Hopeful question

Does anyone know of any online forums or good lj communities for contemporary artists working in traditional media?  I'm having a hard time finding an online "home" for arty-stuff.  Deviant art is pretty awesome, but largely dedicated to digital and manga artists, wet canvas' oil painting forums are filled with painters working in traditional style (okay - what's really going on with wet canvas is that if I see one more painting of pears, baseball players, or cowboys;  slog through one more thread about "super-secret mediums of the Old Masters (only takes a month and seventy ingredients to make, and you too can paint like Vermeer!)"; or have one more person tell me I can't possibly be a real painter because I use disposable palette pads instead of a handmade mahogany palette with 12 coats of this French varnish, I'm going to go postal.  Ahem.).  I like Concept Art 3.0 sometimes, but they have frequent server problems, and focus on -big shocker here- concept art. There is some super work to be seen there, though.  And the critiques are generally useful, and by trained artists.  But it's not home.
 

So, any favorite places for artists to hang out and chat, and look at each other’s work and bitch about the prices of cobalts, the smell of copal medium, and why won’t Winsor and Newton give us any real information about what is in Liquin and whether it is fat or lean?

Thank you.

 

(no subject)

I think I'll drag my sleepy self over to Epoch with a sketchbook here in a while (half-hourish).  Anyone want to join me?

EDIT:  I'm going to be responsiblish and get a coffee to go and head to the studio.