September | 2020 | Real Art Is Better!

Many people have told me that beer is bad for your health. Some even say that it makes men grow breasts, not to mention a beer belly. There’s an “herb-an” legend that hops contain estrogen, which causes male bodies to start resembling those of pregnant women. Obviously, drinking too much alcohol, whether it be wine, spirits, or beer, is bad for you, especially your cardiovascular system and your liver functions. My doctor told me a guy my size should only consume on average two drinks per day. She did not say that beer was any worse than the other beverages. I have heard doctors say that wine is better than spirits, or beer, because at least you are getting a little bit of grape juice. It seems to me that straight distilled alcohol is the harshest on your system due to its dehydrating effects.

Where do the fatty guts and man breasts fit in? I was talking to Dr. Ted over at Turnagain Brewing and he said that plant-based estrogen is different from animal estrogen, and will affect your body differently. So, drinking hoppy beer is not like taking an estrogen pill, which would probably make a man grow boobs. People tend to overeat and drink too much when they are stressed out, and this pandemic is intensifying the problem. I am no doctor, but it seems to me increased stress leads to lack of motivation, and lack of exercise. Sedentary lifestyles lead to a testosterone level decrease. Quit blaming the beer, make healthy decisions, workout! Even a 30-minute walk every day will make you feel great! Cut back on those extra snacks, remember to take time to make that bowel movement, and then maybe beer will lose that negative stigma. Cheers to verisimilitude! Don’t let anti-beer propaganda make decisions for you!

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #82 by Scott Clendaniel. July 21, 2016. Rainier BEAR. 11″x14″, oil on panel.

Recently I started painting on canvas again. Last year I had to build a giant painting (12ft x 6ft) for a clinic in Bethel, and decided it would be best to paint it on canvas, roll it up, then fly there to rebuild and re-stretch it. I was pleased with the results. The end product was quite different from the hardwood plywood panels, but I found it to be easier to put certain details into the painting. The finishing work required to put a painting on the wall — framing or painting the sides, has always been a hurdle for me, and I remember one of my college professors praising my paintings, but criticizing my shoddy frames. I often see paintings framed poorly, and I have striven since those early college failures to produce professional looking pieces. I still have some of those old canvases rolled up, but fortunately I did away with the garish frames. In my defense, I was framing them on the catwalk balcony at my dorm room, because the sculpture professor wouldn’t let me make frames in the state-of-the-art sculpture lab.

A finished canvas without a frame needs to have a full wrap so the edges may be painted. I didn’t make canvases that way until I was taught how to do so in class. Frames need to have a lip that covers the front edge of the painting so you don’t have a distracting gap. Previously, I used to laminate a piece of hardwood to the edges of a painting and sand the edge back to make a finished looking box, which is impossible with canvas. That also takes a ton of work, since I am without a wood-shop, just like in the old dorm-room days. Operating a table saw and a chop saw outside in the snow and 10 degrees is not my idea of fun. Nobody ever told me being an artist was going to be easy. In fact, I was told a successful artist works harder than most people. I don’t know how hard I actually work, but I do seem to always be out of time. I don’t really like power sanding, so I ordered a case of professional grade canvases. I’ll give them a try and maybe I can just paint the edges and skip that snowy outdoor time with the annoying power-tools.

Painting on a canvas is completely different than the techniques I have been using on the hardwood panels. My gold and red underpainting doesn’t work the same, so I have gone back to a traditional painting technique I haven’t used in a decade. I was always about getting the colors to scream on the surface, but I am now more interested in getting a more accurate depiction. I am now making an underpainting that represents the grayscale values, and not the primary colors I always used previously, which makes me like using canvas way more. Canvas paintings reproduce better as canvas prints, since it is the same material used to begin with. The gold and red painting surface that I have been using, looks great as an original, but always misses a bit as a reproduction. I am switching over for completely practical reasons. It seems very few people purchase original paintings. I sell 20, or more prints and then maybe one original. Even though my originals are pretty affordable, and I price my prints a bit higher than average.

Painting on canvas takes more time as I am forced to work with layering techniques. The alla-prima technique looks lackluster without the red and gold underpainting. It is necessary to build up layers to completely cover the canvas and fill in the little white spots that form around painted objects. This takes more time and requires mixing mediums. I will probably have to charge more for originals, since it takes way longer to make canvas paintings. I originally started painting on the red and gold panels because it worked so well in a Plein Air (outdoors painting) environment. I could start and finish a painting before it started to rain, or the sun moved too far, changing the shadows. I was also making smaller pieces. Are the red and gold panels to be retired forever? Of course not! I will still make some pieces using my signature technique, but I also have bought two large canvases and want to see where these traditional materials lead me.