One of the best art educators out there. Thank You so much miss Dianne for sharing Your professional, warm, educational, and lovingly patient self with the world ❤
Thanks so much for the clarification. This was very informative and educational. Specially for those people who are self taught, like me, I find this video extremely useful. I truly appreciate your time, knowledge and unselfish way of teaching. Great job!
Only in this video did the eureka of "fat over lean" made sense to me. And the pondering question of when to use a fast drying medium(alkyd) comes in play. Thank you very much!
I was about to ask you to make a Quick Tip about this topic and then i just found this video which asked my main doubts. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thank you, perfect explanation! I'm not a native English speaker and sometimes somethings can get a little lost in translation to me, but your video is so detailed in explaining all of the factors affecting the oil paints and more importantly, wat it all means and separating the differences. I was looking for this for soooo long.
Awesome as always, Mrs. Dianne! I really wish I could have had you as a teacher when I was in school. Very informative. Still looking forward to the video on rendering fabric textures, (i think that's how you put it).
Your rendering fabric textures is on the schedule. It had to get in line behind a pretty long list of requests, more than I had realized when you first requested it. Stay tuned as it now looks as if it will appear in March.
I am a “studio painter”. Despite all the rage for plein air ,I would much rather paint in my cozy studio. This means that I am painting from photos that I have taken. I recently heard that an experienced artist can always tell if a painter is painting from a photo. As if there was a problem with that. In fact I recently heard an add for a video that will show one how to correct mistakes made when painting from photographs. What happens when paintings are taken from photos that rendered paintings unacceptable? What am I missing as a new painter?
Bonny, many master painters work from photo references, but there is an additional element common to all of them: they know their subject and they know how to adjust the painting according to how light and shadow behave. The camera cannot see like the human eye can see, so it will lose a lot of detail in shadow and in bright light. BUT, when taking your photos, you can zoom in to shadowed areas as well as brightly lit areas and get the info you need. (I did a blog article on how to do that. Go to archive.aweber.com/awlist4319336/PawW_ to find it.) A lot of plein air purists are entirely too dogmatic about painting in the studio using photographs as reference. Ignore that dogma and ignore those who say that a trained eye can always tell if a painting is done from a photo. If you copy a photo directly without compensating for what the camera misses, yes, a trained eye can detect that, BUT if you use your photos as references rather than merely to be copied, I dare any trained eye to be able to detect whether it was done in plein air or in the studio.
i would say there is a spectrum of legitimacy when it comes to the arts. the realest most legit, old school method would be - making your own paint and painting from life. Here's a simple list in order of most legit, to wow that's cheating. 1. painting from life 2. painting from a photo 3. painting from a grided photo 4.painting from an already filtered photo 5. tracing photos best to avoid the last 3. painting from photos is legitimately like painting from life with one eye closed.
I'm still so confused...I mix mine in a cold wax then thin it out just a bit with linseed oil...I have so much to learn..I love oil paint..I love the material...You have such a good channel and I'm glad I've found it
The best way to use oil paint is in the consistency of how it comes out of the tube, unless you want a strong impasto or unless it has sat in the tube for a long time and has stiffened up.
Alkyds are oil based, but when cured, they resemble something like an acrylic, being plastic-like and flexible. Very much different than a traditional oil paint, but totally soluble with oil based paints. Many painter use liquin in the preliminary layers, or underpainting, then go into straight paint or linseed oil later to avoid any issues with cracking.
Thanks Dianne , i recommend liquin original for a medium , solvents like white spirit and turps do destroy the integrity of the paint , i just use solvents for cleaning brushes . Merry Christmas Dianne x
Superb video With Turpentine - thinner and fast drying. Should be used for preliminary sketch Using oil paints as they are - fatter than above With linseed oil - fattest than above two and should be used at the end. Slow drying time. Alkyds like liquin - fast drying time and it is best to use them as a replacement for linseed oil and never as another addition. So it’s either 1. Turpentine 2. Linseed oil Or 1. Turpentine 2. Alkyds
Was thinking- with alla prima. If you paint thickly, and the outer paint of that single layer dries first before the paint underneath beneath the surface (is that the same basically as another layer underneath). The reason that the dried outer part of the thick layer of paint won't crack, as the paint underneath dries and hardens, is that it all has the same amount of fat in it , and so the dried surface has the same flexibility and so won't crack. Because a thick layer of paint could be thought of the same as two thinner layers of t
Just getting ready to start with oils - had my Gamsol and Liquin, and your clarification filled in my gap of knowledge - that I didn't even know I had! That's a good educator! Thanks. About oils in the tube being perfect, I've found that new tubes of oil hanging in a popular craft store often show a ring of dried oil outside the cap. Why? Are they leaking? So I'm wondering (1) should I replace a little linseed oil in the head space, and (2) at home should I store them vertically (cap at the top) or is laying horizontally ok? Sign me, An appreciative beginner. Good day and Blessings.
Rosa, any tubes of paint hanging in a craft store showing a ring of dried oil outside the cap should be avoided like the plague. First, most likely, they are an inferior brand or at least they've been there a long, long time. Second, the oil separated out will cause the paint to be too stiff, meaning you'd probably need to add and mix thoroughly a drop or two of linseed oil, once the paint is squeezed onto the palette, but don't try to replace it in the tube--it will just come right out again. As to storing tubes, storing them horizontally is perfectly fine. I keep mine stored in drawers of my taboret.
Thank you Dianne. Your answer was most assuring. I had been right in being picky and waiting on new tubes, so there are no plagues in my cardboard box, but I'll let the tubes lie down tonight and dream of the picture of a taboret (I had to look up, ha). Always a pleasure to learn from you.
Very educational. I have a question for you. I had bought Walnut oil Alkyd, thinking it was walnut oil, which I had thought I would use for painting and for cleaning brushes. Is the Walnut oil Alkyd used for brush cleaning as well? I am totally new to oil and was trying to approach it from a non solvent way. Also, when using oil and rubbing on your rags, what is your process for disposing of these rags? Thank you
No, alkyds are synthetic resins. I'm aware that some painters try to avoid solvents, but refined mineral spirits is relatively benign so it remains my preference for rinsing brushes. Gamsol is, in my opinion, the best choice. The best way to dispose of oily rags is to follow the flammable disposal policies in your area. Check with your waste disposal service to get that information.
Another post asked about painting from a picture. My aunt painted from her own photographs. One day, she mentioned that one should not. What do you think about the grid method for drawing? Also, what do you think of tracing? I've seen this taought at my city's high school and also taught at an assisted living class. My aunt thought that one should sketch freely. Thank you in advance.
Your aunt is correct. Read my blog post on painting from photos ( archive.aweber.com/awlist4319336/PawW_ ) and also ready my response to Bonny under in these Comments. About tracing: NEVER DO THAT! Tracing is an excuse for not being able to draw. This is not just my opinion, rather it is my experience from five decades of teaching college level as well as in my own school. The grid method for drawing is fine for when you want to expand a sketch or study into a larger painting, but NOT fine for working from a photo. Painting is not about just copying a photo, but rather about expressing one's response to a subject. Have you read my book Finding Freedom to Create? If not, perhaps doing so can explain better than I can in this limited space why these issues are so important. The book is found at www.amazon.com/Finding-Freedom-Create-Painters-Roadmap/dp/1452596948/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=finding+freedom+to+create&qid=1577459706&sr=8-2 .
Another great tip from You. I was also a bit confused abort mediums. I still wonder what medium You use when cleaning the brush when You chance colors . That may influence the paint.? Maybe a stupid question, but the last brick in my Puzzle when i changing from acrylic to Oil. Happy new year and thanks a million for charing You knowledge.
Berit, I use either Turpenoid or Gamsol (both refined mineral spirits) for cleaning my brushes between colors. I'm always careful to fully squeeze all the solvent out of the brush before putting it back into paint, so it doesn't at all influence the paint.
Dear professor, I believe the oil paint on its own would take longer to dry than the one with linseed oil. So there for, the sample with linseed oil added to the paint, won't be considered "fatter" than the paint on its own. But you are saying the opposite on this video. Could you please explain? Thank you so much.
Patricia, the binder in most oil paints is linseed oil, so yes you do make it fatter by adding pure linseed oil to it. Some pigments' interaction with the oil causes some colors to dry faster than others. For example, burnt umber will dry faster than cadmium yellow. The thicker applications, with or without addition of more oil, effects the drying rate, not whether linseed is added.
Can i use linseed oil and solvent in a under painting when paintings wet on wet layers impasto? Also can i mix linseed oil with safflower oil based oil paints like senneliar and w+n and lay them over the top of straight out of the tube paint? Thank you
Harry, there are many methods of using mediums with paint. My method uses no medium except when I'm setting the notan or when I need the paint to dry faster. Solvent alone with paint is better used in the initial layer because it weakens the integrity of the paint, but can be used as preliminary drawing and initial design placement underneath any technique.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction its just ive painted with paint out of the tube thickly and at once but sort of in layers and still had wrinkling unfortunately. Why would that be? Thanks
Another thing is some paints i have are just linseed oil basee and others just safflower oil or both. Can i use the linseed paints beneath the others or would i have to put a drop of safflower oil medium with the linseed paints if i want to use them wet on wet over the safflower paints? Thanks again lol 😀👍
Thanks for your information on Alkyds. It was very helpful. If I only use liquin would I need to change the ratio of paint to liquin/ alkyd medium ratio per layer?
Hi, thanks for the video:). I'm just thinking. If I put some paint straight from the tube onto the canvas. Then mix some oil in to the fresh paint on the pallet. Then paint a brushes worth on the canvas again. The second stroke of the the same size and volume as the first. Will that second stroke have the same amount of fat in as the first stroke? As paint straight from the tube is fat. Haven't I just changed the ratio of tube paint, and diluted more with oil, thus changing its integrity . I heard someone say you shouldn't add only pure oil to paint as paint may never dry
Wish someone would DEMONSTRATE on a completed painting how mediums are applied instead of just painting a swatch of color. I have BIG problems with this subject
I’m looking to move into oils from acrylic and will be using the liquin original fat over thin. I believe it’s one part to three parts ? when mixing how do I do this correctly?
Allen, I only use Liquin if I need an area to dry faster than normal. If you are switching over to oils, my advice is to use no medium unless your paint is too stiff to work with. And when you do use Liquin, use as little as possible rather than trying to gauge proportions.
You say the oil makes it ‘fat’ but it still thins out the paint? Correct? So if I were to start an oil painting I’d use solvent for the initial layers, and then on top of that use the paint straight out of the tube or with oil added for the final layers? Do I have to use alkyd? I’m a little confused about its application. Thanks.
Seán, when was use the term "fat" as related to oil painting, we are referring to the amount of oil in ratio to the amount of pigment in the paint. Scientists discovered a long time ago that oil does not evaporate, rather it oxidizes. Solvent, though, evaporates. Conservators discovered that old paintings whose surfaces had cracked did so mainly because the top layer oxidized faster than layers underneath. With a top layer dry, as a damper layer underneath dries, it shrinks, causing the top layer to crack with the tension of shrinking. The jury is still out about how alkyds behave in layering. But painters today who work in layers consider the degree to which each layer will dry, thus use a smaller ratio of alkyds in subsequent building of layers.
Almost never, Lewis. I'm am somewhat of a paint purist. I use a medium only if it has a technical characteristic that I need for the structure of the painting.
Thank you Dianne ! It's a very important information about oil painting. I have a query though ! Can I use Liquin Original for blocking the masses as my first layer. And then can I use oil as medium for the second and the third layer and so on for the detailed work to finish my painting? Can you please reply ?
Liquin is tricky and relatively new as compared with traditional mediums like linseed oil. Current advice is that if you use Liquin as your medium, that you not mix it with other mediums because of the chemistry. It's primary purpose is to speed up drying, according to Winsor & Newton, its manufacturer. According to them, because of it's fat content, it is better not to use it in the initial block-in layers.
Turpentine is a gum solvent whereas mineral spirits is a distilled petroleum. Artist grade refined mineral spirits is odorless and will not gum up your brushes, whereas turpentine has a strong odor and will gum up your brushes if it's not washed out of them with soap and water.
Thank you for the explanation which is very timely for me as I just bought some gamblin galkyd gel medium. This would be the "fat" maybe even fatter since it is gel. Maybe what I actually should have ordered was the galkyd in the bottle. I will try it anyway.Your advice to stick with what medium i choose helped me. Thanks. On another note, I want to purchase photoshop and I see now that you need a subscription. There is Photoshop Elements that you can buy instead of subscription options. Have you ever used PS Elements? Will it do the same job that PS does? Large price difference. I want to use the software similar to how you use it during your critiques. Shadow patterns, color changes, Notan, pixel enlargement or reduction. I realize that my iphone photos are not jpeg so i also want to change the file format. I am not a professional photographer so maybe i do not need the PS in the long run. Maybe Roger has advice too? Hope i am not asking too much of you.
About the galkyd gel, it speeds drying so that the paint dries at the same rate throughout the painting, so we couldn't call it fat even though it is thick. Fat refers to the amount of oil, but alkyd (in galkyd) is not an oil, but a synthetic resin that speeds drying. About the software: Years ago I used Photoshop Elements, but abandoned it when I discovered Artrage which is what I use for teaching and in critiques with students. However, Artrage is designed for painting and editing paintings, but not for other things such as changing pixels, enhancing light and color patterns, etc. For those things Photoshop Elements should serve you well. Take a look at this video comparing the two: th-cam.com/video/mWIlagBcYkI/w-d-xo.html . Beyond what Artrage does, I do most of my photo editing in IrfanView which is a free but scaled down photo editing software. And I do most of my designing in a desktop publisher called PagePlus. So in essence, for everything I do in teaching, I depend upon three pieces of software, each that does a really good job of what I need. If you choose Elements, most likely, you want need a desktop publisher. Hope this helps rather than confuse you further.
In the Studio Art Instruction thanks for ALL of the info. I used another gel medium that was very glossy but not a galkyd (I don’t think) mixed with oil paint. I want to try cold wax medium and the galkyd gel medium mixed into it is advised. I never heard of the other software variations but will check them out. May I ask why I would need a desk top publisher?
This was very informative, but I still have a question. What does one use if they want to paint wet in wet? An alkyd? Also, I have some old oil paints that are very stiff from age. To use them I would have to add a drop of oil. Does that automatically make them fat(ter)? 🤔
Wet in wet can be done with either oils, alkyd paints. watercolor, or acrylics, although with regular acrylics, you have to work really fast. When oil paints get too stiff, it's because the oil has separated from the pigment, so if you add back and mix thoroughly, one drop at a time of linseed oil, you have restored it to its original fatness.
this was really helpful!!!!! thank you :’) btw if i were to mix thinner and alkyd would that make it more lean? then for subsequent layers only use alkyd.
It's a bit risky to use thinner in your oil paint. It breaks down the integrity of the paint. The jury is still out about whether alkyd adds fat or not. The fat over lean concept evolved in the early days before alkyds came on the scene.
Thanks so much Dianne. For now am sticking to turps and linseed oil with oil paint, but if wanting to try alkyd, is it still OK to do the initial block-in for this with turps?
Alkyd facilitates the drying. Your painting method will determine how what combination of medium to paint you use. But using turps or mineral spirits to thin the paint for the preliminary drawing should be fine for both the layering method and the direct method.
If using walnut alkyd medium can I use that as well to oil out between painting layers?? Do you have to thin it with oms as I wonder if it would become too tacky too quickly (I’m guessing using linseed oil to oil out would be a bad idea if using alkyd medium) 💕
Alkyd mediums are polyester resins that dry faster than oils. Alkyd additives, when mixed with oil, combine with the oil and cause it to dry faster. When painting in layers, we consider the rate at which each layer will dry. If layers on top dry before layers underneath them, there is a chance the layer on top will crack.
There are minimal fumes from alkyds, but people who are highly sensitive to fumes find it offensive. Used sparingly, it is safe. Here is the Winsor Newton data sheet: willkempartschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Liquin-original-safety-sheet.pdf
Could i also mix 50/50 linseed oil and safflower oil together and use that as a medium? Would a oil paint with a drop of linseed and safflower oil added be more fatter than the paint straight out of the tube? Would a safflower based oil paint be less fat then the same paint with a drop of linseed oil in it? Will the same paint with linseed oil dry slower than the other Thank you 👍
Both linseed oil and safflower oil are plant based and dry by oxidation which means they can be mixed together, but each will influence the drying rate of the other. Safflower is the slower drying of the two. Any addition of oil to paint out of the tube makes it fatter, no matter which of the plant based drying oils is added.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction awesome . So you recommended i just use refined linseed oil to add to my safflower paints for the final layers. Thank you very much for you're time
One of the best art educators out there. Thank You so much miss Dianne for sharing Your professional, warm, educational, and lovingly patient self with the world ❤
Wow! Thanks so much! It's a delight to share these.
Thanks so much for the clarification. This was very informative and educational. Specially for those people who are self taught, like me, I find this video extremely useful. I truly appreciate your time, knowledge and unselfish way of teaching. Great job!
Thanks, Crisalida. It's our pleasure to share.
Only in this video did the eureka of "fat over lean" made sense to me. And the pondering question of when to use a fast drying medium(alkyd) comes in play. Thank you very much!
My pleasure. Thanks for watching.
Thank you so much Dianne. You're by far the best teacher online and my first port of call for any information I'm looking for.
Wow, thank YOU , JP.
Such a thorough and kind professor. I so enjoy your instruction especially during the holidays. Merry Christmas !
I bet her house always smells like cookies. Cookies and paint.
Rarely cookies, mostly paint.
Thanks.
I really appreciate your instruction. You have a knack for making very confusion elements and effectively simplifying them without oversimplifying.
Thanks, Duwayne.
I was about to ask you to make a Quick Tip about this topic and then i just found this video which asked my main doubts. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
My pleasure 😊
Thank you 🙏🏻 Dianne ❤
My pleasure!
Now it all makes more sense. Thank you for sharing your knowledge in this informative video. You have yourself a new subscriber. Have a lovely day 🌸
Awesome, thank you!
Thank you, perfect explanation! I'm not a native English speaker and sometimes somethings can get a little lost in translation to me, but your video is so detailed in explaining all of the factors affecting the oil paints and more importantly, wat it all means and separating the differences. I was looking for this for soooo long.
So glad it was helpful!
Thank you Dianne! This was very informative. I love all your Quick Tips and look forward to Wednesdays. They are so instructional.
Thanks, Sheryl.
Very instructive on oils again! Thanks a lot!
My pleasure.
Awesome as always, Mrs. Dianne! I really wish I could have had you as a teacher when I was in school. Very informative. Still looking forward to the video on rendering fabric textures, (i think that's how you put it).
Your rendering fabric textures is on the schedule. It had to get in line behind a pretty long list of requests, more than I had realized when you first requested it. Stay tuned as it now looks as if it will appear in March.
Thankyou ever so much for this video, I think I must have watched about 50 before I reached an explanation I understood. Thankyou thankyou thankyou!
You're very welcome!
Thank you Dianne - very good tip - wishing you a Happy, Healthy New Year - looking forward to your videos for 2020.
Thanks, Caz. A Happy New Year to you, too.
As always simplifying the process best teacher out there
Thanks so much Allen
Excellent explanation and demonstration, most comprehensible I've found. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you lady D explanation was great 👍🏻 you are natural maestro of art 🖼
Thanks.
I am a “studio painter”. Despite all the rage for plein air ,I would much rather paint in my cozy studio. This means that I am painting from photos that I have taken. I recently heard that an experienced artist can always tell if a painter is painting from a photo. As if there was a problem with that. In fact I recently heard an add for a video that will show one how to correct mistakes made when painting from photographs.
What happens when paintings are taken from photos that rendered paintings unacceptable? What am I missing as a new painter?
Bonny, many master painters work from photo references, but there is an additional element common to all of them: they know their subject and they know how to adjust the painting according to how light and shadow behave.
The camera cannot see like the human eye can see, so it will lose a lot of detail in shadow and in bright light. BUT, when taking your photos, you can zoom in to shadowed areas as well as brightly lit areas and get the info you need. (I did a blog article on how to do that. Go to archive.aweber.com/awlist4319336/PawW_ to find it.)
A lot of plein air purists are entirely too dogmatic about painting in the studio using photographs as reference. Ignore that dogma and ignore those who say that a trained eye can always tell if a painting is done from a photo. If you copy a photo directly without compensating for what the camera misses, yes, a trained eye can detect that, BUT if you use your photos as references rather than merely to be copied, I dare any trained eye to be able to detect whether it was done in plein air or in the studio.
i would say there is a spectrum of legitimacy when it comes to the arts. the realest most legit, old school method would be - making your own paint and painting from life. Here's a simple list in order of most legit, to wow that's cheating.
1. painting from life
2. painting from a photo
3. painting from a grided photo
4.painting from an already filtered photo
5. tracing photos
best to avoid the last 3.
painting from photos is legitimately like painting from life with one eye closed.
your videos are always so thorough ! truly my favorites !
Glad you like them! Thanks for watching.
I'm still so confused...I mix mine in a cold wax then thin it out just a bit with linseed oil...I have so much to learn..I love oil paint..I love the material...You have such a good channel and I'm glad I've found it
The best way to use oil paint is in the consistency of how it comes out of the tube, unless you want a strong impasto or unless it has sat in the tube for a long time and has stiffened up.
Hiya Dianne, thanks very much, and a happy Christmas and a healthy, and happy New Year. 🇬🇧😎🎨❤️
Thanks, David. And Happy New Year to you!
Alkyds are oil based, but when cured, they resemble something like an acrylic, being plastic-like and flexible. Very much different than a traditional oil paint, but totally soluble with oil based paints. Many painter use liquin in the preliminary layers, or underpainting, then go into straight paint or linseed oil later to avoid any issues with cracking.
Thanks for adding that.
Thankyou so much. Very helpful. ✨
My pleasure.
Glad to know about more about these basic mediums - thanks!
My pleasure.
This is just the information I was looking for. Many thanks
Great to hear!
Thank you for the explanation of fat over lean, it had me very puzzled, now I understand.
Great. If I can give clarity, I've done my job.
Much appreciated!! I needed this today. Thanks!!
Great. My pleasure.
Really informational!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks Dianne , i recommend liquin original for a medium , solvents like white spirit and turps do destroy the integrity of the paint , i just use solvents for cleaning brushes . Merry Christmas Dianne x
Thanks for adding that Alan.
Superb video
With Turpentine - thinner and fast drying. Should be used for preliminary sketch
Using oil paints as they are - fatter than above
With linseed oil - fattest than above two and should be used at the end. Slow drying time.
Alkyds like liquin - fast drying time and it is best to use them as a replacement for linseed oil and never as another addition.
So it’s either
1. Turpentine 2. Linseed oil
Or
1. Turpentine 2. Alkyds
Thanks for spelling that out.
you are the best... Thank you so much you were soooooo clear on your explanation.
Thanks! Always a pleasure.
Merry Christmas. Thank you for making professional videos :)
It's our pleasure.
Always very helpful!
Great!
Was thinking- with alla prima. If you paint thickly, and the outer paint of that single layer dries first before the paint underneath beneath the surface (is that the same basically as another layer underneath). The reason that the dried outer part of the thick layer of paint won't crack, as the paint underneath dries and hardens, is that it all has the same amount of fat in it , and so the dried surface has the same flexibility and so won't crack. Because a thick layer of paint could be thought of the same as two thinner layers of t
Same as two thinner layers with the same amount of fat in. And the thick single layer doesn't crack on top because of its fat content and flexibility.
Pete, check out Gamblin's diagram at gamblincolors.com/fat-over-lean/
Great video. I am going to try alkyde 🎉 cause i want thin layers from the very beggining 🎉
Have fun with it.
Just getting ready to start with oils - had my Gamsol and Liquin, and your clarification filled in my gap of knowledge - that I didn't even know I had! That's a good educator! Thanks. About oils in the tube being perfect, I've found that new tubes of oil hanging in a popular craft store often show a ring of dried oil outside the cap. Why? Are they leaking? So I'm wondering (1) should I replace a little linseed oil in the head space, and (2) at home should I store them vertically (cap at the top) or is laying horizontally ok? Sign me, An appreciative beginner. Good day and Blessings.
Rosa, any tubes of paint hanging in a craft store showing a ring of dried oil outside the cap should be avoided like the plague. First, most likely, they are an inferior brand or at least they've been there a long, long time. Second, the oil separated out will cause the paint to be too stiff, meaning you'd probably need to add and mix thoroughly a drop or two of linseed oil, once the paint is squeezed onto the palette, but don't try to replace it in the tube--it will just come right out again.
As to storing tubes, storing them horizontally is perfectly fine. I keep mine stored in drawers of my taboret.
Thank you Dianne. Your answer was most assuring. I had been right in being picky and waiting on new tubes, so there are no plagues in my cardboard box, but I'll let the tubes lie down tonight and dream of the picture of a taboret (I had to look up, ha). Always a pleasure to learn from you.
Thank you so much for explaining this so well! Happy New Years!
Always a pleasure.
This so helpful! Thank you so much!
You're so welcome!
TY
YW
Very educational. I have a question for you. I had bought Walnut oil Alkyd, thinking it was walnut oil, which I had thought I would use for painting and for cleaning brushes. Is the Walnut oil Alkyd used for brush cleaning as well? I am totally new to oil and was trying to approach it from a non solvent way. Also, when using oil and rubbing on your rags, what is your process for disposing of these rags? Thank you
No, alkyds are synthetic resins. I'm aware that some painters try to avoid solvents, but refined mineral spirits is relatively benign so it remains my preference for rinsing brushes. Gamsol is, in my opinion, the best choice.
The best way to dispose of oily rags is to follow the flammable disposal policies in your area. Check with your waste disposal service to get that information.
Thank you
Nice explanation that's omg❤❤❤
Thank you!
Thank you ma'am!
You're welcome 😊
Another post asked about painting from a picture. My aunt painted from her own photographs. One day, she mentioned that one should not. What do you think about the grid method for drawing? Also, what do you think of tracing? I've seen this taought at my city's high school and also taught at an assisted living class. My aunt thought that one should sketch freely. Thank you in advance.
Your aunt is correct. Read my blog post on painting from photos ( archive.aweber.com/awlist4319336/PawW_ ) and also ready my response to Bonny under in these Comments.
About tracing: NEVER DO THAT! Tracing is an excuse for not being able to draw. This is not just my opinion, rather it is my experience from five decades of teaching college level as well as in my own school.
The grid method for drawing is fine for when you want to expand a sketch or study into a larger painting, but NOT fine for working from a photo. Painting is not about just copying a photo, but rather about expressing one's response to a subject.
Have you read my book Finding Freedom to Create? If not, perhaps doing so can explain better than I can in this limited space why these issues are so important. The book is found at www.amazon.com/Finding-Freedom-Create-Painters-Roadmap/dp/1452596948/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=finding+freedom+to+create&qid=1577459706&sr=8-2 .
Another great tip from You. I was also a bit confused abort mediums. I still wonder what medium You use when cleaning the brush when You chance colors . That may influence the paint.? Maybe a stupid question, but the last brick in my Puzzle when i changing from acrylic to Oil. Happy new year and thanks a million for charing You knowledge.
Berit, I use either Turpenoid or Gamsol (both refined mineral spirits) for cleaning my brushes between colors. I'm always careful to fully squeeze all the solvent out of the brush before putting it back into paint, so it doesn't at all influence the paint.
Dear professor, I believe the oil paint on its own would take longer to dry than the one with linseed oil. So there for, the sample with linseed oil added to the paint, won't be considered "fatter" than the paint on its own. But you are saying the opposite on this video. Could you please explain? Thank you so much.
Patricia, the binder in most oil paints is linseed oil, so yes you do make it fatter by adding pure linseed oil to it. Some pigments' interaction with the oil causes some colors to dry faster than others. For example, burnt umber will dry faster than cadmium yellow. The thicker applications, with or without addition of more oil, effects the drying rate, not whether linseed is added.
Can i use linseed oil and solvent in a under painting when paintings wet on wet layers impasto? Also can i mix linseed oil with safflower oil based oil paints like senneliar and w+n and lay them over the top of straight out of the tube paint? Thank you
Harry, there are many methods of using mediums with paint. My method uses no medium except when I'm setting the notan or when I need the paint to dry faster. Solvent alone with paint is better used in the initial layer because it weakens the integrity of the paint, but can be used as preliminary drawing and initial design placement underneath any technique.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction its just ive painted with paint out of the tube thickly and at once but sort of in layers and still had wrinkling unfortunately. Why would that be? Thanks
Another thing is some paints i have are just linseed oil basee and others just safflower oil or both. Can i use the linseed paints beneath the others or would i have to put a drop of safflower oil medium with the linseed paints if i want to use them wet on wet over the safflower paints? Thanks again lol 😀👍
Ok Diane…I will keep to Liquin only for my paintings……but can I use a solvent to clean out my brushes between different colours of paint
Liz, yes. The solvent's role is to dissolve the paint or thin it. See Quick Tip 258.
Thanks for your information on Alkyds. It was very helpful. If I only use liquin would I need to change the ratio of paint to liquin/ alkyd medium ratio per layer?
No. You can keep it the same all the way through. Just be sure that subsequent layers don't have more Liquin and those underneath.
I am still a little confused. When do I use Liquin? First layer or subsequent layers?
Liquin is to speed up drying. I suggest if you use it, then stick with it as your only medium and you won't have to fret about which layer.
Hi, thanks for the video:). I'm just thinking. If I put some paint straight from the tube onto the canvas. Then mix some oil in to the fresh paint on the pallet. Then paint a brushes worth on the canvas again. The second stroke of the the same size and volume as the first. Will that second stroke have the same amount of fat in as the first stroke? As paint straight from the tube is fat. Haven't I just changed the ratio of tube paint, and diluted more with oil, thus changing its integrity . I heard someone say you shouldn't add only pure oil to paint as paint may never dry
That you should always add some solvent to the oil you use
Wrong, Pete. See my response above.
Ty. If your using liquin then you don't need to fatten subsequent layers?
No, Teresa. Liquin is only a medium that speeds up the drying of the paint.
So I love the consistency of liquin original, but I hate to toxicity, so what product from Gamblin is going to give me something very similar to that?
Gamblin has an alkyd medium call galkld.
Wish someone would DEMONSTRATE on a completed painting how mediums are applied instead of just painting a swatch of color. I have BIG problems with this subject
Using mediums just either thins paints or speeds or retards its drying. Perhaps search on TH-cam for using mediums in painting.
I’m looking to move into oils from acrylic and will be using the liquin original fat over thin. I believe it’s one part to three parts ? when mixing how do I do this correctly?
Allen, I only use Liquin if I need an area to dry faster than normal. If you are switching over to oils, my advice is to use no medium unless your paint is too stiff to work with. And when you do use Liquin, use as little as possible rather than trying to gauge proportions.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction got itI’m switching from acrylics so I want fast dry time . I’m so used to it
You say the oil makes it ‘fat’ but it still thins out the paint? Correct? So if I were to start an oil painting I’d use solvent for the initial layers, and then on top of that use the paint straight out of the tube or with oil added for the final layers?
Do I have to use alkyd? I’m a little confused about its application.
Thanks.
Seán, when was use the term "fat" as related to oil painting, we are referring to the amount of oil in ratio to the amount of pigment in the paint. Scientists discovered a long time ago that oil does not evaporate, rather it oxidizes. Solvent, though, evaporates. Conservators discovered that old paintings whose surfaces had cracked did so mainly because the top layer oxidized faster than layers underneath. With a top layer dry, as a damper layer underneath dries, it shrinks, causing the top layer to crack with the tension of shrinking.
The jury is still out about how alkyds behave in layering. But painters today who work in layers consider the degree to which each layer will dry, thus use a smaller ratio of alkyds in subsequent building of layers.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction thank you!
Thanks Dianne for this tip. Do you ever use cold wax as a medium?
Almost never, Lewis. I'm am somewhat of a paint purist. I use a medium only if it has a technical characteristic that I need for the structure of the painting.
Thank you Dianne ! It's a very important information about oil painting. I have a query though !
Can I use Liquin Original for blocking the masses as my first layer. And then can I use oil as medium for the second and the third layer and so on for the detailed work to finish my painting? Can you please reply ?
Liquin is tricky and relatively new as compared with traditional mediums like linseed oil. Current advice is that if you use Liquin as your medium, that you not mix it with other mediums because of the chemistry. It's primary purpose is to speed up drying, according to Winsor & Newton, its manufacturer. According to them, because of it's fat content, it is better not to use it in the initial block-in layers.
what is the difference between terpentine, white spirits, etc? Which one is better?
Turpentine is a gum solvent whereas mineral spirits is a distilled petroleum. Artist grade refined mineral spirits is odorless and will not gum up your brushes, whereas turpentine has a strong odor and will gum up your brushes if it's not washed out of them with soap and water.
Thank you for the explanation which is very timely for me as I just bought some gamblin galkyd gel medium. This would be the "fat" maybe even fatter since it is gel. Maybe what I actually should have ordered was the galkyd in the bottle. I will try it anyway.Your advice to stick with what medium i choose helped me. Thanks.
On another note, I want to purchase photoshop and I see now that you need a subscription.
There is Photoshop Elements that you can buy instead of subscription options. Have you ever used PS Elements? Will it do the same job that PS does? Large price difference. I want to use the software similar to how you use it during your critiques. Shadow patterns, color changes, Notan, pixel enlargement or reduction. I realize that my iphone photos are not jpeg so i also want to change the file format. I am not a professional photographer so maybe i do not need the PS in the long run. Maybe Roger has advice too? Hope i am not asking too much of you.
About the galkyd gel, it speeds drying so that the paint dries at the same rate throughout the painting, so we couldn't call it fat even though it is thick. Fat refers to the amount of oil, but alkyd (in galkyd) is not an oil, but a synthetic resin that speeds drying.
About the software: Years ago I used Photoshop Elements, but abandoned it when I discovered Artrage which is what I use for teaching and in critiques with students. However, Artrage is designed for painting and editing paintings, but not for other things such as changing pixels, enhancing light and color patterns, etc. For those things Photoshop Elements should serve you well. Take a look at this video comparing the two: th-cam.com/video/mWIlagBcYkI/w-d-xo.html .
Beyond what Artrage does, I do most of my photo editing in IrfanView which is a free but scaled down photo editing software. And I do most of my designing in a desktop publisher called PagePlus. So in essence, for everything I do in teaching, I depend upon three pieces of software, each that does a really good job of what I need. If you choose Elements, most likely, you want need a desktop publisher.
Hope this helps rather than confuse you further.
In the Studio Art Instruction thanks for ALL of the info. I used another gel medium that was very glossy but not a galkyd (I don’t think) mixed with oil paint.
I want to try cold wax medium and the galkyd gel medium mixed into it is advised. I never heard of the other software variations but will check them out. May I ask why I would need a desk top publisher?
This was very informative, but I still have a question. What does one use if they want to paint wet in wet? An alkyd? Also, I have some old oil paints that are very stiff from age. To use them I would have to add a drop of oil. Does that automatically make them fat(ter)? 🤔
Wet in wet can be done with either oils, alkyd paints. watercolor, or acrylics, although with regular acrylics, you have to work really fast.
When oil paints get too stiff, it's because the oil has separated from the pigment, so if you add back and mix thoroughly, one drop at a time of linseed oil, you have restored it to its original fatness.
Thanks, Dianne.
this was really helpful!!!!! thank you :’) btw if i were to mix thinner and alkyd would that make it more lean? then for subsequent layers only use alkyd.
It's a bit risky to use thinner in your oil paint. It breaks down the integrity of the paint. The jury is still out about whether alkyd adds fat or not. The fat over lean concept evolved in the early days before alkyds came on the scene.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction oh ok. so i guess it’s better for me to paint strictly with alkyds?
Thanks so much Dianne. For now am sticking to turps and linseed oil with oil paint, but if wanting to try alkyd, is it still OK to do the initial block-in for this with turps?
Alkyd facilitates the drying. Your painting method will determine how what combination of medium to paint you use. But using turps or mineral spirits to thin the paint for the preliminary drawing should be fine for both the layering method and the direct method.
Many thanks - mainly paint alla prima on location. Not sure how turps reacts with alkyd, which seems to be a resin produced in a chemical lab...
If using walnut alkyd medium can I use that as well to oil out between painting layers?? Do you have to thin it with oms as I wonder if it would become too tacky too quickly (I’m guessing using linseed oil to oil out would be a bad idea if using alkyd medium) 💕
Alkyd mediums are polyester resins that dry faster than oils. Alkyd additives, when mixed with oil, combine with the oil and cause it to dry faster. When painting in layers, we consider the rate at which each layer will dry. If layers on top dry before layers underneath them, there is a chance the layer on top will crack.
Would you plz explain what you use to clean your brushes if you do not use turps
For rinsing brushes while painting, I use Turpenoid, a refined odorless mineral spirits.
🙏😊
Is alkyd toxic? If I mix alkyd with oil paint, would it emit toxic fumes?
There are minimal fumes from alkyds, but people who are highly sensitive to fumes find it offensive. Used sparingly, it is safe. Here is the Winsor Newton data sheet: willkempartschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Liquin-original-safety-sheet.pdf
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction Thank you!
Could i also mix 50/50 linseed oil and safflower oil together and use that as a medium?
Would a oil paint with a drop of linseed and safflower oil added be more fatter than the paint straight out of the tube?
Would a safflower based oil paint be less fat then the same paint with a drop of linseed oil in it? Will the same paint with linseed oil dry slower than the other
Thank you 👍
Both linseed oil and safflower oil are plant based and dry by oxidation which means they can be mixed together, but each will influence the drying rate of the other. Safflower is the slower drying of the two. Any addition of oil to paint out of the tube makes it fatter, no matter which of the plant based drying oils is added.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction awesome . So you recommended i just use refined linseed oil to add to my safflower paints for the final layers. Thank you very much for you're time
I like my oil paint THICC if you know what I mean!
THICC!!!
👀
Roll the camera. Let us take a lesson… Thank you!🧑🎨♾️🎭
😊