It seems I am always in the process of getting myself into projects that consume a huge amount of time. I am drawn to them like moths to a candle. It doesn't mean that I am not thinking about art and art materials. Those thoughts are always with me. It’s just a matter of sitting down and writing them out. Currently I'm trying to figure out how to use the combined 80 minutes that I sit on a commuter train each day of the workweek to get these thoughts out. 

So let’s catch up on what is going on right now. Within the last year I became the chairman of the subcommittee of the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) D01.57 group on Artists’ Materials.This is the group that creates standards for art materials and whose claim to fame is the mandatory standard D2436 that is found on almost every art and craft material around. I even saw it recently on a kit for coloring Easter eggs! I will comment from time to time on relevant issues related to the important work this subcommittee performs. We are headed for a meeting in Reno, NV and the National Art Materials Trade Association show late in April.

For those of you who are dedicated readers of The Artist's Magazine, I provide entries for the “Ask the Experts” column. Some days I really question that “Expert” word in the title. The more I learn about the art materials world, the more I realize that I have no clue as to what is happening. (Keep this a secret.  Don’t let my editor know about this!  Actually, all the editors involved with the writing I do work very hard to keep me looking good. My thanks go out to them.) The questions posed by The Artist's Magazine's readers are challenging, especially one that I'll address shortly in an upcoming issue on the use of zinc in oil paints. That answer will spark some interesting discussions.

That would be enough stuff to keep anyone busy but, as a glutton for punishment, I have the truly thankless job of serving as treasurer and board member of the Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association. It’s a great organization and the opportunities are only limited by the imagination and hard work that its committee coordinators can produce. I can only wonder what we might do if we had unlimited time to put toward running the organization. 

I have had a passion for prints ever since I went to undergraduate and graduate school and had nearly free reign to open drawers of the print collections of the university art galleries that I volunteered for during my days as a student. Luscious velvety black mezzotints, the fine lines and subtle plate tones of drypoint, and engraved images were all intriguing. Right now I am pouring through articles, books and websites in the hopes of learning how to make some of these beautiful images. I am so serious that I even bought an etching press and nearly killed myself lugging it into my house. How could something so small weigh so much?  I have yet to pull a print but I might share one of my disasters with you in the future.

That about brings you up to date. Spring is coming soon and the trees are showing their characteristic red tinge. Soon it will be both prime allergy and plein air painting season. I will be ready to charge outside as soon as I see the first robin in the yard.