Reed Kay, Visiting Artist Lecture 1982

Reed Kay gives a lecture at Skowhegan about the craft of painting by showing a series of slides of different paintings by a diverse range of artists. Reed also gives the participants advice on how to handle hazardous pigments and how to understand the natural material of the paint. He tells them about the many surfaces to paint on, ranging from fabrics of cheaper quality such as hemp, jute, and burlap, to the best surface for painting, which is linen. Reed says that if financial barriers are a struggle and participants choose to paint with burlap, it is the artist’s responsibility to do the best job they can to prime and geo the canvas. Reed also discusses the importance of getting quality stretchers and the kinds of woods which won’t warp their canvases. Reed wants to share all of this knowledge with the students in order for them to realize how important it is for artists to explore all aspects of assembling their paintings. The more artists challenge themselves the more they will work, which is always a good thing. Reed also tells the participants to get familiar with the type of fabric they work with as they keep painting, and that brushing rabbit skin glue over the fabric they choose can help protect their canvas and fibre against oil.