I’ve never understood the fascination with thick, viscous oil painting mediums. Used for special effects, such mediums are perfectly fine, but for everyday work they are completely useless. I scratch my head whenever I see recipes based wholly on balsams or thickened oils–goo. Closely related to the goos are the jelly-like mediums–the glops. There are a…
Category: Tips and Studies
I was taught nothing of practical use about painting when I was a student. Worse than the daily dose of esoteric BS was the relentless, sneering attack on the subjects of technique and history, which were held in utter contempt. Pollack, so I was lectured, allowed his brushes to dry in cans of house paint, which he drizzled from stiff bristles onto unprimmed canvas on the floor. If that was good enough for him, it’s good enough for you–so said they. I wrote elsewhere about one professor’s favorite piece of painting gear–fishing boots. My artistic education can be summed up this way: daily attempt by inept professors to destroy the same clumsily constructed straw man. No questioning the received dogma; that was the way it was–and worse
Rubbish–worse than rubbish. Not only not true, not even important to the discussion–mere fashion. Worst of of all, it was all served up without the least bit of humor.
[Rant End]
Shop Talk, Studio Corner, Tips and Studies, Uncategorized
Complementary neutral tones
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•The eye loves complementary neutrals. The eye will accept the ‘truth’ of a well placed neutral faster than it will a piece of carefully crafted modeling. Nature abounds with complementary colors. I remember as a child being amazed by the green shadows cast by the light streaming though the red curtains of my bedroom. What…
Someone asked if I inadvertently omitted straight-from-the-tube black from my palette. The omission wasn’t inadvertent. I don’t use ivory black (or any other black) ‘as is.’ Ivory black is too cold to use as is, but not cold enough for a truly cold black, which is why I create the mixtures illustrated in the linked post. Ivory black + ultramarine blue for cool black, and ivory black + burnt umber for a neutral black. For warmth, I add more burnt umber or, more typically, use burnt umber + cobalt (or cerulean) blue.
Shop Talk, Studio Corner, Tips and Studies
Palettes
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•Shop Talk, Tips and Studies
Prevent oil paint from drying with oil of cloves
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•Artists usually doctor their oil paint to make them dry faster. By decreasing drying times, paintings can be reworked sooner and completed faster. Siccative agents, such as lead, also enhance the handling qualities of oil paint. There are times though when you need to slow drying times. When I am working on a large painting…
Shop Talk, Studio Corner, Tips and Studies
Old Brushes
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•Sigh…time to retire some old brushes. I hang on to things too long: brushes, paint, oils, mediums, friends. But too frequently I’ve reached for a brush while in the middle of a painting session only to retrieve one of these old boys–far past their useful lives. So I’ve retired these tired old brushes. I won’t throw…
I’ve updated the Oil Paint Brand listing with new ratings and comments.