oil painting question??

D.

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Nov 20, 1997, 3:00:00 AM11/20/97

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Hi. When I paint in oil, I use paint and turpentine and sometimes linseed
oil, is this enough? I was reading an art magazine and noticed the artists
usually has pretty elaborate processes ... or I should say, they were all
mentioning "mediums" that I know nothing about. Like "Smooth gel medim",
"varnishes", "citrus thinner" etc... My great-grandfather only used
turpentine and his paintings seem to be holding up well SO FAR. (my
grandfather and mother also)? Am I missing something? Thanks, H.B.

Nita Leland

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Nov 23, 1997, 3:00:00 AM11/23/97

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I'm not an oil painter but have seen some posts in the Artists' Forum on
Compuserve about mediums. My impression is that if you're using artists'
quality paints the colors are ready-to-use out of the tube and shouldn't
require a lot of mediums, unless you want to thin them for underpainting
(use turpentine or mineral spirits) or for glazing (use linseed oil). One
artist recommends using Winsor & Newton Liquin, which speeds drying
somewhat, not mixing it into the paint, but applying it on the area to be
painted and then flowing the oil color into it. Several who tried his
method swear by it.
Nita
--
Nita Leland
nle...@erinet.com

D. <ha...@daktel.com> wrote in article
<01bcf5ef$db5682c0$1ba199cc@default>...

Tim R. Even

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Nov 23, 1997, 3:00:00 AM11/23/97

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D. <ha...@daktel.com> wrote in article
<01bcf5ef$db5682c0$1ba199cc@default>...
> Hi. When I paint in oil, I use paint and turpentine and sometimes
linseed

> oil, is this enough? ... .
In my humble opinion, No. Most of the other stuff may or may not cause
problems down the road - depending upon what makes up these mysterious
concoctions. The painting's the thing, and you have
your grandfather's paintings as evidence of the archival qualities of
simple paints.

Charles Eicher

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Nov 23, 1997, 3:00:00 AM11/23/97

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In article <01bcf5ef$db5682c0$1ba199cc@default>, "D." <ha...@daktel.com> wrote:

> Hi. When I paint in oil, I use paint and turpentine and sometimes linseed

> oil, is this enough? I was reading an art magazine and noticed the artists
> usually has pretty elaborate processes ... or I should say, they were all
> mentioning "mediums" that I know nothing about. Like "Smooth gel medim",
> "varnishes", "citrus thinner" etc... My great-grandfather only used
> turpentine and his paintings seem to be holding up well SO FAR. (my
> grandfather and mother also)? Am I missing something? Thanks, H.B.

well, for one thing, you are missing one essential fact: All oil paints,
right out of the tube, have "medium" in it. Oil paint is basically a tiny
bit of powdered minerals suspended in lots of oil medium. Even if you
aren't deliberately adding medium, its in there anyway.

It would be best to learn how to use medium, as it is generally considered
an important technique. There are many things you just can't do with paint
straight out of the tube. You will not achieve mastery unless you
experiment oil media, even if you generally choose to work without them.

The classic formula for oil medium is 1 part Stand Oil (sun thickened
linseed oil) 1 part linseed oil and 1 part Turpentine. Try it, play around
with the proportions. Premix it in a squeeze bottle, don't make little dabs
of it as you go along. It takes a long time for Stand Oil to dissolve
(several days). Don't be afraid to dilute it even more with extra turps.

Bryan Ayers

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Nov 25, 1997, 3:00:00 AM11/25/97

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In article <01bcf82f$d8ddd7e0$3ad08dce@homebuilt>,

Tim R. Even <ti...@ameritech.net> wrote:
>D. <ha...@daktel.com> wrote in article
><01bcf5ef$db5682c0$1ba199cc@default>...

>> Hi. When I paint in oil, I use paint and turpentine and sometimes
>linseed

>> oil, is this enough? ... .
This all depends on what pigments and fillers are used in the
actual paint itself as well as the quality of the canvas and ground
its painted on. In all likelyhood your Grandfathers paintings used
lead carbonate white which is faster drying and less brittle than
titanium white, as well as being leaner but it has a greater tendency to
turn yellow as it ages. You should execute the first layers without linseed
oil being added to the medium in the later layers you can add oil. You
might try adding high viscocity mediums like stand oil and Venetian Turp
for the final layers. I don't think you can do really great work in oil
without these.

Bryn Ayers
mail to: bay...@expert.cc.purdue.edu
http://expert.cc.purdue.edu/~bayers
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