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Rainy Day Studio Activity #2 - Mahl Stick

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Rainy Day Activity That Won't Break the Bank or Burn Down the Studio Jan Vermeer "The Art of Painting" 1666 Use of mahl stick A mahl stick is an aid painters use to steady their hand while painting. Like me, they have found that trying to hold their hand rock still when making thin, controlled tree branches or tiny highlights usually ends up with the fat heel of their palm smearing across the surface of wet paint. This then leads to swear words or some animal-like scream of despair that echoes through the neighborhood which can frighten your neighbor's kids and lead to inquisitive police officers at your door. Most importantly, a wayward hand on your canvas undoes lots of hard work. The mahl stick is usually a stick approximately 3 feet long made of wood or aluminum with a padded end covered in suede. I have been using a cheap wooden yard stick from Sleepy's Mattress and before that, a cane I inherited from a relative after their foot surgery (...
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  Newsletter October 2021 Hello Everyone, and Happy Autumn from Katy and Brad! Here at Hoppenville House, the last of the butternut and buttercup squash has been picked, and a few tomatoes and peppers are hanging in there. Soon, it’s time to rototill and put the garden plot to bed for the Winter. The grass has been given its Fall fertilizer treatment and the last cut of the year looms near. The leaves are beginning their Autumn display of colour and mornings have been cool as we await our first frost. Most of the summer perennials have been cut back and the Fall bloomers stand alone in our gardens. We both enjoy our gardens, the warm weather, and relaxing on the back porch. But, we also look forward to the gradual cooldown that proceeds Winter. We will certainly have more time in the studio and are looking ahead to our next couple of events. We were so happy to return to Monhegan Island, Maine, this summer. It was a short, but productive visit. The weather cooperated for the most p...
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Hey, Look What I Built! And It Works, Too!

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Hey, Look What I Built! And It Works, Too! "Society Finch"      5x7"       oil Greetings from the studio and happy spring!  Spring is a season that is full of awakenings and new beginnings. I have been enjoying my adventures in oil painting. "Society Finch" is a recent work that is a change from the still life I was making with somber, dark backgrounds emphasis placed on chiaroscuro. I wanted a more open, delicate feel to compliment the subject of the bird. Society finches are not found in the wild and were bred to be companion pets. Hence the choice of domestic items to place with him. I don't own a finch so I spent a lot of time in the local pet store watching them and I am pretty sure the employees now think I am some bird stalking lunatic that has no life. And to that I say ... "what of it?!" This painting is framed and available. I have been wanting a lighter, more mobile easel for plein air painting so I spent some ti...
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