A few years ago I switched from acrylic painting to oils. The children were moved out, so I wasn’t concerned with fumes. As it turns out, I never needed to be since I don’t use turpentine. I use Sansidor and Gamsol. For cleanup, I use cooking oil then soap then walnut oil then soap. For my mixing medium I have a lot of different oils but they mostly go unused in the normal course of the work. Instead, I use liquin fine detail and Walnut alkyd. None of these stink and the mediums greatly speed the oxidation (drying) process.

If I need long working time, I have walnut oil, which by the way is superb on fiberglass shower stalls. Lemon oil would work too, if I had it. It would cost a less than a tenth as much too. I should get some.

Acrylic is great fun for quickly executed large panels. Oils demand smaller compositions. It’s a new thing for me and I like it.

My story writing has resumed. I just completed the draft of a first story and am a couple of chapters into its continuation which I suppose counts as a sequel.

The happy surprise is that writing is like tapping a fresh water spring. The detail comes out on its own and just needs to be captured into words and delivered in the container of a story. I can do that.

When I bound the draft copy I used the Touching Day painting of Leah as cover art. It’s perfect.