Some notes on oil painting materials

[William Whitaker]

PAINTS
You can get by with four colors (mentioned elsewhere on this forum). Black (or Payne's Grey), white (titanium covers best), yellow ochre, and Venetian Red. (Venetian Red is warmer than Indian Red). These were the colors of the ancients and were the mainstay of the old masters. You can make any basic color you need from these. These are very good for getting flesh colors. All other colors are eye candy and should be added as you gain experience and master these four.

BRUSHES
My attachment shows four high quality pigs bristle filbert oil painting brushes at the top, a sable oil painter's filbert next, a large synthetic watercolor wash brush (useful for a lot of things) and a ratty old watercolor sable for blending. In addition, I use high quality Kolinsky sable watercolor brushes for fine work - #4 and #1. I'm told good artificial sables do almost as well and are much less expensive too.

[William Whitaker]

PAINTS AGAIN.
I suggest getting buttery paint, such as Rembrandt. Winsor&Newton and Grumbacher are too stiff.

[William Whitaker]

MEDIUM AND SOLVENT
Painting medium is used to make the paint go on better. A good one is GRAHAM'S WALNUT/ALKYD painting medium, shown in the middle of the picture. You won't need alcohol, forget it!

Some of you can go in together and bring a SILICOIL BRUSH WASHING POT and fill it with some ODORLESS MINERAL SPIRIT. Gamblin's GAMSOL is the best. The two brush washing tanks on the right in the picture are similar to Silicoil's tank, but not quite as good.

[William Whitaker]

SUPPORTS (What you paint on)
In Austin, I painted on a piece of FROSTED MYLAR taped to foamcore board. It's great for studies and sketches, is as thin as paper, easy to travel with, and very permanent. Good all around stuff.

I also paint on ABS 1/16" thick panels. ABS is a plastic. Buy it at a plastics supplier in a white sheet. You score/cut it with a razorblade. Sand the shiny smooth surface with 220,320, 400 wet-or-dry sandpaper and you have the best painting panel in the world. Indestructible.

[William Whitaker]

CLEAN UP
Oil paint is not messy. 20th century modernist painters were messy.

Bring a roll of SCOT RAGS. If you're a cheapskate like I am, cut the sheets into four parts.

[William Whitaker]

I made a picture mistake on the last post. It should have been this.

[William Whitaker]

PALETTE
After growing up being told wood palettes were old fashioned, (oh, those dear dead days...) I eventually drifted into naturally using one. They are very practical for many reasons I'll speak about at the workshop.

Get one unfinished, sand and stain it, rub a few coats of shellac on the front and back. Sand between coats. This is about as hard as craftsmanship gets for artists! The shellac is not soluable in odorless mineral spirit, so your finish is safe.

Your palette can be the small size! Just like a Wacom Tablet, you don't need a large one to do great things.

Be sure your thumb hole is large enough and beveled to suit you, depending on whether you're right or left handed.

[Layil]

wow, thanks for all this info, William, it will prove invaluable to the attendees and everyone here on conceptart.org.


i recall that steve asael used to tell us that he didnt like acrylic medium because it was "like painting on a tire". he had worries about its archival qualities, and that the suppleness of the base would crack the paint over the years.

The mylar sheets are flexible; how do you handle this problem? i like the idea of using space age materials as a base for archival art. do you encounter any chemical interactions between the oil paint, solvents and plastic?

thanks for taking the time to answer. im looking forward to your Tour of the Legion of Honor...

[Unbreakable]

Thanks, Mr. Whitaker this is great!!!!

[William Whitaker]

Oil paint is like painting with butter.
Acrylic is like painting with toothpaste.
Your call!

Oil holds more pigment than acrylic medium does, so there is more intensity too. I also think it cleans up easier.

I have not used sheet Mylar for gallery paintings. If I did, I'd mount it on a solid backing like gatorfoam board.

Oil paint sticks wonderfully well to ABS. ABS is microscopically porous and the paint bites in and stays. No chemical problems. No problems with turps and ABS. Oils and ABS love each other. You do not need to prime your ABS before painting on it. If the painting doesn't work, you can sand the dry paint off. It takes a lot of sanding, but it's a very economical use of art materials.

A super solvent like acetone or Zylene will soften and eventually damage ABS, but one doesn't paint with those things.

[joelhinxman]

wow thanks for all the info. never ever heard of painting oil on mylar or plastic soo gona have to try that. got a few bottles of the mediums already(big fan of the neo meglip and galkyd) but never tryed the walnut alkyd.

[Layil]

Im sorry, i meant acrylic gesso... my bad. you still answered my question though, thanks!

Originally Posted by William Whitaker

Oil paint is like painting with butter.
Acrylic is like painting with toothpaste.
Your call!

Oil holds more pigment than acrylic medium does, so there is more intensity too. I also think it cleans up easier.

I have not used sheet Mylar for gallery paintings. If I did, I'd mount it on a solid backing like gatorfoam board.

Oil paint sticks wonderfully well to ABS. ABS is microscopically porous and the paint bites in and stays. No chemical problems. No problems with turps and ABS. Oils and ABS love each other. You do not need to prime your ABS before painting on it. If the painting doesn't work, you can sand the dry paint off. It takes a lot of sanding, but it's a very economical use of art materials.

A super solvent like acetone or Zylene will soften and eventually damage ABS, but one doesn't paint with those things.

[Layil]

also, could you perhaps show us a pic of how you hold your pallet? I never realized how you were supposed to hold one till i saw carl doing it, so maybe someone else might be wondering too... it would explain why you put your weight where you do as well....

[William Whitaker]

MORE ON PALETTES AND HOW TO HOLD A PALETTE

Hold your palette so the big part, where you hold and mix your paint, is resting on your forearm. Poking through my collection of photos, I don't have a real clear shot of my holding a palette. Sorry!

First photo below shows my palette resting on my left forearm (I'm right handed). A little metal cup holding painting medium (in this case Graham's Walnut/Alkyd medium) is clipped to the upper part of the palette. I have room left over in my left hand to hold extra brushes and a mahlstick.. I rest the end of the mahlstick on the edge of the canvas and rest (and steady) my painting hand on the length of the stick. This keeps my hand out of the wet paint! I apologize that my subject doesn't look like a space alien.

Second photo, more of the same.

[William Whitaker]

TONED GROUND
I advocate painting on a toned ground, a neutral cool tone making it easier to get glowing flesh colors fast. For more moody effects, try lay in several colors in an abstract pattern and work complimentary colors over them, letting the undertones influence the final effect.

Here I tone a white support with a thin mix of a neutral color (Raw Umber+ultramarine blue, or my current favorite, Mars Black.) I thin it way down with turps or mineral spirits, add some Alkyd resin or other painting medium to make it stick better and dry faster, brush or wipe it on, and wipe the tone back to a light midtone value. It works best if the tone has a few days to dry before doing your painting on it.

Finally, I'm attaching a 1 1/2 hour head study I did as a demo for a group of high school art teachers last week. This shows the effect of color over a toned ground (Mars black, very thin). This is also a good example of how I start a painting.

[William Whitaker]

Finally....
for those of you who are interested in my non-space alien model (and I'm sure one of you must be) here is a recent 12x9" painting of her on ABS panel. If you live in Santa Fe, you can see it at the Nedra Matteucci Gallery on Paseo de Peralta.

[timpaatkins]

Thanks a lot William! I have just started oil painting, and I cant wait for the tour (or the workshop for that matter!)

Of course, Ive encountered a few problems, mainly that I went out and bought 20 paints (mainly Rembrandt's, but got some Gamblin, Windsor Newton, Sennelier and Holbein too, just too see what I preferred) I find that the Rembrandt's oil separates from the
pigment. Is this a problem?

This is a list of what I got:
Titanium White
Cadmium Lemon Yellow
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Naples Yellow
Yellow Orcre
Raw Sienna
Burnt Umber
Burnt Sienna
Venetian Red
Alizarin Permanent
Quinacridone Red
Cadmium Red Medium
Permanent Madder Light
Cobalt Blue
Cerrulean Blue
French Ultramarine
Prussian Blue
Terre Vert
Sap Green
Emerald Green
Vermillion
Paynes Grey
Lamp Black


I feel as if I'm trying to rune before learning how to crawl. Should I exclude a number of these? I was aiming to get a warm, neutral and cool of each color.
Also, I tried a wooden palate, but when mixing/picking up colors with he brush, I found that it really tore down on the bristles. I did not however sand and seal the palate first, except with some stand oil.
Anyways, I went and bought a large white plastic pallet, and a wooden one covered with white laminate. Will I be laughed out of the room with these?

The brushes I use ( or try at least) are Princeton 5200 Bs, mainly brights, and Princeton 4000B.

As a painting medium we are told to mix 2 parts turpenoid, one part stand oil and one part Damar Varnish.


Hopefully this can be of help to someone else too.

With great respect

Tim

[William Whitaker]

Originally Posted by timpaatkins

Thanks a lot William! I have just started oilpainting, and I cant wait for the tour (or the workshop for that matter!)

Of course, Ive encounterde a few problems, mailny that I went out and bought 20 paints (mainly Rembrants, but got some GamblinWindsor Newton, Sennelier and Holbein too, just too see what I prefered) I find that the Rembrnats oil separates from the
pigment. Is this a problem?

I feel as if im trying to rune before learning how to crawl. Should I exclude a number of these? I was aiming to get a warm, neutral and cool of each color.
Also, I tried a wodden palate, but when mixing/picking up colors witht he brush, I found that it really tore down on the bristles. I did not however sand and seal the palate first, except with some stand oil.
Anyways, I went and bought a large white plastic pallet, and a wodden one covered with white laminate. Will I be laughed out of the room with these?

The brushes I use ( or try at least) are Princeton 5200 Bs, mainly brights, and Princeton 4000B.

As a painting medium we are told to mix 2 parts turpenoid, one part stand oil and one part Damar Varnish.


Hopefully this can be of help to someone else too.

With great respect

Tim

OIL SEPARATING FROM PIGMENT:
Actually, this is a sign of a better quality paint Tim. I'll tell you why at the workshop. Remind me!
PAINTS YOU HAVE:
Looks like you are ready for anything! All the various brands are just fine. You can loosen up the stiffer ones with painting medium.
PAINTING MEDIUM:
The stand oil/damar medium is very much 1950's abstract expressionism - good for fast, thick and loose, not so good for contemporary concept work. If you can't find the Graham Walnut/Alkyd medium, then buy some alkyd resin, (GALKYD or LIQUIN). Mix your alkyd resin half-and-half with some SUN THICKENED OIL. Go to some trouble to find a fairly small bottle to put this in - you won't need very much of it at the workshop and it is best not to mix too much at one time. You can add a bit of turpentine or mineral spirit to the mix at the workshop if you need to. Sometimes you don't need to.
PALETTE:
I suggest you sand the paint off your wood palette, make a stain out of some of your Burnt Sienna and Raw Sienna (about half-and-half) add some alkyd resin to it, and water it down with turpentine or mineral spirit. Use this to stain your palette - wipe it on, then wipe it back to taste. Let it dry two or three days, then buy a small can of SHELLAC at a home center (Home Depot or somesuch), dip a wad of paper towel in the shellac and wipe it on your palette quickly - front and back. Let dry for an hour and then lightly sand and rub on two or three more coats. Give it a final careful light sanding, and you're done!
BRUSH:
If you can afford it, buy at least one hog's bristle filbert, maybe a #2.

I will never laugh at you or anybody else who's trying their best. There is a great deal to learn and there is no shame in that. Be thankful that you will only get better as you get older, since you will get older regardless!

[Brendan N]

Wow, this is awesome great!
I'm to start my first serious oil painting soon, no doubt I'll go over these things before I start off.
Many thanks for sharing, very interesting!

ciao!

- d.

[look]

Thanks for the information. I wasn't going to bring oil set to the workshop before, fear it might be too much to carry. Now I can give oil paint a shot.

[Jedmo]

Thanks for all the information William, it will be really great to soak up more of your knowledge at the tour/workshop.

[William Whitaker]

RECOMMENED OIL PAINTING SURFACE FOR THE WORKSHOP

If you are close to any mid-size to large city, I suggest you go to the Yellow Pages, check around, and find out where you can buy Frosted Mylar. I’ve been able to get it from university bookstores, places that sell drafting and architectural supplies, and even some office supply stores. Frosted Mylar comes in various weights, up to the equivalent of heavy weight drawing paper. The stuff I have is about as thick as an ordinary sheet of computer printer paper. You can cut it with a razor blade to any size you want.

Then buy a piece of white foam core board. A craft store like Michael’s carries it, as do many art supply stores. I buy 20x30” half inch thick sheets from Michael’s. Foam core board is easily cut with a razor blade and a straight edge. Use the foam core board as a backing when you paint on your Mylar. You might also buy a sheet of grey Cansen paper and tape it between the Mylar and the foam core board. This serves to "tone" your canvas so your whites will optically glow when you put them down.

You do not have to prime or prepare your frosted Mylar. It is a fine surface to practice on, it’s very permanent, and best of all you can stack a great many studies in a relatively small space. To master oil techniques and develop your style, you need to make hundreds of exercises and studies over time. This the best, most economical way I know of doing it.

If you are worried about traveling with your kit, your backing board and your Mylar don't need to be very large. You can get by with 8x10" sizes for practice.

[j a k e]

I'm most definitely getting a bunch of Frosted Mylar and some board. Oh so many studies I will do!
Thanks William, reading this is a huge help and extremely good stuff.

[Malicious Panda]

Wow, invaluable information to know! Thank you so much for sharing this, however, as I'm completely new to painting with oils, would you still recommend those brushes? Or should I get something cheaper to practice with?

The first time I tried out painting was in a life drawing session, but I had not the slightest of clue o what to do, and I was using Linseed/Turpenoid as a medium, and I was using canvas paper, with winsor and newton paints, and two flats and two round, not sure of the brand or quality of the brushes, and as for the palette, I bought a plastic one, just a medium sized clear plastic one, bleh, feel kind of ashamed with my inexperience.

I'm going to be attending the workshop, but I'm not sure if I should take all this stuff, seeing as how I'm completely new, and probably would be overwhelmed by it all. I was thinking of maybe of just watching others work and see how they do it.

But anyways, I'll try and get some more of the stuff you recommended so I can start getting practice with painting in!

[William Whitaker]

M. Panda and others in the same boat,
You can learn to paint in oils almost entirely from the many great instructional books and videos currently available, coupled with watching professionals at work. At the Insomnia workshop you can watch a number of professional artists paint in a variety of styles and methods. There are many ways to paint and the reason the discipline takes so long to master is that you have to try everything in depth to find out what works for you and what doesn’t.

None of us should feel shy or ashamed, for we are learning art all our lives. Currently I’m learning the most useful stuff from artists decades younger than myself.

If you think you’d like to get a start in oils, bring your paints. I think I can be most useful to you if I you come prepared to do a bit of oil painting yourself. There are things about paint consistency and brush handling you can’t entirely pick up from books and observation. Bring your paints and I’ll show you some very useful basics, working with you one-on-one or in small groups.

Tomorrow I’ll post an ABSOLUTE BASIC OIL SUPPLY LIST for the workshop. How basic? Think one brush and two colors! I’ll flesh this out with an illustrated post tomorrow evening.

[Crush]

William, I'm not going to the workshop, but I have to say thank you so much for what you have put into this thread. I can't speak for everyone else here but I'm sure they are all as appreciative as I am

Hope you enjoy the workshop! (wish I was there, it's gonna be awesome )

[hp]

omg thank you so much for all the tips! ^^

um, just a question, will all this stuff be allowed on the airplane? i'll go look up the guidelines but just in case.

and how about transportation? i'm afraid of everything smearing on the way back.

[chaosrocks]

I wonder if the frosted vellum they make for inkjet printers would work.....
its cheap and feels lot like frosted mylar
has a porous surface......
I have some.....

It's all an experiment!
chaos

[William Whitaker]

Check it out for us and report! It could be an excellent idea.

[chaosrocks]

underpaintng seems to stick ok...its a much smoother surface than I am used to painting on. the colours are easy to push around... we'll see how they dry..

its all and experiment
chaos