Fine Art vs Graphic Design

Fine Art vs Graphic Design

"Or...why I decided to leave the graphic design industry"

When I was very, very young I loved to draw. I would draw pictures of battles between soldiers and spacemen, pictures of airplanes and ships at sea, drawings of people that I knew, coal miners that played cards with my dad, copies of pictures from National Geographic, animals on the farm and in the field, and sometimes landscapes. This all began when I was around 6 or 7. My grandparents had a hotel with some regular boarders. Some would make fun of my constantly drawing, others encouraged me. My own family didn't hold too much with art. They felt it was a waste of time. But, all-in-all, I just loved to draw. And eventually I took to painting too. The one thing that I loved best with this creative process is that I got to express myself. My feelings about the character in faces, the beauty and grace of animals, the wonder of the texture and colors in landscape. When I was a teenager I knew some fellow students that were better than me, Richard Krukowski, Patrick Murphy, and probably others. But I still got to create what moved me, no matter how good or bad the work may have been.

When I was in the military I often used my skills to create art for my friends, for my duty station, for the people that I met in foreign lands. I even used my artistic skills to woo my to-be wife Jewel when I was in Vietnam in the late 60's. As I did more, I improved my skills to the point that I felt I could make a career from my art and live happily ever after. At the encouragement of my wife I left the military after over 11 years to go to art school and change the course of my life. Well, while I was still in art school I was offered a job as art director for a Northeast Pennsylvania ad agency. With a family of 4 to look after I took the job right after graduation. It didn't take long to realize that graphic art was considerably different than fine art. First off you had to please a client, not yourself. To do that you often had to compromise your personal aesthetic tastes and quite often you were required by the customer to cram a bunch of stuff into a small space. It became more a matter of fitting things in than quality design. But, by that time I became dependant on the income from graphic design and had to often give up my personal design sense.

Move forward over 30 years. I've worked as an art director 3 times, an ad manager 1 time, and a small business owner 3 times, all in the graphics industry. Once in a while I was able to actually affect the outcome of the design beyond a customers input. Some customers even actually encouraged me to go-ahead and design something my way. That got me several design awards over the years. But it still didn't satisfy the desire to express my own creativity as much as drawing and painting from my heart.

Last year I made the leap, from graphic designer to fine art artist. I've had several shows since last October, some successful financially, some not so. BUT, all of the shows got accolades from the guests, even my fellow artists. Much more rewarding than the Graphics Industry.

I still get requests from people who know that I am adept at graphic design, especially on the computer. I find that the time I spend on the computer designing graphic pieces is far too time consuming for the meager rewards that are gleaned. When I draw and paint from my heart, no matter what I might make financially, the real reward is the pleasure I get from doing the art piece. Working on graphic designs take time away from my paintings and working in my favorite medium, egg tempera takes a great deal of time to produce the delicate details and glowing colors that only come through multiple layers of glazing. Therefore I only take on graphic design jobs that help friends in the industry or that are needed for charity.

Just one more note on this subject. For most of my adult life, wherever I worked, on Christmas I would give a piece of my personal art to a fellow employee, even in the military I did this. I loved to see the smiles on the faces of my fellow workers, and friends. About 18 years ago, a fellow worker had a baby a few months before the holiday season. I secretly did a pastel drawing of her little baby boy and when we were exchanging gifts at Christmas, I gave it to her. She cried, and cried. For hours she would take the piece around the workplace and show everyone, and cry from joy. Well, sometimes I get thousands of dollars for a painting. Not matter what I may get financially, nothing could be more rewarding than the reaction of a fellow human being when they are happy with the gift of my personal creativity.

More than a match for working on graphic design projects.

Union Point Show Opening

Art Show Opening
or
Does the Current Economy Affects the Arts

Well, last night was the opening for the Point of Art “Rural Georgia & the Vanishing South” show. It started at 6 pm and lasted until after 8. Many of the artists' friends and art lovers from the region showed up to give their support to this interesting show. Besides myself, many other artists came to the show including Nan McGarity, Judy Phlagar, Sally Ross, Chris Mitts, Robert Battle, Ronald Moore, David Siffert's wife Maria, Jan Whyllson, Will Eskridge, Leonard Jones and of course Anne Jenkins, gallery owner. And...the chef that created the book "Home Cookin' Illustrated", Doug Janousek. Doug has created a great regional book centered around great home cooking recipes and the art works and bios of regional artists, many of which were showing art pieces at the exhibit. You can see Doug's website and get a copy of his book at: www.home-cookin.net.

The show will be up until November 8. Be sure to visit the gallery - they're open every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 am til 5 pm, or by appointment any other day. Just call (706) 486-6808.

As you can see by the attached photos, there was a very eclectic viewpoint of what rural Georgia means to each artist. It makes for a fascinating show with works that range from pottery to paintings, realistic and detailed views of rural living to very impressionistic works that lend excitement a vibrant colors to the rural scene. Nan McGarity's plein air works showed a freshness and immediacy to the landscape, Daavid Siffert's dynamic pieces have a feeling of a rural fantacy world, while Wayne Collins' pottery pieces reflected what rural living is like with his wonderful gourds. Anne Jenkins' pieces are a reflection of the natural feelings you get while traveling through the rural area. Robery Battle's paintings lend a special feeling of brilliant colors to the Georgia farm country. All-in-all you will find a wonderful blend of character and beauty in all of the works on display. It is well worth the trip out to Union Point.

And, as a last note, why put hard earned dollars into the saagging stock market when you can own a fine pieces of art from creative people whose personal creations will only appreciate in value as time goes on.

October Art Musings

Creating Art For Autumn Shows

It's been an interesting summer with my preparation of pen and ink drawings for the Lyndon House "Common Structures" show in July-August. Doing black and white drawings was so apropos for the summer months here in Georgia. Such heavy green colors in the hot weather needed some stark pen and ink work to add a coolness to the art atmosphere. Now however we are entering the fall months and I have a showing of my new pieces at the Point of Art Gallery in Union Point starting the 9th of October and running through the 8th of November.

What to do to set up for up the autumn season? This show is entitled "Rural Georgia and the Vanishing South". The choice of Anne Jenkins, the gallery owner, not mine. It is so fitting for me since the name of my company is Vanishing Rural Georgia Art. There are several artists represented and they have all produced pieces that reflect the
southern rural heritage. Every artist is different and their
work reflects their diverse disciplines. An eclectic array of Southern art. The artists that will be showing with me at the Point of Art Gallery include Anne Jenkins, Nan McGarity, Ronald Moore, Will Estridge, and David Siffert. I feel great to be part of this group of fine artists.

Well, my work on these new paintings began in early September when I traveled to see my folks in Pennsylvania and brought along one of the pieces that I began to work on. That one ended up being my painting "On The Blocks" It was fun doing a painting where the sky is ominous and threatening while the sun is still shinning on the foreground. That was only one of several new paintings that I did in egg tempera especially for this show.

Working in egg tempera has always been a fairly slow process for me and I usually don't complete more than 6 pieces in a year, Not like the pen and inks where I did over 20 in a month and a half. This time however, I disciplined myself to work hard and long. I completed 7 new paintings in under 6 weeks. A major feat as I was sick with flu like symptoms for over 10 of those days. Well, that being said, I can only hope that fans of my work will like what they see. Even if their budget doesn't permit them to purchase an original egg tempera, I will have limited edition Giclée prints available after the show closes in early November.

Let me know what you think of my newest pieces. I am also working on 5 more egg tempera pieces and have 3 large oils in the wings.

Thanks for reading my blog.

Pete

August Travels

Hello Reader

It's been awhile since I last posted to my blog. Please forgive my absence as I was involved in many things this last month.

I've returned from a trip up north to visit and help my elderly parents around the house. They live in the mountains of Pennsylvania in a little place called Bear Creek where I spent much of my youth before heading off on my own. It is the place that I first really got the bug to create artworks. We lived on a farm that we rented back then and I learned many skills growing up in that environment that have helped me over the years in taking care of a house, developing good work habits and surviving just about anything. I remember once when I was about 12 when my father took me in the woods hunting. After walking several miles and going down many trails he disappeared from view. After awhile I became nervous and started heading back along the last trail that we hiked. I came across a split in the trail and was unsure which path to take. In a few moments I felt lost and disoriented and was alarmed thinking I wouldn't make it back again. That is when my dad stepped from behind a tree and I knew that he would never let me get lost but taught me to always check where I was going so that I could find my way back again. What a lesson.

Sometimes life felt a bit harsh living with my dad. He was strict and expected a lot from us kids. I left home when I was only 17, partly because of his critical nature, but I did end up going back to college eventually and the skills he taught me helped me to survive in Vietnam as well as cope with the difficulties you encounter in life. The older I get, the more I appreciate these things. My dad is difficult to talk to and I only wish I could tell him that I do appreciate the lessons I learned under his guidance.

While I was there I began work on a new egg tempera painting but had to postpone working on it as there was much that needed doing around my parents' house.

When I think back, I suppose that my creativity comes mostly from my mother's side of the family, but my surviving skills, ability to cope in almost any life situation, and to stand up for my values and argue for what I believe in comes from my dad (and mom too). Another thing, there are many wind turbines on the mountain ridge very near to my parents' house. No noticeable noise and there doesn't seem to be a problem with the natural habitat for birds etc. either.

I also visited my bother Paul who lives on a parcel of land behind my parents property. Paul is also creative and built his own house as well as Koi ponds, deck, some furniture, etc. while both Paul and his wife Sally enjoy working with plants and exotic fish.

Now that I'm back in Georgia I am putting my painting skills to good use and have been working on 10 new egg tempera paintings of rural Georgia. I've been re-inspired to create new pieces that reflect what I love about the Georgia farm scene. It reminds me of growing up on a farm and the wonders that you will find there.

July Travels

Hello Reader

This last week has been a traveling week (again) for Jewel and me. We took the opportunity to visit our dear friend Beth Rentz who had moved to Thomasville Georgia last year. Although we've known Beth for over 20 years, we hadn't seen her in about 16 years. We've kept in touch with telephone calls, cards and letters. Beth is a traveling soul who had worked with me when I had been the advertising manager at Wellington Leisure Products in the 80's. After I had left to pursue a new career path, Beth left also and went to work in such places as the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque, Alaska where she stayed 2 years and took care of physically challenged children, The University of Michigan and in Wisconsin where she grew up. We were exceedingly happy when we learned that she would be moving to Georgia where it would be relatively easy to visit her.

Beth's enthusiasm for what she does and where she settles is unmatched. Thomasville is no exception. When we first arrived it wasn't long before she spirited us on a tour of the city and it was immediately evident that she was very knowledgeable about all the area had to offer. From houses and mansions that graced the area to museums, farmers market (the second largest in Georgia), walking trails, flower gardens, cultural center and more, Beth knew them all. Since she had only moved there less than a year ago and worked in Tallahassee Florida, 30 some miles away, she was obviously excited about her new community and it was infectious.

While there, Jewel and I visited the market, saw many of the landmarks in the city, traveled to close communities where I took photos for future Vanishing Rural Georgia art pieces, the fantastic Pebble Hill plantation which was a sporting center in the 1900's and which housed a great collection of artworks representing the shooting sports as well as Audubon's great bird paintings, Jewel and Beth went to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Florida, and finally where I traveled to the Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf coast to take photos of wildlife and do some walking. All-in-all our visit with Beth was not only a great personal reunion, it was a 3 day excursion into another world. Hopefully it won't be too long before Beth will pay Madison a visit and we can show her the changes that have occurred since she was last here.

I've included some photos that I took representing some old Georgia structures that I plan to paint and draw, some shots of Thomasville including its downtown street, some of Pebble Hill Plantation, and a few of Saint Marks. I hope you enjoy the.

Pete

Common Structures Show

Hello interested reader.

The opening of my latest exhibit, which is a collaborative effort with photographer and friend Tim Reilly, is up and running at the Lyndon House Art Center in Athens Georgia. We had been preparing for this for almost 10 months, creating posters, preparing frames with the help of some pro framer friends, creating email notices and sending them out, creating and printing invitations, designing signage and installing this at the Gallery, purchasing food items for the reception, plants for the floral arrangements, and, to top off all this, we were finalizing our art pieces right up to the week preceding the show.

It's been a hectic few months and it was well worth it to see the interested viewers that came to the opening, asking questions about our techniques, our vision, making comments on what specific pieces meant to them. Most show openings that I have attended had lots of folks talking with each other, enjoying the company and the refreshments, but rarely actually taking real notice or interest in the art itself. It was very refreshing to see people at an opening who took real notice of the art and the purpose behind the exhibit. A lot of that can be attributed to my collaborator, Tim Reilly.

Aside from beautiful photography, Tim is very knowledgeable with historic preservation and has a deep feeling about the nature of fine old structures and what they are to our cultural landscape. I can probably say that Tim's interest in the subject is greater than my own and this shows in the structure of the exhibit itself. Every step of the way he reviewed what we were doing and made recommendations for improving everything from the wording to the design of the pieces. All of this helped make our presentation as professional as our limited resources allowed. Thanks Tim.

Another great help was having the enthusiasm of the gallery's curator, Nancy Lukasciewicz. Nancy was there for us whenever we had any questions concerning the gallery's logistics, the Center's support facilities, mailing out invitations, distributing information to the community, etc. And, at the reception, she and her assistants Shannon and Patricia stayed almost 2 hours past the closing time to allow additional visitors to come and to stay and look around. On a normal "Gallery closed" day, this went far beyond the pale. We weren't surprised at this level of assistance and dedication from these fine people who have demonstrated such devotion and professionalism throughout. What a fine group and a wonderful venue.

And then there are our wives, Jan Reilly and Jewel Muzyka without whom none of this could have been possible. They put up with us through our anxieties about the show and the financial excesses with the cost of set-up. They helped with arrangements of food, drapery and prudent advice every step of the way. And not the least was there gracious co-hosting throughout the reception. We are so lucky to have them as our life partners.

If you get the opportunity, please stop by the Lyndon House Art Center and see this great place. Our exhibit is but a small part of what one can experience in this fine facility.

Thank you for visiting my blog. Talk to you soon.

Trip to Pennsylvania and Maryland

Hello Reader

I have returned from a trip up north. Every year I visit my parents and other relatives in Pennsylvania. This year there were 3 special reasons to take the long trip. My parents were celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary. I needed to complete 9 pen and ink drawings for my upcoming show. And, one of my artist colleagues who was part of the ArtBiz Breakthrough Program invited me to visit her studio and discuss art techniques and marketing ideas.
Fortunately for me, my wife Jewel decided to take the trip with me. It's a long drive and a flight would have been even longer as the layover in New Jersey is almost a day long. It gave us a chance to discuss plans for the future of my art business. It has been over a year since we had made a decision to leave commercial art and concentrate on my fine art career. The economy decided to take this opportunity to drop into the toilet. Art sales are down. I have been the gallery director at the Pantheon Fine Art Gallery in Madison since last October. We had developed several interesting and diverse art shows over the last 10 months with shows centering around my egg tempera works, gallery artists' work, Black History Month celebration show, a spring visual arts festival, "Georgia in Bloom", and, to top all this off, a fabulous equine art show this May through early July. Sales were dismal even though we had finely targeted audiences, excellent variety of price ranges on the works, great opening receptions, and very good advertising and press release articles. Art is an especially hard sell during an economic downturn. Now the gallery owners have decided to close the gallery and I must make some hard decisions. Find a new gallery for my work, get another commercial art job, or become a hermit. In the meantime I am the second party in a two person show at the Lyndon House in Athens Georgia, a great art venue.
I completed the 9 pen and ink drawings in record time (for me) under the watchful eyes of my parents who have never really seen me at work with my art. I think they got a new perspective on my passion for drawing. I've attached 2 of the pieces that I had completed while up north.
Then I had the distinct pleasure of meeting, in person, Lynne Oaks, the artist who has been a member of our ArtBiz Breakthrough group. She was not only very charming, she also displayed a vast resource of knowledge on the arts and excellent talent in her own paintings. She teaches students in her vast studio and it's plain to see that the knowledge that she imparts is well received and progresses her students into professional art levels. I find it very comforting to know that there are professional artists out there who are willing to share their knowledge and to share it with talented beginners. Maybe the computer won't kill the tactile art world after all.
Well, now I must get ready for my show opening this afternoon and at my next post I will share photos of the art venue.

The Skill of Drawing

Hello Reader

Over the years I have been approached by many people, artists and non-artists alike, who were interested to know what special skill is primary in creating a good representational painting. Whether in egg tempera, acrylics, oils or pastel, a good representational work requires a knowledge of drawing. One of the first things a child does when they get their hands on a crayon, pencil, or chalk is to begin drawing. Lines, curves, scribbles, they go wild with drawn lines. Not coloring in broad areas, not even particularly choosing a color. Drawing lines and shapes. It is primary for human beings to want to place marks on a surface to express ourselves. Letters, musical notes, drawn lines and shapes. It all goes towards the same purpose, communicating our feelings.

As we become more sophisticated with our abilities we will create a musical piece, write a thesis, draw an image. As a visual artist, probably the onee thing I am most proficient at is drawing. I prepare my egg tempera paintings by first drawing my composition on a paper, then my painting panel refining as I go. Only after my drawing is to my liking do I start adding paint. That being said, on July 11th I am exhibiting over 20 of my pen and ink drawings in Athens Georgia at the Lyndon House Fine Art Center. Many of these drawings were the inspiration for paintings I have done. Some may end up as future paintings.

Some of the most important aspects of drawing that I feel are imperative to a good representation piece are composition, perspective, weight, and texture. Let me take each of these items and explain what I find important in them.

Composition, probably the most important element in good drawing, is organizing the arrangement of elements in the drawing space. The importance is to get the viewer to follow the image elements towards the center of interest of your drawing while developing a pleasing layout. A good composition will automatically attract the viewer. Guidelines towards a good composition are fairly specific but are only guidelines. In the long run, the artist must use their own intuitive nature to create their recognized style. Some of my guidelines include: 1) deciding on and creating the primary focal point, the area that you want your viewer to eventually concentrate on, 2) determining the foreground, middle ground, and background of the image, 3) balancing of elements in the piece to keep create a work that is not overweighted in one spot, 4) adding weight which help make the elements feel as though they exist on an actual plane and are not floating in space (unless you have something deliberately floating in space). Along with these I include detailing through shading or crosshatching, using negative areas to attract attention towards or away from objects, creating interesting shapes within the composition, and more.

I hope that you are able to visit the Lyndon House show where my drawings are balanced with the beautiful fine art photography of Tim Reilly, a Madison artist who creates his special images through the camera's lens.

Have a great day.

Pete

Friends in Art

Hi All

One of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist and getting involved publicly with an art community is the great friends that you make over the years. It has been my pleasure to be associated with visual artists, sculptors, musicians, photographers, writers, artists of many stripes over my artistic lifetime.

One of the very first was my mentor and art teacher in 9th grade, Andrew Palencar. Andy taught interested students the most sophisticated techniques from the old masters like Rembrandt and Vermeer and he really knew his stuff. I distinctly remember an exhibit of his works at Wilkes College when I was in the 11th grade that demonstrated his mastery of the human figure. It was a restricted show at the time because one of Andy's paintings was titled "Nude" and young people weren't permitted to view the show. With Andy's help I was able to sneak in (in secrecy) and get an in spiring look at his fine workmanship and his genius. Andy passed away a few years back from complications after heart bypass surgery. Sad to say I cannot find one reference to Andy's actual work on the internet, although several of his former students have given him the highest credit for their artistic success.

Things have come a long way since then. Now we can have our works posted on the internet as well as in galleries all over the world, even if we did paint a nude. I'm proud to say that I developed a life long love of art, whether I produce it or someone else does, in most part due to the insight that Andy gave me about the artist vision. It seems that many non-artists feel as though artistic works are just a cast off of one's innate abilities and not worth a serious examination. I've noticed over the months that I have been director at the Pantheon Fine Art Gallery that many browsers give but a cursory glance at works on exhibit.

All artistic expression is an insight into the artist's psyche, what is on their mind, in their heart, and what they want the public to know about them as well as the subject matter. Different artists present this in a variety of ways through music, painting, acting, sculpting, writing, etc. and through varying levels of proficiency. Either way you look at it, artistic expression is one of the most profound means of communication and examples of historical perspective on a region, an era, and a peoples' mindset at any given time. That makes art one of the most valuable resources that civilization has to offer to mankind.

So, the next time you visit a show, or see some work on-line, try to remember that you aren't just viewing someone's creation, you are getting a first hand look at history in the making.

Just some thoughts for today. Thank you for taking the time to read them and I am interested in your opinion.

Pete

New happenings

Another Monday and I must say that I'm glad to see this weekend behind me. Saturday morning was a shock when I discovered that my main hard drive with all of my customers' images was not mounting. I spent the entire day trying out different solutions but to no avail. I should have been doing my artwork instead of wasting time on the computer. Anyway, I have someone looking to at least retrieve the files next week while I am in Pennsylvania.

Sunday morning, around 7 am, I routinely put wild bird seed in our outside bird feeders and scatter some on the ground outside my studio. It was early and I was still in my bedroom slippers. Stepping back after spreading the bird seed I stepped on something soft. When I looked down and lifted my foot I saw what I stepped on. A coiled rattlesnake. I had stepped directly in the center and somehow it prevented the snake from striking. As you might guess I had the biggest adrenaline rush ever. I had never expected a rattler to be in my yard but now I watch every place that I step.

I did get some drawing done later in the day Sunday and I'm making progress with a planned show in Athens Georgia starting July 11.

Take care, and watch where you step.

Pete

Payment for work done

Well here we are again, discussing creating art. Instead of talking about how I make art using the egg tempera medium, allow me to hit on a subject that most of us small business owners must deal with, payment for our work.

As we all know, creating art is not an inexpensive process. There is the education, the years of experience, and the supplies, not to mention the overhead: electricity, space, heating/air conditioning, easels, drawing table, camera, etc., show invitations, ads and more, all tend to add up costing us thousands of dollars. And yet, even though we work hard to develop a style, produce product that gives beauty and value to peoples' lives, getting paid what our work deserves can be one of our most difficult hurtles in the creative process.

It's been an uphill battle over my entire career and when the economy goes south, that is the toughest time to sell art. Besides my own egg temperas and other works I am responsible for the sales of works by other artists through the Pantheon Fine Art Gallery at which I am the director.

Recently we promoted a special show on equine art pieces. Targeted a market that love the subject. We placed posters around the area almost a month in advance of the opening, sent out 500 invitations to interested horse owners, ranches, regional art buyers, and personally visited guest ranches. We sent press releases to all of the regional media as well as art groups and visitor centers. On opening night, May 30, 2008 where a show would probably have 150-250 attendees, we had around 50. Slow economy? The featured artist had wonderful pieces ranging in price from $150 to $5,000. Eight other artists in a second floor gallery had beautiful works priced from $150 to $2,000. To date 4 pieces have sold in the $250 to $700 range.

I should say, I also print Giclée fine art and art photography works for artists. Usually the customer pays promptly but since this economic downturn, I am finding payments are coming later and later. At a time when supplies are getting more expensive and work is getting harder to come by, getting paid late is not very helpful.

These are tough times to make a living as an artist and it will surely be a test of our creative resolve.

Painting the Rural Scene

I have been drawing and painting ever since I can remember. I spent most of my formative years on a farm in rural Pennsylvania. Expressing my feelings about nature with pencil and paint came second nature to me. I would even sketch my father's friends when he would be playing cards. It was not until I was in 9th grade and learning structured art techniques under the guidance of my art teacher Andrew Palencar in 1961 that I discovered that my mother had a fine ability to draw, although my dad discouraged her from self expression. Her uncle Steve also drew and wrote books. I guess that this is where most of my creative spirit sprang from.

Andy Palencar started teaching me old master techniques, I was especially drawn to glazing. It was after I had been in the military for several months during the Vietnam conflict when I found out that one of my teachers had come to our house with the offer of a college scholarship in Architecture. It took me 12 years before I was finally able to return to school and work towards a degree in commercial art. During those 12 years I had traveled far and wide with the US Navy, went to many Navy schools and visited several countries. I kept drawing and painting in my spare time and did paintings for friends in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam as well as my fellow sailors and units. I visited many museums, read lots of books on art and it was a Navy friend, John Beckvermit, who gave me a copy of a book on egg tempera in 1982. I had dabbled in the medium before that but it was through reading this book, The Practice of Tempera Painting by Daniel V. Thompson, Jr., that I came to begin to understand the value and technique of working with egg tempera.

After 1982 my interest in this medium became intense and I worked with it every chance I could. I've painted on many surfaces including masonite, Strathmore illustration board, 300# watercolor paper in cold press and hot press, but m ost of my panels are prepared on cabinet grade birch plywood. I use rabbit skin glue for the sealer, tradition glue gesso for the white ground, and if the panel is thin, I will cradle the back. I have posted a detail of my preparation and working technique on my web site, http://www.petermuzyka.com.

I'll detail more of what and why I paint in future blog posts.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Pete