!Oil on Canvas Tip Needed!
n...@sirius.com
I'm in need of some technical advice to improve my paintings... Please
help:
Some of my oil paintings finish with a nice gloss, while other times
they dry dull and flat (same quality paint). I don't know what I'm
doing right that causes the dry gloss I like.
My thought at the moment is that it has to do with the quality of canvas
I use.
Any comments or suggestions? Please post or email me at N...@sirius.com
Thanks,
Scott.
r. masuga
N...@Sirius.com wrote:
>
> I'm in need of some technical advice to improve my paintings... Please
> help:
>
> Some of my oil paintings finish with a nice gloss, while other times
> they dry dull and flat (same quality paint). I don't know what I'm
> doing right that causes the dry gloss I like.
>
> My thought at the moment is that it has to do with the quality of canvas
> I use.
You're not using different mediums, are you? There's a difference between turp
and Linseed oil, etc.
--
ryan masuga
~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the final test of the gentleman:
his respect for those who can be
of no possible service to him.
-William Lyon Phelps
Stanley Beck
N...@Sirius.com wrote:
>
> I'm in need of some technical advice...
>
> Some of my oil paintings finish with a nice gloss, while other times
> they dry dull and flat (same quality paint). I don't know what I'm
> doing right that causes the dry gloss I like.
>
In the process of making oil paints, different pigments require different
proportions of oil. This can cause more or less gloss when drying,
depending upon the color.
The mediums and thinners also affect the gloss, as well as what is
underneath the last layer of paint (another paint layer).
The drying process is quite slow (several months to a year or more) and
after time, dull or "dry spots" will appear. For this reason, many artists
will apply a thin spray coat of Retouch Varnish after the painting is dry to
the touch. When the painting is substantially dry (6 months to a year),apply
a final coat of Damar Varnish.
The problem that you have is just part of the oil painting process. However,
take care not to dilute your paints with too much turpentine or solvents.
--
Stanley Beck
Online Gallery --> http://members.aol.com/sbeckart/index.htm
Info --> mailto:sbec...@aol.com, mailto:sbec...@earthlink.net
andrew harmantas
N...@Sirius.com wrote:
>
> I'm in need of some technical advice to improve my paintings... Please
> help:
>
> they dry dull and flat (same quality paint). I don't know what I'm
> doing right that causes the dry gloss I like.
>
> I use.
>
Scott, let me guess...the colors that are dull are the darks, right?
Browns, mostly? Have you tried some retouch varnish? Do you use it in
the course of your oil painting? It has a specific purpose, one of them
is to prevent the "sinking in" or dulling of certain passages of color.
Some may suggest adding medium to your paint to give it more gloss and
depth. This might be OK for upper layers of your painting, but I would
caution against it for laying in initial layers, as it may contribute to
cracking later. And try keeping your darks thin, but don't use too much
thinner. Wipe them down if they get too heavy. If you thin them too
much, they lose much of their character, and they absorb into the ground
faster. Hope this helps. Later, Andrew Harmantas, Artist, Illustrator,
Lecturer, World Traveler, and Bum, and still trying to learn when to add
more medium.
chistopher willard
r. masuga <mas...@novagateX.com> wrote:
: N...@Sirius.com wrote:
: >
: > I'm in need of some technical advice to improve my paintings... Please
: > help:
: >
: > Some of my oil paintings finish with a nice gloss, while other times
: > they dry dull and flat (same quality paint). I don't know what I'm
: > doing right that causes the dry gloss I like.
: >
: > My thought at the moment is that it has to do with the quality of canvas
: > I use.
Some mediums dry with a matte finish. Others with a gloss. Different
pigments also affect the gloss. Probably the easiest way to correct this
is to varnish the painting after it is completely dry.
Other questions? Email me at wil...@soho.ios.com
Chris Willard
William Barkin
N...@Sirius.com wrote:
> I'm in need of some technical advice to improve my paintings... Please
> help:
>
> Some of my oil paintings finish with a nice gloss, while other times
> they dry dull and flat (same quality paint). I don't know what I'm
> doing right that causes the dry gloss I like.
>
> My thought at the moment is that it has to do with the quality of canvas
> I use.
Certain pigments, such as earth tones, have a tendency to dry with a
"sunken in" appearance; while other colors, rich in resin or oil, will
dry with a gloss. Use a matte varnish over the entire canvas when the
painting is dry to achieve a greater evenness of appearance
-Bill
n...@sirius.com
Thank you to everyone who sent me responses!
I was (am) surprised at all the quick and thoughtful advice.
I bought a can of Kamar Varnish spray today. My problem was definately
with the darker tones. The varnish really brought out the rich colors
that were previously hidden.
I didn't understand the difference between how lighter and darker tones
dry. The varnish is the solution.
Thanks again,
Scott.
r. masuga
chistopher willard wrote:
>
> r. masuga <mas...@novagateX.com> wrote:
> : N...@Sirius.com wrote:
> : >
> : > I'm in need of some technical advice to improve my paintings... Please
> : > help:
> : >
> : > Some of my oil paintings finish with a nice gloss, while other times
> : > they dry dull and flat (same quality paint). I don't know what I'm
> : > doing right that causes the dry gloss I like.
> : >
> : > My thought at the moment is that it has to do with the quality of canvas
> : > I use.
> Some mediums dry with a matte finish. Others with a gloss. Different
> pigments also affect the gloss. Probably the easiest way to correct this
> is to varnish the painting after it is completely dry.
>
> Other questions? Email me at wil...@soho.ios.com
> Chris Willard
People, please watch how you edit responses. In your response, you list my
name first and then edit out anything that I wrote. This sort of thing leads to
mis-mailed private e-mails and the whole nine yards.I'm sick of getting e-mail
addressed to someone else because someone thought I had a problem that I was
actually responding to as well. Thanks.
--
ryan masuga
~~~~~~~~~~~
Anti-spam:
If replying, remove xxx
from my address.
Bonnie Miller
Scott,
All the suggestions submitted are worth trying. However, if you mix a
bit of damar varnish into your painting medium (Ralph Mayer has a number
of formulas that you might use in the Artist Handbook), all of your
paints will have a uniform gloss. Make sure though that you follow the
fat over lean principle by adding just a bit more oil with each layer,
especially if you use darker pigments in the later stages because the
darker pigments dry much faster than the cadmiums and whites and you will
have crazing. I prefer to use the formula in the Mayer book of stand oil,
turp, cobalt drier and damar varnish. It's a great medium for all
around use and glazing! Liquin is also another popular medium that I
don't use but works to prevent those sunken in colors.
Bonnie
Richard Pierce
r. masuga wrote:
>
> N...@Sirius.com wrote:
> >
> > I'm in need of some technical advice to improve my paintings... Please
> > help:
> >
> > Some of my oil paintings finish with a nice gloss, while other times
> > they dry dull and flat (same quality paint). I don't know what I'm
> > doing right that causes the dry gloss I like.
> >
> > My thought at the moment is that it has to do with the quality of canvas
> > I use.
>
> and Linseed oil, etc.
> --
> ryan masuga
To make the finished painting look uniform I always apply a coat of
Damar Varnish to the surface after it is completly dry. This does two
things:
1) provides a uniform reflectivity or gloss to the painting.
2) acts as a protective coating for the paintings surface.
This allows you to mix and match mediums to suit the need while
developing the work and still get a uniform final product.
The key here is to do it after the painting is completly dry!
Some say 3 to 6 months drying time, but that varies with humidity,
thickness of paint and type of paint.
I live in Arizona, and my painting dry faster than went I lived in Ohio.
Normally the earth tones (sienna, umbers, ochers) will dry fastest, cad
yellow and cad red dry slowest.
Hope this helps.
Dick Pierce
R/L Davis
N...@Sirius.com wrote:
>
> I'm in need of some technical advice to improve my paintings... Please
> help:
>
> Some of my oil paintings finish with a nice gloss, while other times
> they dry dull and flat (same quality paint). I don't know what I'm
> doing right that causes the dry gloss I like.
>
> My thought at the moment is that it has to do with the quality of canvas
> I use.
>
Scott,
Different colours, within a given brand, will have varying amounts of oil in them
to properly disperse the pigment. As well, these different pigments react
differently with the oils. Less expensive brands use more aluminum stearate
or alumina hydrate, with the expensive pigments, which dramatically increase
the amount of oil in those colours. As well, an oil ground has an absorbency
that affects the gloss of the paint layer applied directly to it, so subsequent
layers (of even the same colour) will often dry to a different finish. It is simply
very difficult to get different colours to dry to the same gloss or matt effect on
an oil painting.
I am not quite sure what you mean by a "dry gloss", but if you are looking for a
gloss finish rather than a mat finish, the usual practice is to use a "retouch
varnish" over the colours that dry mat. Retouch varnish's can be bought at
your art supplier or you can make one yourself. I have been having this
problem with my own paintings recently and a friend suggested a technique of
"rubbing out" the dull area with linseed oil on a soft cloth. At first thought this
seems like a terrible thing to do, but it is surprising how little linseed oil you
would need to, in a sense, "polish" a mat area. You want to wipe almost all
the oil off, and when it dries it will give the area a more shiny finish.
Sometimes this needs to be done several times to get the desired effect. The
more even the surface gloss of the painting is, the more even will be the effect
when you apply your final varnish. (Liquitex "Soluvar" picture varnish, though
often hard to find, is a wonderful, easy to apply, final varnish for both oil and
acrylic paintings.)
Scott, If you do not have Ralph Mayer's "The Artists Handbook of Materials
and Techniques" get it! He covers virtually all the problems and solutions of
painting, and no artist should be without it. He explains the above problem in
great depth.
Richard