Starting with Oil Paints
Oil Paints
Oil painting has been a widespread painting medium since the Dutch developed it in the fourteenth century. Although oil painting appears complicated, once you know the process its not as daunting as it may seem. Simply put, one needs only the paints, a solvent, a surface and an assortment of brushes.
The Paints
Oil paints are made from pigments ground with a binder and are categorized into artist and student quality. Artist quality oils contain a higher grade pigment while student quality oils contain less, and are therefore less expensive. Even though different manufacturers sell the same colors, they are not necessarily equal in hue or quality. It is always a good idea to test different brands until you find your favorites. Higher quality oil paints are worth their initial investment because a little amount of paint goes a long way. When purchasing paints try to include a warm and a cool of each color.
Solvents & Mediums
Because solvents are used to thin oil paints before applying them to the surface, turpentine and turpentine substitutes are essential items in the oil painting workspace. As well as being used to thin the paint you have chosen to put on your palette, turpentine is used to wipe off excess paint from brushes and to clean your palette. It is a good idea to have two jars within reach, one filled with turpentine and the other, just as important, a medium. Turpentine is needed to give the brushes a cleaning between paint applications and when switching colors. A medium is used to thin the paint before applying it to the canvas. A traditional medium is a 50/50 solution of turpentine and linseed oil. There are many variants to this mixture and many commercially made mediums are also available. Adding a medium to your paints not only thins them, it also gives your work a glossy reflective quality when dry.
Supports
A primed canvas is the most popular surface for painting. Priming a canvas, usually with gesso, prevents the paint from being absorbed into the canvas. Canvas can be bought pre-assembled and ready to go, or can be made easily by the do-it-yourselfer. If you decide to do it yourself you will need the following items: artist stretcher frames, which are sold as single wooden bars in many different sizes that interlock with each other to form a frame; canvas, which can be bought by the yard and is stapled to the frame; and gesso, which is applied in a couple of coats to the canvas similar to applying a coat of primer paint to a wall in your house.
Brushes
In broad terms, brushes can be broken down into groups of stiff hog hair bristle brushes, or soft, sable and synthetic brushes. All of these brushes can be used in producing different stroke qualities. It is important to have a wide selection, small through large, in a variety of shapes. Keep brushes clean by wiping off excess paint with turpentine and wash gently with
soap and water.
Palettes
You will need a surface on which to place your pigments. Considerations include different shapes and sizes which are available in a large range of materials. Wooden, plastic and glass palettes are among the traditional oil paint palettes.
Easels
There are many different types of easels. An easel gives you a moveable, usually adjustable working surface. It is extremely useful, and with a more portable model, lets you paint wherever you want. For beginners not interested in investing in an easel, a canvas frame can be hung on a wall with two nails.
Understanding Oil Absorption
Every pigment requires a different amount of oil to bring it to the desired consistency. As the oil absorption of pigments varies considerably, a pigment like alizarin requires almost twice as much oil by volume as lead white. Manufacturer’s take the absorption rate into consideration when creating their paints and have adjusted the formulas to provide consistent color performance.
Regardless of the steps manufacturer’s have taken to adjust their paints, in practice, artists should avoid underpainting with fast-drying colors with high oil content (such as umbers, siennas and cobalt blues). Doing so may result in badly-structured paint film which causes the lower layers to be more flexible than those superimposed and results in cracking.
Approximate Oil Content of Manufactured Oil Colors HIGH (more than 70%): burnt umber, raw and burnt sienna, phthalocyanines (pthalos), alizarin, cobalt, quinacridones and lamp black.
MEDIUM (55-70%): cadmiums, synthetic iron oxides, ivory black (can be high), oxide of chromium, raw umber, chromes and most azos.
LOW (less than 55%): ultramarine, manganese blue and flake white.
Approximate Drying Times of Manufactured Oil Colors FAST DRYING (around 2 days): aureolin, manganese violet, prussian blue, raw sienna, raw umber, burnt umber and white lead.
MEDIUM DRYING (around 5 days): phthalocyanines (pthalos), burnt sienna (medium to fast), chromes, cobalt violet, manganese blue, ultramarine, synthetic iron oxides, cadmiums, titanium white, zinc white, lamp black and ivory black (medium to slow).
SLOW DRYING (more than 5 days): azos, quinacridones and alizarin.