Art

Today is the last day of the summer session at The Art Students League. I am finishing up my work in the lithography studio.

Midway through the July monthly session I was hired as a monitor for the two printing studios, etching and lithography. The Art Students League has a system of classroom monitors to open and close studios, and to watch over the artists who are working there. The monitor job is a minor position of responsibility and trust. I received credit towards tuition as compensation, which allowed me to work in August.

I found the artists and culture at The Art Students League to be engaged and friendly. The Art Students League has been a gateway and window into the New York City artist community.

I recommend The Art Students League to anyone who wants to connect and make art in New York City. Their system is that artists sign up for monthly sessions. Rather than paying semester-long fees, participation costs are thus minimized. Artists can ask to have sessions count toward a certificate program if they so choose.

In July I created a lithograph entitled “The Battle of Hong Kong – Tear gas fight”. I made a small edition of 20 prints. In August I embarked on a two-color print which is untitled. That project ended with a series of artist proofs. I did not make an edition of the print.

Yesterday and today I knocked out a final print, a touche-wash print entitled “Friends”. I made a small edition of eleven prints.

I look forward to working again at The Art Students League as well as other art opportunities.

Last week I made a jump into a new (old) direction. I signed up to make lithographs at The Art Students League in New York City.

I looked at the summer schedule in May. Lithography is offered for June 2025.

I had to decide quickly. The listing cryptically said “June 2025” and June began on a Sunday. The lithography class has a requirement to talk to the professor before signing up. He was holding interviews on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. That meant a danger of missing a week’s time.

I went to The Art Students League on Monday and invaded the facility to get a first look. The lithography shop was empty. The litho shop is rather small compared to university press shops. The presses have leather-strapped stretcher bars. The black ink rollers were wrapped in plastic. I did not see any color rollers. I did not see any color ink.

The Art Students League Litho Shop has a good many stones including some large ones. There is a small hand-crank lift to move stones from the shelf to tables and the press.

The layout was strange. I went home with doubts about enrolling.

Tuesday morning I woke and faced my fears and doubts. I went back to see the professor and took a second look.

The class professor is Michael Pellettieri. Michael turned out to be a very wise, kind man. He asked about my history and I showed a few prints from my website.

Micheal knew a professor at Cornell from when I was there. When I was at Cornell the professor was a professor emeritus.

Micheal suggested that I sign up for Wednesday/Thursday instead of Monday/Tuesday. I went home and tore up my storage area searching for my box of litho supplies and tools.

On Wednesday the shop assistant, Diego, gave me two stones. He offered a large stone but I could not move it from the shelf. The shelf rollers are plastic piping on rods and are hard to roll. I chose two medium-sized stones instead, a grey stone and a yellow stone. I spent Wednesday graining both stones. Diego made fresh paper covers for my stones to keep them clean.

On Thursday I had time to talk to Michael Pellettieri. He also teaches etching and is often in the etching room. I made trips to The Art Students League Art Supply Store and back. I talked to other students and monitors. I did not get more done than to gum out borders on my stones.

A huge limitation at The Art Students League is that people are not allowed to be in the shop except during the assigned “class time”. They keep things locked up. This is especially toxic for lithography as it is not practical to drag the stones home to work. I am used to a schedule of working from 8 am to 11 pm, seven days per week.

It is possible to pay to come on Fridays for four hours. The extra fee is $20. I paid at the bursars office. I came back on Friday afternoon to knock out a couple of touche images. I added texture with Korn’s crayons to provide for a comprehensive first test.

On Wednesday I will etch and then print. Thursday I will grain the stones and start a next set of images. I am excited to be working with lithography again.

Recently I gathered small paintings that I mostly painted this year and brought them outside to give a first coat of spray varnish.

These are egg tempera paintings, mostly on canvas but some are on paper. It is a good idea to apply a coat of varnish to egg tempera paintings after they have had time to fully dry and polymerize.

After applying the spray varnish I brought them back inside and set them on my office desk and art table for a few days. It gave me a chance to see them together and appreciate them together.

What I like most about egg tempera painting is the vibrancy of color that can be achieved. My work is still developing. It feels good to see all the paintings together to see and assess my development.

I brought my African Spirit sculpture outside to give it a coat of teak oil.

I found this spirit in someone’s trash about 20 years ago and brought it home. I found that it had an infestation of termites at the base and on one ear. I sprayed it with bug-spray and the problem never returned.

My African Spirit stood by my front door at my old house. It lives in my office / art studio now.

Periodically I give it a coat of oil, usually lemon oil. The teak oil has made it darker than before. I brought it to the garden to take its portrait.

I like my African Spirit.

What are the effects and uses of Poppy oil, Walnut oil, and Lavender Retouch Varnish for artist painting with oil painting and egg tempera painting?

Below is a concise, studio tested rundown of how each material behaves, why artists reach for it, and the main “do’s & don’ts” when you combine them withoil colors or traditional egg tempera panels.

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1.Poppy Oil

(Often labeled “poppy seed oil,” a slow drying, very pale drying oil)

Aspect	Oil painting use	Egg tempera use	Key take aways
Dry-time	Slow – 5-10 days touch-dry vs. 1-3 days for linseed. Good for wet-in-wet blending or glazing.	Not used as a binder; but a few artists wipe a whisper-thin layer onto a fully cured tempera panel before glazing with oil (“tempera grassa” technique).	Build thin; avoid in thick impasto where wrinkling and yellowing risk grows.
Color shift / yellowing	Palest of the drying oils; yellows less than linseed or walnut.	N/A	Excellent for final lights, cool tints, whites.
Film strength / durability	Slightly weaker, more brittle than linseed.	N/A	Keep lean (little additional medium) in first layers; reserve for upper-most passages.
Handling feel	Longer, silkier stroke; less tack.	–	Mix with a touch of solvent for smooth, enamel-like glazes.
Clean-up / health	Comparable to other vegetable drying oils; non-toxic but can spontaneously combust on rags.	–	Dispose of rags in water-filled metal can.

When to pick it

• Ultra-pale highlights, delicate pastel passages, or icy glazes where linseed’s amber cast would muddy the hue.

• Extended open time for subtle blends (portrait flesh, sky gradations).

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2. Walnut Oil

(Traditional Renaissance binder; medium-slow dryer with balanced properties)

Aspect	Oil painting use	Egg tempera use	Key take-aways
Dry-time	Moderate – generally 3-5 days touch-dry.	Historical egg-oil emulsions (“tempera grassa”): 1:part fresh egg yolk:1 part walnut oil yields a flexible, satin film.	Good all-rounder; slower than linseed, faster than poppy.
Color shift / yellowing	Noticeably paler than linseed, slightly darker than poppy.	Very stable in emulsions, minimal yellowing.	Safe for light tints, but still strong enough for under-layers.
Film strength / durability	Close to linseed; tougher than poppy.	With egg, forms a resilient, slightly flexible film ideal for panel work.	Reliable for alla prima or layered methods.
Handling feel	Smooth, less “drag” than linseed, but more body than poppy.	Egg-oil mix gives buttery, quick-setting strokes that sand easily after curing.	Great everyday brush feel; minimal brushstroke retention if desired.
Clean-up / health	Food-grade versions available; same spontaneous-combustion caution.	–	Pleasant nutty odor; hypo-allergenic relative to linseed.

When to pick it

• You want a compromise: slower and paler than linseed but tougher than poppy.

• Making historical egg-tempera-grassa layers that transition smoothly to straight oil glazes.

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3. Lavender Retouch-Varnish

(Usually spike-lavender solvent + dammar resin in ~20% solution; marketed by Natural Pigments, Chelsea Classic, etc.)

Aspect	Oil-painting use	Egg-tempera use	Key take-aways
Purpose	(a) Temporary “in-progress” varnish that re-saturates sunken/dry areas; (b) fast-flash solvent-rich medium for lean glazing or couching.	Rarely used as a finish; but a light couch (wipe-on, wipe-off) can improve oil-over-tempera adhesion and value-matching when you resume work.	Think of it more like a gentle dammar retouch + aromatic solvent than a final varnish.
Dry-time	Surface flashes in minutes; dammar hardens overnight.	Same.	Can resume painting within the hour.
Color / gloss	Restores saturation; slight gloss that mimics final varnish look.	Same.	Good preview of final colors; avoid building thick coats (blooming risk).
Film strength / removability	Re-soluble in mild solvents (Turpentine, spike); safe to remove before final varnish.	Same.	Must be over-varnished or removed after 6–12 months.
Handling feel	As a couch: makes surface slick, helps fine detail and wet-in-wet merges.	Helps unify absorbent tempera matte spots before oil glazes.	Use sparingly; excess resin in early layers can crack later.
Health / odor	Spike-lavender is less toxic than gum-turps; still use ventilation.	–	Florid scent; good alt for turpentine allergy.

When to pick it

• Reviving matte, “sunken-in” passages mid-project.

• Light couch to prevent dry-patch drag in next oil layer.

• Low-tox studio where turpentine is banned.

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Practical Workflow Tips

1. Layering order (fat-over-lean)

   • Tempera panel → tempera-only layers → optional very lean egg-oil emulsion (walnut) → fully dry → couch with lavender retouch → oil glazes (walnut or poppy-rich) → final dammar or synthetic varnish after 6-12 months.

2. Mixing mediums

   • Simple glaze: 2 parts poppy (or walnut): 1 part spike-lavender retouch = ultra-smooth, slow-dry glaze that keeps color brilliant.

   • Alla prima modifier: Walnut oil + a drop of spike-lavender speeds flow without over-thinning with mineral spirits.

3. Avoid common pitfalls

   • Don’t bulk-replace linseed with poppy in thick under-paintings – risk of wrinkling.

   • Keep dammar-containing retouch layers thin; too much early resin can cause future cracking.

   • For egg-tempera panels, ensure complete carbonization (brittle snap when flexed) before any oil or varnish layer — usually 3–5 days in warm, dry air.

4. Clean-up

   • Walnut oil can double as a brush-washing step before soap and water—helps condition bristles.

   • Rags: store in a sealed, water-filled metal container to eliminate fire risk from oxidizing oils.

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Bottom line

• Poppy oil = coolest whites and long open time; upper-layer specialist.

• Walnut oil = balanced workhorse; ideal for tempera-grassa and everyday glazing.

• Lavender retouch varnish = quick, aromatic solution for re-saturating or “couching” between sessions — great in solvent-sensitive studios.

Use each deliberately, keep films thin and “fat-over-lean,’ and these classic ingredients will add finesse (not headaches) to both oil-painting and mixed egg-tempera approaches.

In mid-January I led a workshop on how to paint with Egg Tempera. My workshop was hosted by The Collaboratory, an artist collective with a public space in Long Island City, NY.

Egg tempera painting is a venerable medium. Egg tempera provides a translucent paint, as juxtaposed with the transparency of water color or the opaque quality of oil painting.

The egg tempera workshop consisted of many parts. I offered a slide presentation showing a history of egg tempera painting. The slide presentation consists of pre-renaissance Italian painting and modern American painting. I also showed slides that I took recently of an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art called The Siena Show.

Next I showed the materials and tools I use to paint with egg tempera. I use raw pigments that I get from Kramers Pigments in New York City. I came prepared with an egg mixture to use as binder for the pigment. The binder consists of egg yolk, water and damar varnish.

I also prepared masonite boards coated with gesso, and I brought paper and canvas to use. Tools include paint brushes, palette knives, styrofoam palettes and drip-bottles.

I discussed how to handle the powder pigments safely. A demonstration was made how to mix and modulate the egg mixture with pigment and water to make paint, and how to apply the paint with the brush.

Once those subjects were complete the participants were free to try painting with egg tempera themselves. We had more than two hours to paint during the three hour workshop.

I personally enjoyed most that each participant introduced themselves and we all had a chance to talk amongst ourselves. I was pleasantly surprised to feel an immediate sense of community. It felt really good to paint along with a group of friends.

My hosts at The Collaboratory were happy with the event. They have invited me to return again in a few months.

I am interested to give more workshops and looking for additional venues in the greater New York City area. If you are interested to host a workshop please send me a message.