GETTING STARTED

Step 1 -- Sketching directly onto a ground or gessoed surface with diluted paint
is the most immediate and will give you truer colors. Thin paint with a solvent
(turpentine or OMS), or an oil medium that contains mostly solvent and very little
oil (or in acrylics, thin with water). The color used for the sketch can vary, but
most recommend using neutral browns, such as burnt umber or burnt sienna.
Regardless of the
sketching colors you
choose, it is important to
use one that creates a
wide range of values.
Burnt sienna is a good
brown to use, because it
will have little affect on
colors that are layered on
top. Standing away from
the painting during the
sketching process will
allow you to "map" out the
composition quickly.
Shade in areas and use a
paint rag (with a solvent, if necessary) to remove or erase paint. At this point, it
isn't necessary to have a meticulous or perfect drawing; in fact, this wastes time,
because you will be eventually covering the sketch with additional layers of
paint.
Some artists prefer using pencil to sketch out the drawing, although I think pencil
can muddy color. In addition, pencils can "tighten" the drawing which slows up
the painting process. Tightly rendered drawings will also be lost when you begin
to layer your paints, so try to stay loose during this stage.
Shade in areas with thinned paint and don't use charcoal or other dark drawing
materials. If the drawing materials used are too dark, they will mix with your paint
and cause it to become dark and muddy. If you choose to draw in pencil or
another "dry" medium, try fixing the material to the surface with a fixative or
liquefy the material by adding a thin oil or thin acrylic painting medium
(depending on the type of paint that you use). Binders in the medium help the
pigment stick to the surface.
Step 2 (Blocking-in color) -- This may be the most important step in painting.
The most efficient way to achieve a good composition and unity in a painting is
to initially develop large color areas. For oils, block in areas with paint that has
been thinned with an oil medium that contains mostly solvent. In acrylics, use
paint that has been thinned with water or a polymer medium. Use only
necessary colors. Block in
the entire surface,
including the "background"
and negative areas.
This should be done very
quickly and with a large
brush. You should be
standing during this
process so you can get
back and see the entire
surface area, rather than
getting caught up with
details. Consider using
cool and warm color as
well as light and dark to develop space.
Step 3 -- After the overall color plan is completed, the next layers of paint, which
might include blending or dabbing can be started. Working from thin to thick,
generally, is the best approach. Some painters do a lot of blending. This is
achieved by applying patches or dabs of paint over an area before they begin
blending in the paint.
Other painters try to build up fresh, unblended dabs or strokes on the canvas.
Impasto paint applications may also be used at this stage of the painting,
including knife painting.
In oil paint, apply more oily layers of paint over less oily areas (fat over lean).
Otherwise, your painting may crack. This problem does not occur with acrylics,
because they dry more uniformly and are more flexible. After the initial
sketching and blocking in layers, use a mediumthat has been mixed in
advance for the remaining oil painting. This can alleviated many
problems with consistency. Avoid mixing pure oil or pure solvent with
your paint in these subsequent layers.
Step 4 -- Final stages
Because oily layers should be applied over leaner layers of oil paint, transparent
glazes made with an oil medium generally should be applied during the final
stages of an oil painting. Glazes can create transparencies in specific color
areas to unify the painting. They may be applied in one or more layers over
transparent or opaque paint. Using glazes in this way differs from traditional
glaze painting discussed below. Because fat over lean isn't an issue with
acrylics, acrylic glazes can be applied on acrylic paintings at any stage.
Things to consider
Because oil paint lends itself to blending, it an excellent paint to use if you are
working in a realistic style. Oil will often dry in one or two days, however, so it
makes sense to finish particular areas in one sitting. If the paint is allowed to dry
on an unfinished area, wet paint will have to be reapplied in order to complete
the work. An oil painting medium will increase the creaminess and fluidity of the
paint and can slow the drying time, if desired.
Using reflective colors at this stage will give a unified quality to the work. This is
achieved by "unloading" varying amounts of one color to another color area.
Reflective color use is only one option, however. Some artists prefer working in
pure areas of color. This often lends vibrancy to the painting because of
contrasts among the larger color areas. Limiting the palette, repeating the
colors in the work, or using limited amounts of reflective color will prevent a
fragmented, "coloring book" appearance (when areas seem unrelated or simply
filled in). Creating powerful value contrasts by darkening and lightening colors
will also give the painting "structure" and therefore, create a more unified work.
The danger of adding black or white to color is that the relative purity of the color
diminishes. One should also think in terms of contrasts in color, such as
complementary colors and other color schemes, to increase the vibrancy of a
work.
Perhaps one of the most effective ways of developing space in painting is
through the use of cool and warm colors. Cool colors recede in space, i.e.,
blues, violets, blue green and blue-violet, while warm colors appear to push
forward in space, i.e., yellows, oranges, reds, red-oranges and yellow-oranges.
The impressionist painters used cool and warm colors to create ranges of
depth rather than relying on dramatic darks and lights to create spatial
contrasts, as was often done by the traditional academic painters.
Drying time is effected by the amount of oil present in the paint or painting
medium. Painting mediums made with a higher proportion of oil will cause the
paint to dry more slowly (an often desirable effect). Some colors, such as
titanium white or ivory black, contain more oil and therefore dry more slowly.
Some manufacturers mix more oil into their paints than others. The thickness of
the paint also effects drying time. Oil paints dry more quickly in warm conditions,
as well. In the summer, oil painters will sometimes warm their paintings in direct
sunlight to accelerate the drying time. Because of all these factors, it is often
very difficult to predict the speed at which an oil painting will dry.
Drying can be somewhat controlled by the type of oil used in the medium -- for
example, sun-thickened oil dries rapidly and is useful in glazing or
transparencies, because layers can be covered very quickly (sometimes in 24
hours). Stand oil doesn't dry quite as fast, so areas stay "workable" longer.
Stand and sun-thickened oil are ideal in painting mediums and can be mixed
together for even greater control of drying. Mediums made with refined linseed
or safflower oil are thinner than those made with stand or sun-thickened oil.
Refined linseed oil can be mixed with either of the thicker oils if necessary.
Commercially produced mediums made with alkyd resins make oil paints dry
more quickly than mediums made with traditional drying oils. And although alkyd
mediums are far less toxic than traditional mediums made with damar varnish
and turpentine, quick drying can be a negative when painting in oil. Oil painters
like to work wet-in-wet, sometimes for long periods of time. Gamblin Paint, in
particular, produces a variety of Galkyd mediums, including Galkyd Slow Dry
which provides more "open" time for painting in oil.
Acrylics dry more quickly than oil, so learning how to layer wet paint over dried
areas is key to using this medium. To increase the fluidity of the paint, and add
to the transparency, add water (no more than 25%) or mix in any proportion of
matte or gloss medium. Matte medium has a duller finish than gloss. The type
and style of painting will ultimately determine which medium to choose. On very
dark paintings, gloss medium will cause the surface to be highly reflective. This
can sometimes make the painting difficult to view in some lighting situations.
It is also important to work from thin to thick in acrylics, especially if you want to
use impasto techniques. Thick acrylic cannot be removed or changed after it
has dried.
Oil glaze paintings -- Directly painting wet into wet with opaque oil became
popular beginning with Impressionism and continues into current contemporary
painting. Traditional oil glaze painting is an indirect method that was generally
more common in academic painting prior to the mid 19th century. It is a
technique that involves the layering of transparent color glazes onto a
monochromatic underpainting. Artists first complete a thin tonal underpainting
usually done in black or brown oil paint. This tonal painting is traditionally called
a grisaille from the French "gris"
(gray in English). Layers of
transparent color (see Pigments
for a list of transparent oil colors)
are mixed with an oil glaze
medium and applied over this
fairly accurate and exact
underpainting -- allowing the
"drawing" to show through the
glazes. Many glazes can be
layered on top of each other. The
intense luminosity of an oil glaze
painting is created by light
reflecting through the transparent
layers of thin glazes.
Acrylic glaze paintings -- An acrylic glaze painting can be created in a similar
step-by-step process used in an oil glaze painting. Acrylic glazes can be made
with either gloss or matte medium. Small amounts of transparent acrylic color
can be added to the acrylic medium. Use limited amounts of water, as it will
reduce the transparency and perhaps even make the color cloudy. One
disadvantage to using acrylics is that wet polymer mediums lighten the
appearance of colors, and the resulting dry glaze can differ dramatically from
the wet mixture. More precise glaze colors can be tested, then measured and
premixed and stored in airtight containers. An advantage is the quick drying
time, so subsequent layers can be painted in a manner of minutes rather than
overnight.
Combining oil and acrylic -- Painters can begin a painting in acrylic and
complete it in oil glazes. The oil glazes bring a rich, luminous quality to the
acrylic underpainting.
Cleanup
Use odorless thinners and soap and cool water to clean oil paint from brushes,
etc. Brush cleaners such as Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver or Pink
Soap work well for cleaning oil paint brushes. In addition to cleaning oil brushes,
Murphy's Oil Soap can remove wet oil paint from clothing. DO NOT DISCARD
OIL OR OIL SOLVENTS IN THE SINK. DOING SO WILL CLOG THE SINK.
Use plain soap and cool water to clean acrylics. Dishwashing detergent or
liquid hand soap work fine. Water can be poured down the sink, but thick
chunks of acrylic paint should be thrown in the garbage.
Place the brush in the palm of your hand and swish the brush to remove the
paint. Run water through the brush and repeat the process until the water runs
clean. Reshape the brush with your fingers and store in a jar or can handle-side
down.
2009Debra Clem
Al l rights reserved.
Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net Page 1 / 4
GETTING STARTED
Step 1 -- Sketching directly onto a ground or gessoed surface with diluted paint
is the most immediate and will give you truer colors. Thin paint with a solvent
(turpentine or OMS), or an oil medium that contains mostly solvent and very little
oil (or in acrylics, thin with water). The color used for the sketch can vary, but
most recommend using neutral browns, such as burnt umber or burnt sienna.
Regardless of the
sketching colors you
choose, it is important to
use one that creates a
wide range of values.
Burnt sienna is a good
brown to use, because it
will have little affect on
colors that are layered on
top. Standing away from
the painting during the
sketching process will
allow you to "map" out the
composition quickly.
Shade in areas and use a
paint rag (with a solvent, if necessary) to remove or erase paint. At this point, it
isn't necessary to have a meticulous or perfect drawing; in fact, this wastes time,
because you will be eventually covering the sketch with additional layers of
paint.
Some artists prefer using pencil to sketch out the drawing, although I think pencil
can muddy color. In addition, pencils can "tighten" the drawing which slows up
the painting process. Tightly rendered drawings will also be lost when you begin
to layer your paints, so try to stay loose during this stage.
Shade in areas with thinned paint and don't use charcoal or other dark drawing
materials. If the drawing materials used are too dark, they will mix with your paint
and cause it to become dark and muddy. If you choose to draw in pencil or
another "dry" medium, try fixing the material to the surface with a fixative or
liquefy the material by adding a thin oil or thin acrylic painting medium
(depending on the type of paint that you use). Binders in the medium help the
pigment stick to the surface.
Step 2 (Blocking-in color) -- This may be the most important step in painting.
The most efficient way to achieve a good composition and unity in a painting is
to initially develop large color areas. For oils, block in areas with paint that has
been thinned with an oil medium that contains mostly solvent. In acrylics, use
paint that has been thinned with water or a polymer medium. Use only
necessary colors. Block in
the entire surface,
including the "background"
and negative areas.
This should be done very
quickly and with a large
brush. You should be
standing during this
process so you can get
back and see the entire
surface area, rather than
getting caught up with
details. Consider using
cool and warm color as
well as light and dark to develop space.
Step 3 -- After the overall color plan is completed, the next layers of paint, which
might include blending or dabbing can be started. Working from thin to thick,
generally, is the best approach. Some painters do a lot of blending. This is
achieved by applying patches or dabs of paint over an area before they begin
blending in the paint.
Other painters try to build up fresh, unblended dabs or strokes on the canvas.
Impasto paint applications may also be used at this stage of the painting,
including knife painting.
In oil paint, apply more oily layers of paint over less oily areas (fat over lean).
Otherwise, your painting may crack. This problem does not occur with acrylics,
because they dry more uniformly and are more flexible. After the initial
sketching and blocking in layers, use a mediumthat has been mixed in
advance for the remaining oil painting. This can alleviated many
problems with consistency. Avoid mixing pure oil or pure solvent with
your paint in these subsequent layers.
Step 4 -- Final stages
Because oily layers should be applied over leaner layers of oil paint, transparent
glazes made with an oil medium generally should be applied during the final
stages of an oil painting. Glazes can create transparencies in specific color
areas to unify the painting. They may be applied in one or more layers over
transparent or opaque paint. Using glazes in this way differs from traditional
glaze painting discussed below. Because fat over lean isn't an issue with
acrylics, acrylic glazes can be applied on acrylic paintings at any stage.
Things to consider
Because oil paint lends itself to blending, it an excellent paint to use if you are
working in a realistic style. Oil will often dry in one or two days, however, so it
makes sense to finish particular areas in one sitting. If the paint is allowed to dry
on an unfinished area, wet paint will have to be reapplied in order to complete
the work. An oil painting medium will increase the creaminess and fluidity of the
paint and can slow the drying time, if desired.
Using reflective colors at this stage will give a unified quality to the work. This is
achieved by "unloading" varying amounts of one color to another color area.
Reflective color use is only one option, however. Some artists prefer working in
pure areas of color. This often lends vibrancy to the painting because of
contrasts among the larger color areas. Limiting the palette, repeating the
colors in the work, or using limited amounts of reflective color will prevent a
fragmented, "coloring book" appearance (when areas seem unrelated or simply
filled in). Creating powerful value contrasts by darkening and lightening colors
will also give the painting "structure" and therefore, create a more unified work.
The danger of adding black or white to color is that the relative purity of the color
diminishes. One should also think in terms of contrasts in color, such as
complementary colors and other color schemes, to increase the vibrancy of a
work.
Perhaps one of the most effective ways of developing space in painting is
through the use of cool and warm colors. Cool colors recede in space, i.e.,
blues, violets, blue green and blue-violet, while warm colors appear to push
forward in space, i.e., yellows, oranges, reds, red-oranges and yellow-oranges.
The impressionist painters used cool and warm colors to create ranges of
depth rather than relying on dramatic darks and lights to create spatial
contrasts, as was often done by the traditional academic painters.
Drying time is effected by the amount of oil present in the paint or painting
medium. Painting mediums made with a higher proportion of oil will cause the
paint to dry more slowly (an often desirable effect). Some colors, such as
titanium white or ivory black, contain more oil and therefore dry more slowly.
Some manufacturers mix more oil into their paints than others. The thickness of
the paint also effects drying time. Oil paints dry more quickly in warm conditions,
as well. In the summer, oil painters will sometimes warm their paintings in direct
sunlight to accelerate the drying time. Because of all these factors, it is often
very difficult to predict the speed at which an oil painting will dry.
Drying can be somewhat controlled by the type of oil used in the medium -- for
example, sun-thickened oil dries rapidly and is useful in glazing or
transparencies, because layers can be covered very quickly (sometimes in 24
hours). Stand oil doesn't dry quite as fast, so areas stay "workable" longer.
Stand and sun-thickened oil are ideal in painting mediums and can be mixed
together for even greater control of drying. Mediums made with refined linseed
or safflower oil are thinner than those made with stand or sun-thickened oil.
Refined linseed oil can be mixed with either of the thicker oils if necessary.
Commercially produced mediums made with alkyd resins make oil paints dry
more quickly than mediums made with traditional drying oils. And although alkyd
mediums are far less toxic than traditional mediums made with damar varnish
and turpentine, quick drying can be a negative when painting in oil. Oil painters
like to work wet-in-wet, sometimes for long periods of time. Gamblin Paint, in
particular, produces a variety of Galkyd mediums, including Galkyd Slow Dry
which provides more "open" time for painting in oil.
Acrylics dry more quickly than oil, so learning how to layer wet paint over dried
areas is key to using this medium. To increase the fluidity of the paint, and add
to the transparency, add water (no more than 25%) or mix in any proportion of
matte or gloss medium. Matte medium has a duller finish than gloss. The type
and style of painting will ultimately determine which medium to choose. On very
dark paintings, gloss medium will cause the surface to be highly reflective. This
can sometimes make the painting difficult to view in some lighting situations.
It is also important to work from thin to thick in acrylics, especially if you want to
use impasto techniques. Thick acrylic cannot be removed or changed after it
has dried.
Oil glaze paintings -- Directly painting wet into wet with opaque oil became
popular beginning with Impressionism and continues into current contemporary
painting. Traditional oil glaze painting is an indirect method that was generally
more common in academic painting prior to the mid 19th century. It is a
technique that involves the layering of transparent color glazes onto a
monochromatic underpainting. Artists first complete a thin tonal underpainting
usually done in black or brown oil paint. This tonal painting is traditionally called
a grisaille from the French "gris"
(gray in English). Layers of
transparent color (see Pigments
for a list of transparent oil colors)
are mixed with an oil glaze
medium and applied over this
fairly accurate and exact
underpainting -- allowing the
"drawing" to show through the
glazes. Many glazes can be
layered on top of each other. The
intense luminosity of an oil glaze
painting is created by light
reflecting through the transparent
layers of thin glazes.
Acrylic glaze paintings -- An acrylic glaze painting can be created in a similar
step-by-step process used in an oil glaze painting. Acrylic glazes can be made
with either gloss or matte medium. Small amounts of transparent acrylic color
can be added to the acrylic medium. Use limited amounts of water, as it will
reduce the transparency and perhaps even make the color cloudy. One
disadvantage to using acrylics is that wet polymer mediums lighten the
appearance of colors, and the resulting dry glaze can differ dramatically from
the wet mixture. More precise glaze colors can be tested, then measured and
premixed and stored in airtight containers. An advantage is the quick drying
time, so subsequent layers can be painted in a manner of minutes rather than
overnight.
Combining oil and acrylic -- Painters can begin a painting in acrylic and
complete it in oil glazes. The oil glazes bring a rich, luminous quality to the
acrylic underpainting.
Cleanup
Use odorless thinners and soap and cool water to clean oil paint from brushes,
etc. Brush cleaners such as Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver or Pink
Soap work well for cleaning oil paint brushes. In addition to cleaning oil brushes,
Murphy's Oil Soap can remove wet oil paint from clothing. DO NOT DISCARD
OIL OR OIL SOLVENTS IN THE SINK. DOING SO WILL CLOG THE SINK.
Use plain soap and cool water to clean acrylics. Dishwashing detergent or
liquid hand soap work fine. Water can be poured down the sink, but thick
chunks of acrylic paint should be thrown in the garbage.
Place the brush in the palm of your hand and swish the brush to remove the
paint. Run water through the brush and repeat the process until the water runs
clean. Reshape the brush with your fingers and store in a jar or can handle-side
down.
2009Debra Clem
Al l rights reserved.
Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net Page 2 / 4
GETTING STARTED
Step 1 -- Sketching directly onto a ground or gessoed surface with diluted paint
is the most immediate and will give you truer colors. Thin paint with a solvent
(turpentine or OMS), or an oil medium that contains mostly solvent and very little
oil (or in acrylics, thin with water). The color used for the sketch can vary, but
most recommend using neutral browns, such as burnt umber or burnt sienna.
Regardless of the
sketching colors you
choose, it is important to
use one that creates a
wide range of values.
Burnt sienna is a good
brown to use, because it
will have little affect on
colors that are layered on
top. Standing away from
the painting during the
sketching process will
allow you to "map" out the
composition quickly.
Shade in areas and use a
paint rag (with a solvent, if necessary) to remove or erase paint. At this point, it
isn't necessary to have a meticulous or perfect drawing; in fact, this wastes time,
because you will be eventually covering the sketch with additional layers of
paint.
Some artists prefer using pencil to sketch out the drawing, although I think pencil
can muddy color. In addition, pencils can "tighten" the drawing which slows up
the painting process. Tightly rendered drawings will also be lost when you begin
to layer your paints, so try to stay loose during this stage.
Shade in areas with thinned paint and don't use charcoal or other dark drawing
materials. If the drawing materials used are too dark, they will mix with your paint
and cause it to become dark and muddy. If you choose to draw in pencil or
another "dry" medium, try fixing the material to the surface with a fixative or
liquefy the material by adding a thin oil or thin acrylic painting medium
(depending on the type of paint that you use). Binders in the medium help the
pigment stick to the surface.
Step 2 (Blocking-in color) -- This may be the most important step in painting.
The most efficient way to achieve a good composition and unity in a painting is
to initially develop large color areas. For oils, block in areas with paint that has
been thinned with an oil medium that contains mostly solvent. In acrylics, use
paint that has been thinned with water or a polymer medium. Use only
necessary colors. Block in
the entire surface,
including the "background"
and negative areas.
This should be done very
quickly and with a large
brush. You should be
standing during this
process so you can get
back and see the entire
surface area, rather than
getting caught up with
details. Consider using
cool and warm color as
well as light and dark to develop space.
Step 3 -- After the overall color plan is completed, the next layers of paint, which
might include blending or dabbing can be started. Working from thin to thick,
generally, is the best approach. Some painters do a lot of blending. This is
achieved by applying patches or dabs of paint over an area before they begin
blending in the paint.
Other painters try to build up fresh, unblended dabs or strokes on the canvas.
Impasto paint applications may also be used at this stage of the painting,
including knife painting.
In oil paint, apply more oily layers of paint over less oily areas (fat over lean).
Otherwise, your painting may crack. This problem does not occur with acrylics,
because they dry more uniformly and are more flexible. After the initial
sketching and blocking in layers, use a mediumthat has been mixed in
advance for the remaining oil painting. This can alleviated many
problems with consistency. Avoid mixing pure oil or pure solvent with
your paint in these subsequent layers.
Step 4 -- Final stages
Because oily layers should be applied over leaner layers of oil paint, transparent
glazes made with an oil medium generally should be applied during the final
stages of an oil painting. Glazes can create transparencies in specific color
areas to unify the painting. They may be applied in one or more layers over
transparent or opaque paint. Using glazes in this way differs from traditional
glaze painting discussed below. Because fat over lean isn't an issue with
acrylics, acrylic glazes can be applied on acrylic paintings at any stage.
Things to consider
Because oil paint lends itself to blending, it an excellent paint to use if you are
working in a realistic style. Oil will often dry in one or two days, however, so it
makes sense to finish particular areas in one sitting. If the paint is allowed to dry
on an unfinished area, wet paint will have to be reapplied in order to complete
the work. An oil painting medium will increase the creaminess and fluidity of the
paint and can slow the drying time, if desired.
Using reflective colors at this stage will give a unified quality to the work. This is
achieved by "unloading" varying amounts of one color to another color area.
Reflective color use is only one option, however. Some artists prefer working in
pure areas of color. This often lends vibrancy to the painting because of
contrasts among the larger color areas. Limiting the palette, repeating the
colors in the work, or using limited amounts of reflective color will prevent a
fragmented, "coloring book" appearance (when areas seem unrelated or simply
filled in). Creating powerful value contrasts by darkening and lightening colors
will also give the painting "structure" and therefore, create a more unified work.
The danger of adding black or white to color is that the relative purity of the color
diminishes. One should also think in terms of contrasts in color, such as
complementary colors and other color schemes, to increase the vibrancy of a
work.
Perhaps one of the most effective ways of developing space in painting is
through the use of cool and warm colors. Cool colors recede in space, i.e.,
blues, violets, blue green and blue-violet, while warm colors appear to push
forward in space, i.e., yellows, oranges, reds, red-oranges and yellow-oranges.
The impressionist painters used cool and warm colors to create ranges of
depth rather than relying on dramatic darks and lights to create spatial
contrasts, as was often done by the traditional academic painters.
Drying time is effected by the amount of oil present in the paint or painting
medium. Painting mediums made with a higher proportion of oil will cause the
paint to dry more slowly (an often desirable effect). Some colors, such as
titanium white or ivory black, contain more oil and therefore dry more slowly.
Some manufacturers mix more oil into their paints than others. The thickness of
the paint also effects drying time. Oil paints dry more quickly in warm conditions,
as well. In the summer, oil painters will sometimes warm their paintings in direct
sunlight to accelerate the drying time. Because of all these factors, it is often
very difficult to predict the speed at which an oil painting will dry.
Drying can be somewhat controlled by the type of oil used in the medium -- for
example, sun-thickened oil dries rapidly and is useful in glazing or
transparencies, because layers can be covered very quickly (sometimes in 24
hours). Stand oil doesn't dry quite as fast, so areas stay "workable" longer.
Stand and sun-thickened oil are ideal in painting mediums and can be mixed
together for even greater control of drying. Mediums made with refined linseed
or safflower oil are thinner than those made with stand or sun-thickened oil.
Refined linseed oil can be mixed with either of the thicker oils if necessary.
Commercially produced mediums made with alkyd resins make oil paints dry
more quickly than mediums made with traditional drying oils. And although alkyd
mediums are far less toxic than traditional mediums made with damar varnish
and turpentine, quick drying can be a negative when painting in oil. Oil painters
like to work wet-in-wet, sometimes for long periods of time. Gamblin Paint, in
particular, produces a variety of Galkyd mediums, including Galkyd Slow Dry
which provides more "open" time for painting in oil.
Acrylics dry more quickly than oil, so learning how to layer wet paint over dried
areas is key to using this medium. To increase the fluidity of the paint, and add
to the transparency, add water (no more than 25%) or mix in any proportion of
matte or gloss medium. Matte medium has a duller finish than gloss. The type
and style of painting will ultimately determine which medium to choose. On very
dark paintings, gloss medium will cause the surface to be highly reflective. This
can sometimes make the painting difficult to view in some lighting situations.
It is also important to work from thin to thick in acrylics, especially if you want to
use impasto techniques. Thick acrylic cannot be removed or changed after it
has dried.
Oil glaze paintings -- Directly painting wet into wet with opaque oil became
popular beginning with Impressionism and continues into current contemporary
painting. Traditional oil glaze painting is an indirect method that was generally
more common in academic painting prior to the mid 19th century. It is a
technique that involves the layering of transparent color glazes onto a
monochromatic underpainting. Artists first complete a thin tonal underpainting
usually done in black or brown oil paint. This tonal painting is traditionally called
a grisaille from the French "gris"
(gray in English). Layers of
transparent color (see Pigments
for a list of transparent oil colors)
are mixed with an oil glaze
medium and applied over this
fairly accurate and exact
underpainting -- allowing the
"drawing" to show through the
glazes. Many glazes can be
layered on top of each other. The
intense luminosity of an oil glaze
painting is created by light
reflecting through the transparent
layers of thin glazes.
Acrylic glaze paintings -- An acrylic glaze painting can be created in a similar
step-by-step process used in an oil glaze painting. Acrylic glazes can be made
with either gloss or matte medium. Small amounts of transparent acrylic color
can be added to the acrylic medium. Use limited amounts of water, as it will
reduce the transparency and perhaps even make the color cloudy. One
disadvantage to using acrylics is that wet polymer mediums lighten the
appearance of colors, and the resulting dry glaze can differ dramatically from
the wet mixture. More precise glaze colors can be tested, then measured and
premixed and stored in airtight containers. An advantage is the quick drying
time, so subsequent layers can be painted in a manner of minutes rather than
overnight.
Combining oil and acrylic -- Painters can begin a painting in acrylic and
complete it in oil glazes. The oil glazes bring a rich, luminous quality to the
acrylic underpainting.
Cleanup
Use odorless thinners and soap and cool water to clean oil paint from brushes,
etc. Brush cleaners such as Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver or Pink
Soap work well for cleaning oil paint brushes. In addition to cleaning oil brushes,
Murphy's Oil Soap can remove wet oil paint from clothing. DO NOT DISCARD
OIL OR OIL SOLVENTS IN THE SINK. DOING SO WILL CLOG THE SINK.
Use plain soap and cool water to clean acrylics. Dishwashing detergent or
liquid hand soap work fine. Water can be poured down the sink, but thick
chunks of acrylic paint should be thrown in the garbage.
Place the brush in the palm of your hand and swish the brush to remove the
paint. Run water through the brush and repeat the process until the water runs
clean. Reshape the brush with your fingers and store in a jar or can handle-side
down.
2009Debra Clem
Al l rights reserved.
Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net Page 3 / 4
GETTING STARTED
Step 1 -- Sketching directly onto a ground or gessoed surface with diluted paint
is the most immediate and will give you truer colors. Thin paint with a solvent
(turpentine or OMS), or an oil medium that contains mostly solvent and very little
oil (or in acrylics, thin with water). The color used for the sketch can vary, but
most recommend using neutral browns, such as burnt umber or burnt sienna.
Regardless of the
sketching colors you
choose, it is important to
use one that creates a
wide range of values.
Burnt sienna is a good
brown to use, because it
will have little affect on
colors that are layered on
top. Standing away from
the painting during the
sketching process will
allow you to "map" out the
composition quickly.
Shade in areas and use a
paint rag (with a solvent, if necessary) to remove or erase paint. At this point, it
isn't necessary to have a meticulous or perfect drawing; in fact, this wastes time,
because you will be eventually covering the sketch with additional layers of
paint.
Some artists prefer using pencil to sketch out the drawing, although I think pencil
can muddy color. In addition, pencils can "tighten" the drawing which slows up
the painting process. Tightly rendered drawings will also be lost when you begin
to layer your paints, so try to stay loose during this stage.
Shade in areas with thinned paint and don't use charcoal or other dark drawing
materials. If the drawing materials used are too dark, they will mix with your paint
and cause it to become dark and muddy. If you choose to draw in pencil or
another "dry" medium, try fixing the material to the surface with a fixative or
liquefy the material by adding a thin oil or thin acrylic painting medium
(depending on the type of paint that you use). Binders in the medium help the
pigment stick to the surface.
Step 2 (Blocking-in color) -- This may be the most important step in painting.
The most efficient way to achieve a good composition and unity in a painting is
to initially develop large color areas. For oils, block in areas with paint that has
been thinned with an oil medium that contains mostly solvent. In acrylics, use
paint that has been thinned with water or a polymer medium. Use only
necessary colors. Block in
the entire surface,
including the "background"
and negative areas.
This should be done very
quickly and with a large
brush. You should be
standing during this
process so you can get
back and see the entire
surface area, rather than
getting caught up with
details. Consider using
cool and warm color as
well as light and dark to develop space.
Step 3 -- After the overall color plan is completed, the next layers of paint, which
might include blending or dabbing can be started. Working from thin to thick,
generally, is the best approach. Some painters do a lot of blending. This is
achieved by applying patches or dabs of paint over an area before they begin
blending in the paint.
Other painters try to build up fresh, unblended dabs or strokes on the canvas.
Impasto paint applications may also be used at this stage of the painting,
including knife painting.
In oil paint, apply more oily layers of paint over less oily areas (fat over lean).
Otherwise, your painting may crack. This problem does not occur with acrylics,
because they dry more uniformly and are more flexible. After the initial
sketching and blocking in layers, use a mediumthat has been mixed in
advance for the remaining oil painting. This can alleviated many
problems with consistency. Avoid mixing pure oil or pure solvent with
your paint in these subsequent layers.
Step 4 -- Final stages
Because oily layers should be applied over leaner layers of oil paint, transparent
glazes made with an oil medium generally should be applied during the final
stages of an oil painting. Glazes can create transparencies in specific color
areas to unify the painting. They may be applied in one or more layers over
transparent or opaque paint. Using glazes in this way differs from traditional
glaze painting discussed below. Because fat over lean isn't an issue with
acrylics, acrylic glazes can be applied on acrylic paintings at any stage.
Things to consider
Because oil paint lends itself to blending, it an excellent paint to use if you are
working in a realistic style. Oil will often dry in one or two days, however, so it
makes sense to finish particular areas in one sitting. If the paint is allowed to dry
on an unfinished area, wet paint will have to be reapplied in order to complete
the work. An oil painting medium will increase the creaminess and fluidity of the
paint and can slow the drying time, if desired.
Using reflective colors at this stage will give a unified quality to the work. This is
achieved by "unloading" varying amounts of one color to another color area.
Reflective color use is only one option, however. Some artists prefer working in
pure areas of color. This often lends vibrancy to the painting because of
contrasts among the larger color areas. Limiting the palette, repeating the
colors in the work, or using limited amounts of reflective color will prevent a
fragmented, "coloring book" appearance (when areas seem unrelated or simply
filled in). Creating powerful value contrasts by darkening and lightening colors
will also give the painting "structure" and therefore, create a more unified work.
The danger of adding black or white to color is that the relative purity of the color
diminishes. One should also think in terms of contrasts in color, such as
complementary colors and other color schemes, to increase the vibrancy of a
work.
Perhaps one of the most effective ways of developing space in painting is
through the use of cool and warm colors. Cool colors recede in space, i.e.,
blues, violets, blue green and blue-violet, while warm colors appear to push
forward in space, i.e., yellows, oranges, reds, red-oranges and yellow-oranges.
The impressionist painters used cool and warm colors to create ranges of
depth rather than relying on dramatic darks and lights to create spatial
contrasts, as was often done by the traditional academic painters.
Drying time is effected by the amount of oil present in the paint or painting
medium. Painting mediums made with a higher proportion of oil will cause the
paint to dry more slowly (an often desirable effect). Some colors, such as
titanium white or ivory black, contain more oil and therefore dry more slowly.
Some manufacturers mix more oil into their paints than others. The thickness of
the paint also effects drying time. Oil paints dry more quickly in warm conditions,
as well. In the summer, oil painters will sometimes warm their paintings in direct
sunlight to accelerate the drying time. Because of all these factors, it is often
very difficult to predict the speed at which an oil painting will dry.
Drying can be somewhat controlled by the type of oil used in the medium -- for
example, sun-thickened oil dries rapidly and is useful in glazing or
transparencies, because layers can be covered very quickly (sometimes in 24
hours). Stand oil doesn't dry quite as fast, so areas stay "workable" longer.
Stand and sun-thickened oil are ideal in painting mediums and can be mixed
together for even greater control of drying. Mediums made with refined linseed
or safflower oil are thinner than those made with stand or sun-thickened oil.
Refined linseed oil can be mixed with either of the thicker oils if necessary.
Commercially produced mediums made with alkyd resins make oil paints dry
more quickly than mediums made with traditional drying oils. And although alkyd
mediums are far less toxic than traditional mediums made with damar varnish
and turpentine, quick drying can be a negative when painting in oil. Oil painters
like to work wet-in-wet, sometimes for long periods of time. Gamblin Paint, in
particular, produces a variety of Galkyd mediums, including Galkyd Slow Dry
which provides more "open" time for painting in oil.
Acrylics dry more quickly than oil, so learning how to layer wet paint over dried
areas is key to using this medium. To increase the fluidity of the paint, and add
to the transparency, add water (no more than 25%) or mix in any proportion of
matte or gloss medium. Matte medium has a duller finish than gloss. The type
and style of painting will ultimately determine which medium to choose. On very
dark paintings, gloss medium will cause the surface to be highly reflective. This
can sometimes make the painting difficult to view in some lighting situations.
It is also important to work from thin to thick in acrylics, especially if you want to
use impasto techniques. Thick acrylic cannot be removed or changed after it
has dried.
Oil glaze paintings -- Directly painting wet into wet with opaque oil became
popular beginning with Impressionism and continues into current contemporary
painting. Traditional oil glaze painting is an indirect method that was generally
more common in academic painting prior to the mid 19th century. It is a
technique that involves the layering of transparent color glazes onto a
monochromatic underpainting. Artists first complete a thin tonal underpainting
usually done in black or brown oil paint. This tonal painting is traditionally called
a grisaille from the French "gris"
(gray in English). Layers of
transparent color (see Pigments
for a list of transparent oil colors)
are mixed with an oil glaze
medium and applied over this
fairly accurate and exact
underpainting -- allowing the
"drawing" to show through the
glazes. Many glazes can be
layered on top of each other. The
intense luminosity of an oil glaze
painting is created by light
reflecting through the transparent
layers of thin glazes.
Acrylic glaze paintings -- An acrylic glaze painting can be created in a similar
step-by-step process used in an oil glaze painting. Acrylic glazes can be made
with either gloss or matte medium. Small amounts of transparent acrylic color
can be added to the acrylic medium. Use limited amounts of water, as it will
reduce the transparency and perhaps even make the color cloudy. One
disadvantage to using acrylics is that wet polymer mediums lighten the
appearance of colors, and the resulting dry glaze can differ dramatically from
the wet mixture. More precise glaze colors can be tested, then measured and
premixed and stored in airtight containers. An advantage is the quick drying
time, so subsequent layers can be painted in a manner of minutes rather than
overnight.
Combining oil and acrylic -- Painters can begin a painting in acrylic and
complete it in oil glazes. The oil glazes bring a rich, luminous quality to the
acrylic underpainting.
Cleanup
Use odorless thinners and soap and cool water to clean oil paint from brushes,
etc. Brush cleaners such as Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver or Pink
Soap work well for cleaning oil paint brushes. In addition to cleaning oil brushes,
Murphy's Oil Soap can remove wet oil paint from clothing. DO NOT DISCARD
OIL OR OIL SOLVENTS IN THE SINK. DOING SO WILL CLOG THE SINK.
Use plain soap and cool water to clean acrylics. Dishwashing detergent or
liquid hand soap work fine. Water can be poured down the sink, but thick
chunks of acrylic paint should be thrown in the garbage.
Place the brush in the palm of your hand and swish the brush to remove the
paint. Run water through the brush and repeat the process until the water runs
clean. Reshape the brush with your fingers and store in a jar or can handle-side
down.
2009Debra Clem
Al l rights reserved.
Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net Page 4 / 4