new oil painter need advice
Ray Denison
my question an intrusion. You all seem so much more advanced and far
beyond me, but I would really appreciate it if someone would offer an
opinion. I am an acrylic painter, who is just starting to paint in
oils. I mostly paint on wood surfaces and sell my pieces at two
different locations, therefore the need to finish a project is ever
present. I have been told that if you paint on wood in oils, spray
inbetween stages with Krylon Matte, then a final light spray of Kylon
Matte when the project is complete, I would only have to dry the piece
about 1 week before applying the finish coats of Krylon Crystal Clear
and the piece is ready for sale. Then I was told this WILL cause
cracking and the piece needs to dry at least 6 to 12 months. I am
confused. Because I am selling my pieces, I obviously can't have a
down time for that length of time. Is there another way to get oils to
dry quicker or will the Krylon method work? I am really confused.
Help Please.
Laurie
P.S. Any other suggestions to new oil painters would greatly be
appreciated.
tetr...@indirect.com
I have been painting with oils for 5-6 years. I have also used acrylics.
Long ago many oil paintings were done on wood. These paintings still exist
because a thick base was placed on the wood first. This gesso base used to
be organic (horse glue etc.) and is now acrylic. It is OK to put oils over
acrylics. The thicker the gesso the better. You may still experience
problems if your wood base is not completely seasoned (dried out).
Alkyds are compatible with oils. I now use alkyd white with my other oil
colors. A complete switch to alkyds is not that practical because they are
more expensive than oils. Depends on how much you want to spend.
Don't forget to use gesso even on canvas. It is theorized that oil will
eventually deteriorate canvas. Give the painting 6 - 12 months to dry. You
are obliged to sell only quality products if you are an ethical artist.
The surface remains soft for a long time.
In article <4ha9kt$m...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, pko...@aol.com (PKosmas) wrote:
> Laurie,
>
> I cannot claim to be expert in oil, by any stretch of the imagination, but
> I think I can help a tad, just a tad. First, if you are using the Krylon
> spray that I think you are, it is an acrylic itself. This means it is
> essentially incompatible with oil, as it will not permanently adhere. If
> you are spraying layers in between painting layers of oil, I am fairly
> certain that you are compromising the archivalness of your work, which is
> important if you are selling it. Otherwise you may have clients coming
> back to you in a few months or a year wanting you to do a lot of
> conservation instead of your painting :-) Two ideas for faster drying
> times are to use a highly toxic substance, cobalt siccative, which is a
> drier. It changes the flow of the paint though, especially when used in
> large (read more than a few drops) amounts. Another perhaps more all
> around useful suggestion is look into alkyd paints. They are I think
> truly an oil based paint, and give the working qualities of oil, so I am
> told, but dry much more quickly. I have not used them personally, but
> maybe someone on the list can tell you more, hope so...
>
> Paul Kosmas
> "in the heart of the void, as well as in the hearts of men, there are
> burning fires"
> -Yves Klein
Steve Browne
>This is a reply to the original article:
>
>I have been painting with oils for 5-6 years. I have also used acrylics.
>Long ago many oil paintings were done on wood. These paintings still exist
>because a thick base was placed on the wood first. This gesso base used to
>be organic (horse glue etc.) and is now acrylic. It is OK to put oils over
>acrylics. The thicker the gesso the better. You may still experience
>problems if your wood base is not completely seasoned (dried out).
>
>Alkyds are compatible with oils. I now use alkyd white with my other oil
>colors. A complete switch to alkyds is not that practical because they are
>more expensive than oils. Depends on how much you want to spend.
>
>Don't forget to use gesso even on canvas. It is theorized that oil will
>eventually deteriorate canvas. Give the painting 6 - 12 months to dry. You
>are obliged to sell only quality products if you are an ethical artist.
>The surface remains soft for a long time.
>
Having considerable experience as a dealer/curator with oil paintings
of varying age, I strongly suggest applying a ground (or 'gesso') to
*both* sides of the canvas. Paintings which survive without a flaw are
often those that have *another* painting on the verso (canvas is
expensive). You want to preserve the canvas' and oil paints'
elasticity while preventing oxygen from access to the top *or* bottom
layer of paint.
An interesting discussion dervied from this would be, 'why not paint
finished pictures on *both* sides of the canvas?'
Stephen B. Browne
sbr...@ix.netcom.com
Bruce Attah
tetr...@indirect.com wrote:
> [...] Alkyds are compatible with oils. I now use alkyd white with my other oil
> colors. A complete switch to alkyds is not that practical because they are
> more expensive than oils. Depends on how much you want to spend.
I believe the manufacturers of Alkyds make the claim that these paints dry
to form a more resilient and flexible surface than oils, and should
therefore be more durable. They are also said to be okay for a wider
range of supports than oils (correct me if I'm wrong).
I have used Alkyds to do monochrome underpaintings as well as sketches.
There are sketches I produced some time ago on very cheap cardboard
supports that have been treated roughly, yet seem to look as good as
new---better than I would have expected oils to look. I would bet that
Alkyd paintings could withstand cleaning better than oils too.
> [...] You
> are obliged to sell only quality products if you are an ethical artist.
> The surface remains soft for a long time.
Hmm. But there is a difference between quality and everlasting. If your
paintings are capable of lasting a couple of decades, your customers
should have got their money's worth out of it by then (unless you are
priced in six figures or more, in which case the cost of restoring the
work will probably be lower than that of insuring it).
Bruce Attah
(Steve Browne) wrote:
>
> An interesting discussion dervied from this would be, 'why not paint
> finished pictures on *both* sides of the canvas?'
>
Wouldn't there be a marketing problem with this, perhaps? I mean, it
seems unlikely that you would be able to charge double the price for
double the painting, and of course it might be harder to find buyers who
like the pictures on both sides.
On the other hand, amusing (perhaps rather gimmicky) creative
possibilities suggest themselves, whereby the painting on one side is
somehow related thematically to the painting on the other (they could be
variations on a theme, or one could ask a question that the other answers,
etc.).