NOVICE NEEDS HELP - Oil Painting
Ken Berliner
I’ve got a brief question. Let’s say I have some canvas (already primed
with that white stuff) And I’ve got some oil paints. Should I just place
the paint on the canvas? I heard about people using thinner and cotton
seed oil or something like that to change the texture of the paints. How
do you do that? Is there anything I should be applying to the primed
canvas before I paint? The reply of a veteran painter is appreciated.
Thanks
Ken
k...@uic.edu
Jacob Mattison
Oh, boy. It's 3:30 AM and I've just been painting for about eight hours
and am too keyed up to sleep so this is the perfect question for me
right now. Here goes.
First issue is priming. The purpose of priming is a) to protect the
canvas fibers from the oil, and b) to give a nice surface to paint on.
"That white stuff" that your canvas is primed with is probably acrylic
gesso, which is fine and dandy. If you bought it already primed you may
wish to add another coat or so off the gesso, if you have any. Just
paint it on and let it dry, than sand it. Or sand what you have if it
doesn't seem smooth enough. Or just paint on it. (There are other
possible ways to prime the canvas, but acrylic gesso is fast and easy.
Ask me if you want to know about others.)
OK, on to applying the paint. You can apply it straight. You can thin
it with turpentine. You can mix it with a variety of mediums such as
oils and varnishes. The usual oil is linseed oil, which comes in
various forms- stand oil (thicker than usual) and so on. A common
painting medium is linseed oil, damar varnish, and turpentine. Various
formulas are used, but I generally start with one part each and add
turpentine as I'm working.
OK, you're thinking, when do I mix these various things in? There are a
couple of reasons to thin the paint. It handles differently (spreads on
more easily, doesn't hold brush strokes as stiffly, etc.) and it's more
transparent when thinned. You just have to fool around to see what you
like.
The rule you have to remember, however, is what is known as the "fat
over thin" rule. Each layer of paint should have _more_ oil in it than
the layer below it. Otherwise the newer layers may not adhere properly
because they will dry faster than the layers below them. So, when
you're beginning, and you want to sketch things out in thin paint, thin
the paint with turpentine. Then paint over that with plain paint. Now
let's say that has dried and you want to add a translucent layer of
color (a "glaze") over it. You have to thin it with a medium containing
oil, rather than with turps. Note that the fat over thin rule applies
only when you are letting each layer dry a bit and then painting over
it. If you are painting alla prima, or wet into wet, you are only
creating one paint layer and it will be stable.
But don't sweat the technical stuff too much. You probably aren't going
for archival permanence at this point. Probably you'll do fine with
just paint and turpentine to begin with. Start pretty thin and get
gradually less thin. ("Traditional" practice is to begin with the
darkest areas and paint them thin. Then gradually build up to the
lightest areas. The bright highlights will be the thickest spots of
paint.) Or paint wet-into-wet (which is lots of fun) and let things mix
on the surface.
It's now 3:50 AM and I doubt that I'm very coherent. Please feel free
to ask questions. I hope that this has been helpful!
Jacob
--
Jacob Mattison matt...@dolphin.upenn.edu
Department of Fine Arts University of Pennsylvania
perhaps some chocolate chip cookies and milk