I had a big realization today regarding technique that I feel will help a lot of artists out there who may feel lost with technique.  I've written about this before, but I realized again that if you think there's a right way (and wrong way) to do something then you're doing it wrong.  By this I mean that there is no right way and wrong way to do something and you can throw all those ideas away.  Don't limit yourself in your thoughts.  Give yourself freedom to experiment with your colors, your paint thickness, brush selection and anything else.
 That being said, I did want to document my current oil painting palette as a way to track my progress.  Below is my current full palette, but I definitely don't use all these colors in every painting, but it's a good starting place for anyone looking for a broad range to choose from.

Current oil painting palette as of 7/22/19
1. Silver White (Zinc + Flake)
2. Cadmium Lemon
3. Cadmium Yellow Light
4. Cadmium Yellow Medium
5. Yellow Ochre
6. Cadmium Orange
7. Cadmium Red Light
8. Cadmium Red Medium
9. Alizarin Crimson
10. Venetian Red
11. Burnt Sienna
12. Oxide of Chromium Green (Winsor & Newton)
13. Viridian Green
14. Cobalt Blue
15. Ultramarine Blue
16. Prussian Blue
17. Cobalt Violet
18. Raw Umber
19. Burnt Umber 
20. Ivory Black

  I've been painting a lot from life and every time I do, I realize how important it is to do so.  I had a correspondence some time ago with the portrait painter, Everett Raymond Kinstler, and he urged me to always paint from life (ERK is a wonderful man and I'm truly appreciative all of his kind words and encouragement).  At the time, I had been working from photos for commissions and my work was lacking a lot of vitality, it felt wooden and stiff.  There's a magic quality to work that's done from life and I'll only be working from life from here on out.  
  To give a quick update about Novus Atelier, I'm very excited to begin classes on June 24th.  I'm currently gathering supplies for still life paintings, easels and getting some work ready to bring over to the space.    I'm also very proud to say that our atelier is going to be a community partner with Patch.com (a community news site).  It's very cool to see my hard work paying off.
  Stay tuned for more art and more updates!

  As with many artists, I'm obsessed with the surface quality of my paintings and discovering new products.  I've recently conducted some varnish experiments as I continually search for materials that work for me.  Before discusses each varnish, I first want to say that each of these products (and any products I talk about) may work for you, BUT you have to test them out to see.
  So here's a breakdown of each varnish that I tested:
Dammar varnish - Very traditional varnish with suspected conditional issues such as yellowing with age.  Conservators suggest you wait 6-12 months before you varnish with dammar, but I rarely wait that long before using dammar.  That could come back to hurt my paintings, but maybe in 100 years or so...
 Dammar is very sticky to apply and starts to tack up very quickly.  I've heard you can warm up the dammar in a double boiler before you apply it to make it more spreadable, but I've personally never done that so I'm not sure if it works.
 I used two coats of dammar (waiting 24 hours in between for the first layer to dry) and the painting was beautifully shiny.  Like I said though, the longevity of the varnish scares me a little.  Keep in mind also that dammar is mixed with turpentine so the smell might irritate some people (I personally like the smell).
Gamvar - Gamvar is a pretty amazing product and I've discussed it in past posts.  The main thing I like about Gamvar is the fact that you don't have to wait to apply it.  Gamblin suggests that you only need to wait until the painting is "...dry to the touch and firm in the thickest areas...that may be two weeks, for others, 2 months."  That's a pretty amazing thing.
 The downside to Gamvar that I've noticed is the fact that it took me 3 coats to reach a level of gloss that I liked.  For some works, I would apply the first coat and it would look great, and then it would sink in.  This didn't happen to all the paintings and one of my paintings looked great after the first application.  Applying more than one coat is never too much of a headache though.
 With all the varnishes, I prefer to apply several thin coats instead of 1 thick coat.  I've always heard this is the best.  The other thing I love about Gamvar is that it's super easy to apply and doesn't tack up right away.
​CPC UVS Finishing Varnish - The final varnish I want to discuss is Conservator's Products Company's UVS Finishing Varnish.  This is the varnish that I have the least experience with, but I want to discuss what I know about it.
 The first thing about this varnish is that it has to be specially ordered from CPC's website.  You give them your address and which product you want and then they email you to confirm, then they ship it to you and then you mail them a check within 30 days of receiving the products (old school).  This has a certain charm to it, which I like, but not everyone may like the extra steps involved.
 They're located in NJ and so am I so I received the product the very next day.  The varnish comes with instructions and you get two separate containers, one of them is a quart sized metal container and the second is a little bottle with a dropper top.  The varnish needs to be mixed in small amounts before you apply it with a certain ratio.  I like the way the varnish looks, but it isn't glossy enough for me and it doesn't say if you can do multiple coats (which I'm guessing you can) so I would have to ask the company.
 Overall, it's a good varnish and gives a surface kind of similar to the Gamvar.
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So, what's my final opinion-- I like the Gamvar a lot because I can use it once the painting is semi-dry, it's easy to apply and I like the surface quality that it gives, but I may change my opinion as I continue on my journey.. 

  I set up my easel outside my house today to capture some of this beautiful day.  Every single time I paint outside, from nature, I have a lot of clarity and thoughts.
​  I keep reminding myself that the way I do something will come out naturally.  This relates to style and it's very tricky to put into words.  It's like the adage about how muddy water is best cleared by letting it settle.  My mind is pretty over active so it's not easy for me, but I'm trying to not try so hard, if that makes sense..