strenuous climb following a brook. There is an old fire tower at the summit. You can climb to up the stair sections to get a view, but not into the tower itself.

On a Hike This Morning

2008-04-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

The Hermit of Erving's Castle on the Cliffs in Erving Massachusetts.

Emi on Pulpit Rock on the cliffs at the Hermit's Castle

A really great vernal pool we found on the way. Frogs, egg masses, salamanders...

Frog at the Vernal Pool

Tufted Titmouse

One More from Yesterday

2008-04-18T03:44:00.000-07:00

Going in close at 10 mp is truly amazing, almost every red maple bud is visible.

More Late Day Light

2008-04-17T18:55:00.000-07:00

Just as it looked with the raking light soaking those branches.

Photoshop

2008-04-16T17:39:00.001-07:00

Yesterday's airplane and today's moon.

Today's pics

2008-04-16T04:58:00.000-07:00

This plane was a long way up. We are under some international route as these airplanes are visible all day. They traveling East and are way too high up to be heading to Logan. Shot with a Sony 75-300 zoom telephoto. I just bought this lens and I like it better than the Sigma, which will be available on eBay if it doesn't sell through craigslist first.

This is the kind of light I have been painting for years out the window of my studio. Late afternoon glow on leafless branches.

Jolie, our headstrong horse, peeking under the fence at the barn. I hope to shoot more of her now that the weather is getting better.

Ultimate Frisbee

2008-04-14T16:09:00.000-07:00

A few Ultimate Frisbee action shots. These were shot with a Sigma 75-300 AF zoom lens. I recently bought this lens and so far it was another steal, this time on Ebay. It kind of hunts around a little on autofocus with the action shots, but with the focal length and the distances, I put the focus on manual and opened it to infinity for most of the shots.

Big Bunny, Little Flowers

2008-04-14T04:16:00.001-07:00

Maxfield Parrish-ish

2008-04-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

Woodpecker and Creative Cropping

2008-04-12T08:04:00.001-07:00

Woodpecker right out of the camera (size reduced for blog)

First crop, increased saturation and contrast.

Close crop, still reasonably clear.

Newly Minted Photoblog

2008-04-11T04:16:00.000-07:00

If you are coming here from my other blog you know this is now primarily my photoblog. I recently purchased a new Sony A100 10 mp DSLR and I find myself shooting a lot. Here you will find new pics as they fall out of the camera and bounce off of photoshop...

Here is a great tutorial on creating a black and white photo in photoshop. Prior to reading this I simply desaturated a photo and called it done. This procedure allows for a greater dynamic range, more detail in both the darks and lights.

Installed

2006-05-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

Now & Then & Now & When

2006-04-29T04:48:00.000-07:00

Now & Then & Now & When

2006-04-01T05:10:00.000-08:00

I've held this blog in check for a long time now, not knowing what I intended to do with it. I've decided to reserve the The Studio Wall site solely for my oil paintings. That work tends to be more focused than the other things I do, which there are plenty of. This site will be for these other things, the odds and sods, the tangential threads including the large public puzzle pieces.

Here are a few Images of Now & Then & Now & When in progress. Above is the cardboard template and below I am cutting the dibond.