Making Linen Canvas Panels

In the never ending quest to find the ultimate painting surface I often experiment by making my own oil painting canvas panels. It does entail some work, patience and time. While it would be much easier and quicker to buy readymade stretched canvas or rolls of primed canvas, the process of making the panels makes the artwork very personal. You are involved with its lifecycle from the very beginning even before it is painted. And because of the time and energy invested in making each canvas panel there seems to be a bit more mindfulness involved in the painting process. To date I haven’t found that ultimate painting surface and so I continue to strive for it experimenting and maybe one day hopefully soon the magic moment will happen when at last perfection is achieved. But until that moment, as the saying goes “if at first you don’t succeed, try try again.”

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Understanding the DuMond palette-A brief tutorial

Many of my students ask me, "what is this palette that you are teaching me?" To which I reply "a palette that my teacher's teacher's teacher developed some time ago long before you and I were born." Of course this explanation fetches some curious looks, but in truth, the palette has been handed down through the generations from teacher to student. Fortunately it was handed down to me and happily I am handing it down to a future generation of aspiring artists. At first glance, the prismatic palette appears to be of a complex nature with many colors. As shown above it proffers an array of a multitude of manufactured and premixed colors laid out in strings according to values. The top string of colors are manufactured pigments ranging from white, yellow, orange, red, blue, and black. The rest of the palette is comprised of pre-mixed colors in eight equal steps of light gray to dark gray, eight equal steps of light blue to dark blue and eight equal steps of li...

DuMond Prismatic Landscape Palette

Back in March of 2018 I decided to recreate the DuMond Prismatic Landscape Palette Chart and donate it to the Ridgewood Art Institute. That’s me above in the video creating the new chart. The original chart that we used was made by Joe Paquet. As you can see it was heavily used and covered in paint swatches. This made it difficult to discern the original values and colors that lay underneath. The new chart is much easier to read and will provide many years of use. It was nice to get a nod by former Board Member Ed Horvath of the Ridgewood Art Institute for my contribution to furthering the Frank Vincent DuMond, Arthur F. Maynard, and John P. Osborne legacy at the Ridgewood Art Institue.

Spring Plein Aire

This Spring has been absolutely beautiful and it has been a pleasure to experience. It always passes too quickly but perhaps that’s what makes it special. Its ephemeral quality makes us cherish all the more the reawakening landscape and the proliferation of blooms and requires from us to be present in the moment to fully appreciate its revelations. Every year I look forward to painting in the lilac gardens surrounded by the aromatic perfume wafting in the air. There is something magical happening. There is a connection being made, a commune with nature that’s soothing and liberating. Plein air painting teaches us to observe to be very present in the moment. In many ways it can be like meditation. Plein Air painting has taught me to stay in the moment and let go of control. And what I mean by letting go of control is to allow oneself to be willing to accept what happens with the weather, with the lighting conditions, with the way the painting is evolving. It’s a lesson not...

Diana K. Gibson

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