Well my friends it is 2014.  Another year and one day at a time.  I hope this year brings you joy and  is prosperous in every way possible.

White Rose in a Vase

For My Artist Friends: I have been painting in Water Soluble Oil (WSO) for a while and just recently tested the traditional oil (TO) paint.   I have to admit TO handles much better than the WSO.  Especially when thinning, the TO does not fall apart when mixing with turpentine/mineral spirits (I use GAMSOL).  Also, with TO the painting surface either canvas, panel, oil primed and gessoed mattered very little.

I used both TO and WSO to do the painting below to see how each behaves and hands down the TO danced at my whims.  I will continue to use WSO because I sort of understand it now, but if you are a beginner I would not recommend WSO, because it can be a little struggle and if you use a cheap brand it becomes tacky with water and almost unusable.