Frequently Asked Questions


"Why Do You Do This?"
What I have, and will always have, is an unquenchable love for fantasy. I am a fantasy artist because I'm able to express my love of fantasy in drawings and paintings. If I were a sculptor, I'd sculpt fantasy. If I were a poet, I'd wax lyrical about fantasy. If I were an accountant, I'd wither and die. No, not really –well, maybe. I read fantasy novels by the bushel. And yep, you guessed it – I love to play Dungeons & Dragons. I also love to watch sci-fi movies and TV shows, and I adore comic books. No doubt about it, I'm a geek. And what a wonderful time to be a geek! Fantasy and Science Fiction are both huge these days, and I'm absolutely loving it. The Lord of the Rings movies RULED!
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"Where Do You Get Your Ideas & Inspirations?"
First, read a bunch of fantasy and sci-fi novels, comics, and magazines and then whine about how you didn't get any work done that day. Next, play Dungeons & Dragons for a few months, watch a few dozen fantasy and sci-fi movies, “organize” your studio a few times, and then whine about how you didn't get any work done that day. Finally, have everyone scream at you, including the lawn guy and your horse trainer, that you haven't got any work done and finally sit your butt down and work.
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"Do You Paint Anything Else Besides Fantasy?"
Nope, this is it. I can't imagine doing anything else.
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"How Do You Draw?"
Actually, my favorite parts of any painting are the initial sketches. Right, so I begin with really fast thumbnails. These are to let the imagination and pencil flow as one. Then, scribble like crazy until I get a finished rough. After a ton of refining and erasing I detail out the rough until I have a very tight drawing, which I clean up and add depth and shadow to. Lately, I've really enjoyed working in black and white and often times stop here and leave the piece as a monochromatic pencil.
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"What Do You Draw With?"
I use a couple of mechanical pencils (HB, 2B and 4B) and stumps (small, rolled paper tubes for blending) to move the graphite around. I also use waterproof ink washes over the pencils to add depth to the piece. My favorite little ditty is a battery-operated mechanical eraser (how lazy is that!). I usually work on Strathmore 500 Cold Press Illustration Board. (illustration board is a sheet of acid-free paper mounted onto a thicker board).
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"How Do You Paint?", or – How to make a mess all over yourself, the room, a few cats and finally the illustration board.
Since I have a large format Epson printer, I make a highly-detailed output of the finished pencil onto another sheet of illustration board. Next, I use transparent gesso (a painting medium) to seal the drawing. I start painting on the face and head. I know, I know….the traditional way is to start on the background but I have to start there. If it doesn't work out fairly quickly, then I haven't spent that much time on it and I can start over. This is the Lazy Artist Factor at work! After the head is finished, I'll start work on the foreground figures or bodies – again, if I screw up I can start over. Now I tie in the middle ground, the background and the skies. I love skies. They're the only subject I seem to paint well naturally. During this progress, I'll add details over and over. Sometimes I end up painting the same stupid spot of grass 15 times!
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"Do You Use Oils, Watercolors, Acrylics, Airbrush, etc.?"
Whatever is sitting around that hasn't dried up in the tubes yet! Actually, I use pan watercolors and oil paints. No airbrush – those suckers are scary! Again, my own style is patented weirdness all around. I paint and blend the big swaths of color in oils with a Liquid medium to speed the drying time to about 8 hours. After the painting is dry, I spray workable fixative on the painting and detail over the oils in watercolors or oils. The cool thing is that oils and water don't mix so I can keep layering the oils and watercolors as much as I'd like and they stay separated to give the piece a three-dimensionality.
As far as brushes go, I use whatever is cheap but not the crappiest – the Chevy Cavaliers of brushes. I use all types of brushes: watercolor, oil, acrylic, sponges, tole painting, make-up, toothbrushes, whatever does the trick. My smaller brushes only last for about one or two paintings then I give them away or use them to clean my horse tack. I don't varnish my pieces because it would destroy the watercolors.
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"How Long Does it Take to Do a Painting?"
Each piece decides how long they take to be born. Some can't wait to come to life and are very quick – only a week or so. Some are frustrating, scream-inducing children that are either hiding or fighting with me the entire time. Of course, these buggers take much longer, sometimes 3 to 4 weeks.
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"Did You Go to Art School?"
I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Alabama in 1990. However, if I were younger and wanted to become an artist today, I would go to an Art Institute. These schools teach students how to become a professional artist and get a job after graduation. Some of these school are: The Savannah College of Art & Design in Georgia, the Art Institutes in Pittsburgh and Denver, the Chicago Art Institute and the Rhode Island School of Design.
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"Can You Give Me Any Tips on Drawing & Painting?"
Use reference. Allow yourself the freedom of screwing up, that's how we learn. Use tracing paper, projection devices, models, photographs, magazines-- whatever it takes to recreate reality. You are learning to see. Create what you want. You'll be happier in the long run, trust me.
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"Do You use Real People/Models?"
I use models loosely in my work. I don't feel that copying a person exactly is what I'm trying to express. Although all the hands and feet in my pieces belong to my husband, Todd. He has nice feet!
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"How Can I Get a Job Like This?"
I'm often asked how to become a professional artist, freelance, self-published, whatever. I've thought about it and discussed it with other artists a great deal, and here's what I've come up with: If you want to become a professional artist, do some kind of artwork every day. Paint. Draw. Sculpt. Do something creative every day. In my opinion, there's no other way of becoming a full-time artist.
If you dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, you would have that glove on your hand every day, practicing, working out, pushing your talent further and further. We are no different. An ability will wither away if it is not treated with respect and, above all, put to work. Bring your sketchbook everywhere you go. Draw everything around you. Buy cheap sketchbooks and fill them. Keep them – they're a history of your learning process.
I recommend two books which are as Bibles to artists: Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland and The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. They're tough and don't pull any punches. Many times I've stopped after a few pages and felt like my muse has kissed me goodbye. But they force you to work and that's what matters. Writers write. Artists create. Professional ones do it even when they don't want to.
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"Who Are Some of Your Influences?"
I learn and respect the Masters—Titian, Gerome, David, N.C. Wyeth, Alma-Tadema, and Dore. But my heart is with the contemporary artists—Larry Elmore, Keith Parkinson, Brom, Ciruelo, John Howe, Alan Lee, Alex Ross, Odd Nerdrum, P.J. Lynch, Ruth Sanderson, L.A.Williams, Renae Taylor…there are so many!
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"What Are Some of Your Hobbies?"
You've met my horse, Bugsy Browning a 15½-hand Quarterhorse. I enjoy show jumping; trail riding and just spending time with him. The stable where I house him is primarily for eventing, but Juanita McDowell welcomes all disciplines. You're all welcome to come out and ride with us in Ohio at JEM Stables.
I also enjoy gardening, scuba diving, reading, watching independent and foreign movies and, of course, SLEEPING!
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"Do You Take Commissions?"
Unfortunately, no. I used to, but I got into too much trouble with deadlines, those pesky critters. Too much to do as it is!
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"Do You Do Tattoos?"
Well, my talent doesn't lie in that direction. I love the work that tattoo artists are able to create, but I've learned my limitations.
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"Why isn't Ruth at Every Show?"
I love, love, love going to the shows, both the outdoor Festivals and the indoor Conventions. In the early years, I used to go to every one of them, every weekend. Now, however, the show season is year ‘round and, as much as it galls me to miss out on them, I have to spend more time with my butt at the drawing board. Of course, if I didn't paint so slowly then it wouldn't be a problem, but some things about people are pretty much the way they are and there's not much you can do about it. *sigh* I do still travel at least 15-20 weekends a year, and you can see which shows I'll be at on our Festivals & Shows page.
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"Will Ruth be a Guest at our Convention or Show?"
Yep, sure will! I love to go to Conventions and running workshops are a huge kick for me. Call or email Sarah and she'll go over my schedule and see if I'm able to fit it in.
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The Business

"What are Fine Art Prints?"
A variety of processes are used to produce fine art prints. Over the years, I've used many of them – laser prints, lithographs, black & white prints, giclees, etc. From the beginning, we've tried to find the best way to reproduce the original painting and still retain the highest quality for the prints themselves. The only prints we sell now are on acid-free, 80# paper, printed with 50-year light fast inks. You will only be able to purchase offset lithographs or giclees from us now. We've recently purchased an Epson 7600, which is a large format, 8-color giclee printer, which does the job wonderfully, and I'm the only one that does color-correcting on each of my paintings. The following are a few terms that will help you to understand what you are purchasing:
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"What Does all this Printing Stuff Mean?" -- A Quick Art Print Glossary
Limited Edition: A print made from a predetermined number of impressions. I sign and number each print (my poor hand!) with the number of the print followed by the total number in the print run. For example “3/500” is the third print of a run of 500 prints. They are more collectible and sell out faster. This type of print is often labeled as “L.E.”
Open-Edition: An unsigned, unnumbered print that is created either as an unlimited run initially, or as a continuance after the limited edition is sold out. Not every piece merits an open edition and an open edition's collectibility is less than a limited edition. I sign these only if someone asks - at no additional charge, of course!
Signed & Numbered: This describes what I do when a limited edition is created. I sign it, then put the number of the print afterwards. It looks like this and is often labeled as “S&N”
Artist's Proof(s): These are the first prints we run but the last we sell. An artist's proof edition is a very limited run that traditionally comprises approximately 10% of the limited edition's print run. My artist's proofs prints vary from the other editions mainly as a result of my very painstaking color correcting process. They're more collectible because each are unique and because they are so limited. They're often labeled as “AP/ the number in the edition, e.g. AP/500”.
Lithographs: This is a photographic printing technique created by a series of dots with 4 colors: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. These ink dots are joined with the use of separate metal plates to form the image.
Giclees: A continuous-tone printing technique created with 8 colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan, light magenta, light yellow and light gray. There is no dot pattern involved, therefore the prints are closer to the original painting. This is a newer technology for printing and we are proud to use an Epson 7600 Giclee Printer to achieve the best results in printing.
Lb, or #, Paper: This is a term used to show how heavy a piece of paper is. For example, notebook paper is 10lb. while posterboard is 90lb. I use 80lb. to 100lb papers for their smoothness and heft.
Acid-Free Paper: This is paper made with more cloth bulk than wood pulp. It resists yellowing and fading much better than normal paper and is the only type of paper we use.

Hand-Colored Lithographs: These are black & white lithographic prints that I have personally hand- painted. In the past, I used just about every medium available to color the pieces, but these days I usually stick to watercolors, art markers, oils, and metallic acrylics to color them. Aside from originals, these are the most collectible of my works because of the time involved in painting each one and the uniqueness of it. These prints are more expensive than other prints but generally less expensive than my originals.
Originals: My originals are created using lots of different media – pencil, inks, watercolors, art markers, oils, etc. These are the most collectible of all my works. Prices for them vary according to the medium, size, and most importantly, how much I really love the piece!
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"What is Matting and Do I Need It?"
A mat is a thick, colorful paper mounted on board that accents, frames, and protects a piece of artwork. Attached to the back of the front mat is a sheet of foamcore (or second layer of matboard) that seals in the artwork and gives it a solid mounting base. All of our matboard is ph-buffered to ensure that all of our prints stay in pristine condition. I prefer to sell my prints matted because it keeps them flat and protected, however, you can purchase all of them unmatted if you wish.
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"How Do You Frame Your Pieces?"
All of our framed pieces are mounted with double mats (1 covering mat on top of another), foamcore or matboard backing boards and acrylic plexiglass. I don't use regular glass because acrylic is lighter, much more durable for shipping purposes, and has a higher UV protectant against harsh light.
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"Can I Special Order how I want my Piece to be Matted or Framed?"
Sure, just call or e-mail us at the Gallery and we'll make it up any way you'd like!
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"Will You Personalize my Piece?"
Sure I'll say anything you'd like on your piece: “Happy Birthday”, a personal quote, or whatever!
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"Does Personalizing my Piece Cost Extra?"
Nope!
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"Can You Resell my Piece for Me?"
Unfortunately, no. The shop is crazy-busy as it is. If you'd like, you can put it up for auction on Ebay or sell it at another venue. As long as it's legal, I don't mind!
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"Can I Use Your Artwork for...?"
Contact us at info@tarnishedimages.com for more information.
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"Do You License Your Artwork?"
Sure! Please contact Barbara Petilli at Fantasy Art Licensing. She's our licensing agent and we're always looking for cool stuff to put my artwork on.
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"Does Tarnished Images Carry any other Artists besides Ruth?"
Nope, just me.
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Privacy & Security Policies
When you shop on-line at tarnishedimages.com, you are shopping on a highly secure site. Tarnished Images is "anti-spam" and will not use unethical promotional methods. We use "SSL" servers for our e-commerce to ensure the most secure way to shop.
Your credit card number is only sent via secure encrypted connections, and we do not store customer data where it can be accessed via the Internet. Also, your customer data is considered private and will not be sold or shared with any outside interests.
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Ruth Thompson's Tarnished Images