"Painting Best Practices" Art Materials Workshop

 

I recently had the opportunity to attend Natural Pigment's "Painting Best Practices" workshop held at Anthony Ryder's studio in Santa Fe, NM.  It was an experience I won't soon forget!  I am still contemplating all the wonderful information that was shared in the three day class.  Everything concerning artist's materials was explained and broken down to it's smallest parts, and by that I mean down to the molecular level.  It was fascinating to learn how every part of the art making process has a direct affect on all the other parts.  From framing, supports, grounds, oil paint, mediums, varnishes, solvents, etc; every individual part's pros and cons were discussed based on the scientific research being done by George O'Hanlon and art conservationists in major museums.  George (founder and president of Natural Pigments) shared his vast experience and research in hopes to lead our blind ways into the light of KNOWLEDGE.  Many artists today are working in the dark when it comes to understanding their materials.  

I have been on a journey recently in my own art practice, making my own oil paint, mediums, and even creating handmade linseed oil in the tradition of the old masters.  What I've learned in the process has been fascinating.  Today many artist materials are mass produced with little or no information for professional artists.  In the 20th century we've seen the decline of many modern works of art, George O'Hanlon and art conservationists are madly working to educate artists on materials in hopes that future artworks may last through many generations without falling apart.

One of my favorite parts of the workshop was learning about how physical light plays a role in an artwork and the optics of paint films.  Light rays are either reflected, or upon entering the paint film are refracted, bent and scattered, then reflected or absorbed through the substrate--or a combination of all three.  This has an impact on how we view the paint itself, it's relative transparency and how glossy/matte the finish is. The refractive index of a paint pigment plays a role in how opaque or transparent it is.  Low refractive pigments, such as Ultramarine blue and lead white, are more transparent.  Titanium white has a high refractive index, light entering the titanium paint film bounces around more, is scattered, and the result is a paint that looks opaque.  Pigment particle size plays a large role in the paint film and how light plays upon the surface as well. 

Transparent and translucent passages in painting are what give the old masters works such a variety of textures and created a beautiful quality of paint. It also made it possible for them to optically extend the range of values in their painting.  A transparent shadow is much, much darker than the same color painted opaquely.  They were aware of the optics of paint films and were able to push the boundaries and limits of the value scale dramatically by incorporating low refractive paints in their oil paintings as well as bulking up their opaque passages.

Another way of creating transparent and translucent passages in a painting is by adding extenders that have a low refractive index, such as chalk or barite.  Also, choosing pigments with a larger particle size will increase transparency, as the physical light has less to bounce off of in the paint film.  The extremely fine particle size in modern tubed oil paints creates a more opaque quality and they are also extremely concentrated.  This is the opposite of the paint used before modern manufacturing made tubed paints possible.  Some paints of the past contained larger particles and were also mixed with extenders like calcite and different oils for different effects.  The painters of the past were much more knowledgeable about materials and were able to bend them to achieve amazing effects and also last hundreds of years.

Here is a great article about impasto technique of Rembrandt and his choice of paint, oils and extenders:  Rembrandt 
 

Listen to an interview with George O'Hanlon and learn his ten best painting practice tips HERE   

Titanium vs Lead White

I spent some time recently experimenting with handmade white oil paint.  I thought I'd share a little comparison I made after mixing Chromium Oxide Green into three different whites, my handmade white, lead white, and titanium white.  Chromium Oxide Green is so easy to bend warm or cool so I thought it would be great to show just how warm lead is compared to the opaque cool of titanium.  

Lead white is very warm and somewhat translucent, it also dries very quickly.  Titanium white is ten times more opaque than lead, is cooling to color and slower to dry.  Titanium results in a chalky quality in painting that is not always desirable, compared to lead white. 

I've learned that combining calcite with lead white creates Ceruse or "lootwit" and was used by Rembrandt and Velazquez for translucent passages.  i also purchased some barite, after learning it is even more transparent than calcite and was used by the Old Masters with lead white as well, it was called Venice Ceruse, or Venetian white.

I decided I wanted to see what would happen if I tried to recreate the transparent quality of lead by mixing barite with titanium, resulting in a non toxic white that isn't cool and chalky.

The barite, titanium and my handmade SRO linseed oil created another ropey long paint.  To bulk it up I ended up adding a little bit of calcite as well, maybe 10% calcite.  The mixture was lovely!  So, would it be somewhat similar to lead?  I know my mixture will dry faster than commercially tubed titanium because of my handmade linseed oil.  Next was to mix with green and compare.  I was very pleased to see that my handmade white, while still not as warm as the lead, was still closer in color/value.  I took several pics in different lighting to share.

one brown egg

One Brown Egg 6"x6"

Hand Refined Linseed Oil from Flax oil

American Goldfinch  11"x14"

I just completed my first successful batch of hand refined linseed oil out of organic, cold-pressed Flaxseed oil.  It is beautiful and I'm over the  moon excited to make some paint and test it out to learn it's unique properties.  

I also have half of my new oil thickening in the sun, I plan to use that bodied oil for my hand made calcite putty medium.  I've learned that combining calcite with lead white creates Ceruse or 'lootwit' and was used by Rembrandt and Velazquez for translucent passages.  I also purchased some barite, after learning it is even more transparent than calcite and was used by the Old Masters with lead white as well, it was called Venice Ceruse, or Venetian white. 

here is the good quality oil I purchased to cleanse and make into linseed oil:

 

I've combined the oil with water, salt and sand.  A chemical reaction takes place and the mucilage and impurities are separated from the flax oil, they settle into the sand on the bottom, the cleansed oil floats above the salt water layer:  ingenious!

  

                                         

After several mixes and changes in water/sand/salt I have the resulting oil, a bit cloudy from water particles still in the oil but cleansed of the mucilage, fatty acids (Omega 3s) and impurities that slow drying and yellow over time:

After setting in a glass tray in the sun for a few days to clear, we have the finished oil!  My own batch of hand refined SRO (salt refined organic) linseed oil will now have its own unique personality compared to the commercial hot pressed, alkali-refined linseed oils.  Commercial linseed is stripped of all the properties that create unique painterly effects.  This is due to the fact that they are refined in the same manner as vegetable oils are refined for consumption.  The qualities that are desirable in oil painting are stripped from the oil in the commercial process to create a long shelf life.  Hand refined SRO oil keeps all the good stuff and eliminates the impurites and mucilage, resulting in an oil that the older painters prized in their hand made materials. 

My oil will create long, adhesive paint as opposed to 'short and bouncy', it will not yellow and will dry much more quickly now and to a strong, hard film.  These are exactly the characteristics I'm looking for in my painting practice.  If I were to heat this fresh oil to 100C on my stove for an hour, the resulting oil would create paint that is short, bouncy and dense.  My other half (that is thickening in the sun at the moment) will also have unique tendencies and rheology in my paints and mediums.  I love learning all the different painting qualities I can create, and am in complete control over, by processing my own materials.

ta da!

Grinding Paint

Recently I've become very interested in making some of my own paints and trying out different materials.  Earlier this year I began by experimenting with Rublev's Velasquez medium, calcite in linseed oil, and adding it to dry pigment and making my own oil paint.  see Here

I also add the medium, which is a painting putty, to my purchased tubed paint to create a more luminous paint quality, calcite adds a nice translucency to opaque paint.  I was attracted to using an extender like Calcite after reading about it being a 'colorless' pigment and how it was used by the Old Masters before commercial paints and mediums were processed the way we find them today.  I really like working with just pigment in oil with a little added extender and that's it, it is nothing like working with commercial paints.  Calcite also creates a thixotropic affect and the paint is just luscious.  

Commercial paints contain:

1. pigment

2. brightener

3. filler

4. vehicle (oil)

5. thickener/pigment dispenser

6. driers

That's a lot of stuff!

I've also started researching oils, and how they are processed before becoming the bottled oils available for artists at the local art store.  Linseed oil is heavily processed and loses much of the properties that made it attractive to painters prior to the 20th century.  That is when commercial processing changed the oil into the yellowing, slow drying medium that it is today.  Refining oils reduces the impurities and fatty acids, but overly processed oil loses all the behaviors that contributed to the painterly effects of the masters.  By hand processing the oil, using methods of the past to wash the oils of impurities, you create a product that is non yellowing and faster drying, and also dries to a harder paint film.  There are methods for taking organic, cold pressed flax oil and hand washing it yourself, but I chose to buy this Linseed oil from The Art Treehouse, it begins as a cold pressed, unrefined Flax oil and is water washed using traditional methods.  

In the photo above you can see the start of my own putty medium using the water washed linseed oil and calcite.  It is amazing!  It is gelatinous, viscous, and smooths out completely after being agitated.  Watch my video to see the thixotropic behavior as it settles out after being mixed, it's completely solid when you let it sit for a bit, yet will pool and ribbon when stirred.  This also affects the paints rheology, which is the way a liquid flows.

putty medium

 

 Grinding pigment

 

 a full day's work

I really loved the quality of my last batch of homemade oil paints, I'm excited to try out this new batch with the water washed oil and also using my own putty medium.  

In the meantime, I'm enjoying this reading,  this little book contains writings by well known artists and reflections on painting from Fra Angelico, Da Vinci, Velasquez, to van Gogh, Robert Henri, Andrew Wyeth and beyond...  it is a great look into painting through the artist's eyes throughout history, very insightful.

My studio, Happy painting!

Memento

"Memento" 12x16 o/p

Grinding pigment and handmade oil paint

 "Perch on a Golden Pear"  14"14"  oil/panel

It's been quite a while since I last checked in, I'm sorry to neglect my blog.  Usually when things get quiet over here I am actually working harder than ever and need time to organize my thoughts before sharing my latest efforts in painting.  It's been a very busy time and all the while I've been researching new materials and testing different methods in oil painting.  I have also been working on many new paintings, I will share more and have news about my future solo show very soon!

As for trying new art materials, I recently decided to make my own oil paint.  In my never ending quest to learn about oil painting, I began to learn more about mediums, oils, fillers and extenders and how each work in conjunction with one another to produce certain qualities in oil paint that would not be present otherwise.  There are so many combinations for so many different techniques, it can get a little overwhelming to figure it all out.  I kept running across information about adding calcite as an extender to oil paint, it creates a beautiful thixotropic paint that is long and levels out nicely after the brushstroke.  It is also like a colorless pigment in that you can add it to your oil paint w/out harming the ratio of pigment to oil.  

I already had a plethora of dry pigments in my studio, from working with egg tempera.  I decided to grind my pigment with linseed and Velazquez medium from Natural Pigments.  The medium is calcite finely ground in a bodied linseed oil and it can be mixed directly with paint from the tube or used when grinding your own pigment as an extender.

 my warm light mixture

Grinding the pigments took a couple days to do, each tube took a while to mix to a creamy smooth consistency. It was completely worth the time and effort!  The paint is unlike any tube paint I've ever used before, thick but luscious and smooths out to a lovely finish under a soft brush.  This is exactly what I was hoping for in my painting.  Plus I can thin the paint with medium to use in glazing.  The calcite adds a bit of texture and transparency to the paint, which I also really like.  The added transparency is an added bonus in my layering technique for luminous color.   It's been fun getting to know the properties of the oil paint and applying it in my painting.

Demo in Indirect Painting II

I recently took part in a group paint-out where over one hundred artists painted live and gave demonstrations on painting in every style, media and subject matter you can imagine.  Because I am an indirect painter I have to plan ahead for demonstrations and prepare several different panels showing the different stages of layering in oil.  

For a more detailed demonstration in glazing see HERE

I began my demo on a panel with my drawing already transferred and ready to be painted.  I started by preparing a glaze of yellow ochre over the entire panel and drawing.  Next I painted into the lights with opaque white, and added darks and shadows with burnt umber, keeping the shadows thin and transparent.

My second panel for the demonstration had the completed underpainting (above) dry and ready for the next layer of paint.  I began again by glazing the panel in transparent color and painting my opaque color into the glaze on the subject matter.  Now that I have switched to the first color glaze I still keep my lights opaque and shadows thin and transparent.  My values are close together so I can build up more light and shadow after this layer dries with more transparent glazes and opaque scumbles.

 

After several more passes of transparent glazes and opaque scumbles the painting is complete.

"Oriole and Pear"  11x14

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks Nat'l Monument, NM

 

This summer the family returned to Tent Rocks National Monument for a picnic.  I thought I'd share some more photos I took while hiking there.  You can see other pics of the fantastic rock formations and read about the area in my post from June 2013 here:

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks Nat'l Monument, NM

 

 

Southwest Art Feature, plus Win This Painting!

"Summer Song"  14"x14"  oil/board

The painting "Summer Song" is featured in Southwest Art Magazine next month along with an article about my work.  The article is located in the Emerging Artist section and is titled "Beauty and Balance".  It's very exciting to be included in such a great art publication and have my work recognized.  Here's a link to the article or click:

You can also win the butterfly painting below.  I used Reblev's Venetian medium which contains ground crystal glass. It creates a beautiful texture and brilliant luminosity.  This painting seem to glow from within.  You have to enter before June 15th, the day the winner will be drawn.  Click the painting to enter now!

~Win this painting~

Still Life show and Passport to the Arts

 "Ruby Crowned Kinglet and Cherries" 10"x10"  oil/panel

Tonight is the opening for a group still life show I am participating in at Sage Creek Gallery in Santa Fe.  I, along with other gallery artists, have several new works available including my "Duet" and "Nest".  I particularly love Kevin Gorges still lifes for the show.  Check out the link to see all the works available:

Sage Creek Gallery

Still life Show

Opening May 9th

The opening coincides with Passport to the Arts, the weekend event that takes place on Canyon Road every year in May.  Happenings include special openings and exhibitions, art auctions, demonstrations and live music.  More than 100 artists participate in the events, many of them produce work in the Quick Draw which is later offered in a live auction on the Santa Fe plaza.  Various tents are set up where patrons can visit and watch artists create works of art, it's so exciting!  The list of artists creating work live is amazing, click on the link to see a full list and get more info on this great weekend of art in Santa Fe:

Passport to the Arts

"Nest" 10"x10"

Egg Tempera and a Beautiful Studio Visit

I am starting a new adventure in painting, egg tempera.  As with all things I find an interest in I have been researching, reading and obsessing about this new medium for weeks now, when I learned about the glazing properties and luminous quality of egg tempera I knew I had to try!  I also contacted several artists with knowledge about the technique and I can't say enough about the generous nature in which they shared information with me.  One artist sent me New Techniques in Egg Tempera by Robert Vickrey via USPS, which was a very good read and quite inspiring.  Koo Schadler, master egg tempera painter, sent me several e-mails with detailed information answering my particular concerns about the medium.  I am a huge fan of her work and it was amazing to converse with her!  I had read several posts by her on various art forums about egg tempera and she is so passionate about painting.

 Grinding pigment

I also had a memorable visit at local artist Juan Wijngaard's home and studio.  He graciously invited me over to learn about egg tempera, his space is the picture above--his 'daily grind'.  We spent the afternoon talking about painting and drawing, viewing amazing artwork and I left feeling so inspired.  His studio is a dream, filled with his figurative oil paintings, landscapes and charcoal drawings from life.  All the photos here are of his amazing space.

~*~*~Juan Wijngaard's art studio~*~*~

I soon placed an order for dry pigments through Natural Pigments, I use several of their oil paints and knew I would receive the highest quality supplies.  There's something about art supplies that I find so luscious, it's hard to describe.  When I get a box of paints in the mail I really take my time savoring the new packages and containers.  The colors are so beautiful!  I also ordered true gesso, a mix of rabbit skin glue and marble dust.  I have never used traditional materials to prepare my panels, acrylic based gesso has always worked fine for my oil painting, but I was excited to try out something new and was curious about the different quality of the primer and it's application.   

I use regular masonite from the hardware store and always coat it with PVA size to isolate the surface from my primer.  These had a coating applied already, they had a slightly tacky feel to them.  I'm not sure if it's necessary when using the mixture I was about to apply, which has rabbit skin glue in it already, but I figured it wouldn't hurt.   After soaking the gesso, (which was RSG and marble dust together in one mix), I placed the mixture over a pan of hot water which immediately liquified the gel to a milky consistency.  As it cools it thickens up quite a bit.  It was tricky to apply in smooth even layers.  I realized the trick--lots of sanding to create a super smooth plaster-like finish.  I felt like I was sanding half of the gesso off, but from what I understand that is normal.

Next I decided to grind all my pigments to prepare them for painting.  I saw how Juan kept his in jars with water over the surface to keep them from drying out.  Out here in the dry Southwest tempera paints can dry out incredibly quickly.  I used distilled water and mixed the pigment until I got a nice smooth consistency.  Most of the pigments were already quite smooth, which surprised me.  I had expected there to be a grainy texture--hence the 'grinding' to a smooth paste.  I breezed through most of the pigments by just using my palette knife and glass palette, then I got to the blues....  I had ordered Prussian blue which was a very fine dust and incredibly grainy.  I worked it and worked it on the palette and switched over to my mortar and pestle.  It was a disaster, if you think prussian blue invades everything on your palette when painting in oil, try manipulating the dusty particles w/out contaminating your whole studio.  It was everywhere, thank goodness I was wearing gloves and a dust mask!  I gave up on a getting a smooth paste and moved on to ultramarine blue which was slightly less grainy.  Both the blues had a peculiar odor compared to the other natural colors.

 

Voila!

My basic palette is complete.  As soon as my panels cure a few more days I will attempt my first egg tempera painting.  I'm nervous about the fast drying time, which is also what attracted me to the medium in the first place.  I also read it can be tricky to get the proper proportion of pigment to egg yolk.  I'm expecting a challenge but ready to try, we will see what happens!  I will post my result soon.