Searching, Learning and Mastering

I love mushroom hunting. The anticipation. The search. Knowing what trees and soil to look for, recognising the signs of being on the right trail - and then spotting the promising site.
Or maybe not quite, or just one specimen, or a few small ones. And then, looking further, still sharp but not so apprehensive any more - then you see them - a whole cluster full of perfect samples. And then, still further there are more and you eagerly walk on, then to the left, then to the right - sniffing like a dog. Best way to get lost in the woods - but I always get back though.
Oh, that was a goood day out in the woods!

Forget mushrooms - this is an art blog really. But I do sometimes feel like this when looking for information for my work. The net is my woods. And a new recipe or technique are my mushrooms. The hunt is the exact same. And I do get lost. But my, are there lots of generous people out there willing to share information.

Some information is plain good, some makes me really confused but then there are the gems. Clear, with facts and references and the beauty; they describe how to carry on when all looks wrong. They make you not give up.

Jeff Bryant's site is a gem. He calls it 'Wax Egg Oil' and those three ingredients are indeed his basic paint medium. He"s really generous with the recipes he collects and uses. But the best part is he is so clear about what works and not - explaining how to overcome difficulties in a very pedagogical way. Don Jusco's super-extensive site "Real color wheel"  covers everything from 'history of art mediums', art history, teaching to color theory. David Wasserman gives great tips and recipes for homemade paint formulas on "Modot cookbook for artists". Steven Saitzyk's site is based on his book "Art Hardware" an art info guide describing artist's materials. Lots of good info but the site doesn't navigate that smoothly.

Anyway, what I wanted to describe were my fruitless tests of one recipe after the other. All goes well to a certain point. But in the last addition of a substance the medium goes funny, runny, sticky or off. Definitely not as described. That's when this wonderful guy, Jeff Bryant, explains exactly how it looks, feels and smells like when it's wrong and he leeds you step by step to save it again.
And lo and behold, then it really happens! A grainy casein/wax mixture becomes wonderfully creamy, like mayonnaise, just as described. Success, finally - oh, the beauty of mastering....

Mastering the chainsaw - an unusual combination of Wood and Mushroom

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