Читать книгу Complete Artist’s Manual: The Definitive Guide to Materials and Techniques for Painting and Drawing - Simon Jennings - Страница 9
ОглавлениеPainting is a tactile and visual experience; in all good pictures there is a fascinating dialogue between the subject and the way the paint itself is applied and manipulated to express that subject. Whether you prefer the delicacy of watercolours, the richness of oils, the versatility of acrylics, the intricacy of tempera or the immediacy of gouache, the experience of working with a range of painting media will widen the scope of your artistic expression. Visit art-supply shops to stay in touch with what is new on the market, and don’t be afraid to experiment with unfamiliar materials and techniques.
| OIL PAINTS | Art shops stock an overwhelming range of paints, brushes, mediums, varnishes and assorted oil-painting paraphernalia. The equipment for painting in oils can be costly but, if you choose wisely and according to your own requirements, it need not be so. The basic essentials are about 10 or 12 tubes of paint, a few bristle brushes, a bottle of thinners or a prepared painting medium, a palette and a surface on which to paint. The painting surface, or support, can range from a sheet of top-quality linen canvas to a piece of hardboard. |
Oil paint constituents
Oil paint consists of dry pigments ground in a natural drying oil such as linseed, or a semi-drying oil such as safflower or poppy. Some brands of oil paint are matured and then remade with more pigment in order to achieve the right consistency, but most are given additives, such as plasticizers, driers and wax, to improve their flexibility and make them consistent in texture and drying speed. Stabilizers may also be added to prevent the oil and pigment separating in the tubes during storage. Most manufacturers offer at least two grades of paint: artists’, or first quality, and students’, or sketching quality.
Artists’ colours
A selection of artists’ oil paints
Artist-quality oil paints offer the widest range of colours and the greatest colour strength. They contain a high concentration of pigment, which is very finely ground with the finest-quality oils.
Students’ colours
A selection of students’ oil paints
Students’ colours are cheaper than artists’ colours, because they are made in larger quantities and the colour range is more limited. The more expensive pigments, such as cadmiums and cobalts, are replaced with some cheaper, but equally permanent, alternatives, and these colour names are suffixed with the word ‘hue’. Students’ colours may have lower pigment levels and contain small amounts of fillers, such as chalk, which will slightly weaken the colour strength of the paint.
Combining paints
Students’ colours are perfectly adequate for the beginner to practise with, and it is even possible to cut costs by combining the two types: for example, using artists’ paints for the pure, intense colours and students’ paints for the earth colours, which are often just as good as in the artists’ range. Some artists use students’ colours for underpainting, before adding artists’ paints for the final layers.
Size and price
Oil paint tubes range from 5ml (0.17 US fl oz) to a generous 200ml (6.66 US fl oz). The most useful size of all is probably 37ml (1.25 US fl oz), and a larger tube of white – say 56ml (1.86 US fl oz) – works out more economical, since white is used more than most other colours.
Artist-quality paints vary in price according to the initial cost of the pigment. In some brands, they are classified according to ‘series’, typically from 1 (the cheapest) to 7 (the most costly). The earth colours are the least expensive, while the cadmium colours will cost four times more. Some pigments, such as vermilion, are prohibitively expensive, and most manufacturers now replace them with modern synthetic pigments. Student-quality colours are sold at a uniform price.
Drying times
Fast-drying
(approximately two days)
Medium-drying
(approximately five days)
Slow-drying
(five to eight days)
The speed at which oil paint dries depends on the colour. Some pigments act upon the drying oils in which they are bound, speeding up the drying process; others slow it down (see here). Earth pigments dry rapidly, acquiring a skin overnight, whereas alizarin crimson may need up to 10 days to become touch-dry.
To accommodate these extremes, some paint manufacturers add drying agents to the slower-drying pigments; others grind fast-drying pigments with slower-drying oils, to obtain a paint range with more consistent qualities. Others add no drying agents, allowing the artist to decide whether to use fast-drying mediums.
Tinting strength
There is a variation in the tinting strength of different pigments. For example, Prussian blue and alizarin crimson will produce vivid colours when added in even very small quantities to white, whereas terre verte and raw umber become very pale when mixed with only a little white. When mixing a pale tint using strong colour, always add it to the white and in very small quantities – otherwise, you may get through a great deal of paint for little result.
Differences
Manufacturers do not formulate their paints in the same ways, so although colours in different brands may have the same names, their contents vary not only in the appearance of the colour but also in their cost, consistency, handling qualities, permanence and drying rates.
Which white?
The most important pigment in the oil painter’s palette is white, because it is used more than any other colour. It is therefore essential to use good-quality whites; even if you are using student-quality paints, it is worth buying a large tube of artist-quality white, as it has better covering power than the student grade.
Several whites are available, each with different properties, although as a general rule titanium white is the most reliable and versatile (see here).
Whites ground in poppy or safflower oil should not be used for priming or extensive underpainting. They are slow-drying, and can cause cracking of subsequent paint layers unless allowed to dry thoroughly. Use flake white, which is quick and thorough-drying, or one of the alkyd or underpainting whites.
Alkyd paints
These are made from pigments bound in an oil-modified synthetic resin. They handle in the same way as traditional oil paints, but have the advantage of being much faster-drying – in normal use, the paint surface is generally dry within an hour. Alkyds may be mixed with oil paints, which has the effect of speeding up the oils’ drying time and retarding that of the alkyds, so that all the colours dry at a relatively even rate. Any supports that are suitable for oil and acrylic paints may be used for alkyds, once primed with oil or acrylic primer.
Water-friendly oil paints
A selection of alkyd and water-friendly oil paints
In recent years, a few manufacturers have produced ranges of oil paints in which the oil binder has been modified to mix with, rather than repel, water. This does not preclude the use of traditional oil-based mediums and diluents, but means that thinning paint and cleaning brushes can be done with water. The advantage is that this eliminates the use of solvents, to which many people are allergic, and avoids a possible build-up of potentially dangerous vapours.
Caring for your paints
Paints tend to solidify in the tube if left uncapped. Replace the cap once you have used the paint, and make sure the threads on the cap and neck remain clean. Stuck caps can be opened with pliers, or by holding the tube under hot running water. As a last measure, stand the tube upside down in turpentine or white spirit for a few minutes, so that the cap and top of the tube are covered. Always squeeze a tube of paint from the bottom upwards, thus ensuring that there is as little air as possible inside the tube.
Avoiding waste
Oil paints are expensive. A palette knife held at an oblique angle and scraped along a finished paint tube will help to remove the last scrap of paint.
Pigment strength
Prussian blue
Alizarin crimson
Terre verte
Raw umber
Note the contrast in tint between the two pigments on the left and those on the right, when they have all been mixed with the same amount of white.
Drying speeds of oil paint
The following is a guide to approximate drying speeds of pigments bound in linseed oil. The drying rates may vary between brands, and colours bound with safflower or poppy oil are relatively slow-drying. When colours are mixed together, their drying rates may be altered.
Flake white
Also known as lead white or silver white, this is a comparatively quick-drying, durable and flexible paint, widely used in underpainting. It accelerates the drying of colours mixed with it. Flake white lacks the opacity of titanium white and the whiteness of zinc white. It is harmful if it is swallowed, as it contains lead, so keep it out of the reach of children.
Titanium white
Also known as permanent white, this is the whitest and most opaque white, which dries very slowly to a soft, chalky film. Its strong covering power is useful for mixing tints, and for highlights and final painting. It is classed as non-hazardous.
Zinc white
This has a pure, cold white appearance which does not darken with time. It is semi-opaque, and is suitable for tinting and glazing, but not for underpainting. Zinc white dries very slowly to a hard, brittle film. It is classed as non-hazardous.
SEE ALSO
| MIXING OIL COLOURS | Oil paint is expensive, but do not be mean with it. Always squeeze the paint out in generous mounds, or you will be constantly unscrewing tube caps and mixing up fresh batches of paint, which can become a chore. Any paint that is left over at the end of the session can always be reused in one way or another. |
Keep colours clean
Try to avoid using more than two or three colours in any one mixture. Any more than this, and the colours become lifeless and muddy. Always have a large jar of turpentine and a rag nearby, so that when you have finished with a particular colour you can clean the brush or palette knife thoroughly and not contaminate the next colour.
Mixing methods
When mixing oil paints on the palette, use either a brush or a palette knife. A knife is preferable for mixing large quantities of paint, and it will certainly save a lot of wear and tear on your brushes. When working fast and mixing small quantities of colour, however, a brush is more convenient. Old, worn brushes are useful for this purpose – never mix paint with sable brushes, as it quickly ruins them.
Adding diluents
Mediums and diluents should be added to paint gradually, and in small amounts. Including an excess of thinning agent may result in an underbound paint film that is prone to flaking.
Mixing paint
Fully mixing two colours produces a solid third colour; partly mixing them allows the two original colours to still be part of the mixture.
Reusing oil colour
Scrape paint off the palette with a knife and store in an airtight container for use next time round. Even ‘palette mud’ (the dull colour left when many colours have been mixed) can be useful – thin it down with turpentine and use it for tinting canvases and boards. Paint which has been exposed on the palette for long periods will have begun to oxidize, and is therefore not stable enough for use. If the paint feels gummy or it requires a lot of thinners to make it workable, then it should be discarded.
Palette-knife method
A palette knife is convenient for mixing large amounts of paint and avoids damaging your brushes. Use a scoop-and-slide action to mix the colours thoroughly.
Brush method
When mixing paint with a brush, use gentle sweeping and rotary motions in order to minimize excessive wear and tear on the bristles.
SEE ALSO
| MAKING OIL PAINTS | Until the nineteenth century, oil paints were made by hand in the artist’s own studio. However, since then, artists’ colourmen have perfected the way in which oil paints are manufactured to such a degree that, in terms of quality and handling properties, they are now considered far superior to those of hand-ground paints. But home preparation of oil colours is a quite straightforward process, and it allows the artist to have complete control over the ingredients in the paint. |
Home preparation
It is much cheaper to buy the raw materials than the ready-made tube colours, and the larger art-supply stores carry a wide range of raw pigments from which you can mix colours to your specific requirements. Finally, there is undoubtedly a lot of satisfaction and pleasure to be gained from working with colours that you have prepared yourself.
Method
(1) Mix the pigment and oil to a stiff paste with a palette knife.
Spoon a handful of powdered pigment onto a glass slab, and make a well in it. Pour in a spoonful of oil, and mix to a stiff paste with a palette knife (1). Ensure that all the pigment is thoroughly wetted, but do try to use the minimum of oil to produce the stiffest workable paste. Too much oil may result in yellowing and wrinkling of the paint film.
Mulling
(2) Grind the pigment and oil mixture with a smooth figure-of-eight motion.
Grind the pigment and oil mixture on the slab with a glass muller, using reasonable pressure and a continuous smooth, circular or figure-of-eight motion (2). Your weight should be well balanced over the muller. The objective is to disperse the pigment particles evenly through the binder and to achieve a smooth, glossy paint, free from grittiness. Be warned – mulling paint to the right consistency can take up to an hour, depending on the pigment! It is best to mull a small amount of pigment at a time, moving each freshly mulled batch to the edge of the slab.
The resulting paint should be stiff enough to be workable while containing the minimum of oil. If the paint doesn’t ‘peak’ when lifted with the tip of a palette knife, it probably contains too much oil; add more pigment and mull again.
Using lightweight pigments
Those pigments that are fluffy or flyaway, due to their light weight and fine particle size (for instance, alizarin and the quinacridones), need wetting before they can be ground with oil. Saturate the pigment with white spirit until all the powder is wet, then leave to dry out a little on absorbent paper before mixing to a paste with oil.
Filling the tubes
(3) Pack the freshly mulled paint in empty collapsible tubes. First loosen the cap of the tube a little so that air can escape. Hold the tube upright and fill from the open end with a palette knife.
The freshly mulled handmade paint can be stored in empty collapsible tubes which are obtainable from major art-supply stores. As a guide, roughly 300g (10.6oz) of paint should fill a 150ml (5 US fl oz) tube. Loosen the cap of the tube a little so that air can escape as you fill it. Hold the tube upright and scoop the paint into the open end, using a palette knife (3). Fill the tube to within about 25mm (1in) of the open end, occasionally tapping the tube on the table to settle the pigment and disperse any air bubbles.
Pinch the tube 30–40mm (1¼–½in) from the end to expel any air. Wipe the tube clean, then make a double fold at the end by folding it over the blade of a clean palette knife.
Safety precautions
When handling dry pigments, wear a dust mask, to avoid breathing in the pigment particles. Do not handle toxic pigments without a mask and gloves. Disposable face masks are not adequate; respiratory masks designed for use with toxic dusts are available from major art-supply stores and safety equipment companies. Do not eat or drink when working with dry pigments. Keep all materials out of reach of children. Label all dry pigments so that they can be identified in case of accident.
Shelf life
Without the addition of any stabilizers and preservatives, handmade paint should always be used within a few months of making.
Improving texture
Some pigments, such as ultramarine, viridian and zinc white, make a rather stringy paint. To improve the texture, use 4 parts linseed oil to 1 part poppy oil as a binder.
Amounts of oil
Some pigments require quite a lot of oil to make a smooth paste – alizarin crimson, for example, needs far more oil than flake white.
SEE ALSO
| OIL STICKS | A few manufacturers are now producing oil paints in stick form, which are fundamentally different from oil pastels or crayons. They are made by combining artist-quality pigments with highly refined drying oils, into which are blended special waxes which enable them to be moulded into stick form. |
Using oil sticks
These sticks can be considered as either a drawing or a painting medium. They combine the richness of oil colour with the freedom and directness of pastels or charcoal. The chunky sticks glide across the support, making expressive, flowing lines. Some brands are thixotropic – they become more creamy in texture when applied with slight pressure, and harden again on the support. The lightfastness rating is the same as for tube oil colours; the range of colours is smaller, but the basic oils palette is sufficient.
Blending and brushing
Different colours can be blended together on the support, using a brush or a painting knife. Alternatively, special colourless sticks are available: these aid the blending process and increase the transparency of the colours. The paint can also be brushed out on the support, using the same solvents and mediums employed with tube oil colours. The end of the stick may be dipped into the medium or solvent before working on the support, thereby improving the flow of colour. You can even apply the paint in thickly impasted layers and model it with a paintbrush or knife. The paints remain workable for several hours.
Compatibility
Oil sticks are compatible with a range of painting and drawing media, including conventional oil, alkyd and acrylic colours, oil pastels and pencil. They can be used on primed canvas or hardboard (Masonite), acid-free sized paper, fabrics, and other surfaces.
Drying times
The actual drying time depends on temperature and the type of surface being painted, but on the whole oil paint in stick form dries more quickly than tube oil paints. It is important to note, however, that paint sticks should not be used for underpainting if tube paint is to be applied on top. The reason is that although paint sticks dry faster than tube paints, they dry to a more flexible film, due to their high wax content; if less flexible paint is applied on top. This may lead eventually to cracking of the paint surface.
First-time use
Brand-new oil sticks must have the film removed after the protective wrapper has been taken off.
Protective skin
An invisible, dry film forms on the surface of the stick, and helps to keep it clean when not in use. The film is removed from the tip of the stick by rubbing it with a cloth, and re-forms in a day or two after use to keep the paint from drying out while being stored.
Using diluents
You can work on a support that has been given a liberal wash of turpentine, or dip the tip of the oil stick into diluent or medium, to create a more liquid line.
Outdoor uses
Sticks are particularly useful when you’re painting outdoors, as they remove the need to carry some of the accessories associated with tube oil paints.
Different brands
As with tube oil colours, there are variations in the texture, handling properties and drying rates between one brand of paint stick and another, and thus it is advisable to sample different brands. However, do not intermix brands in the same painting, as the chemicals may be incompatible.
Types of stick
The selection of oil sticks shown here includes some of the iridescent colours available.
Oil-stick versatility
The five square-format examples show some basic oil-stick techniques. The two sketchbook paintings used oil sticks and oil pastels, brushed out with turpentine. The framed picture was worked directly with oil sticks and then blended and brushed out with turpentine.
SEE ALSO
| BASIC PALETTES FOR OILS | The 12 colours featured here form the backbone of most professional painters’ palettes. This palette is versatile enough to cope with a wide range of subjects, and the colours are all lightfast. |
Titanium white
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). A very bright opaque white, with high tinting strength and slow drying time. Mixes well, maintains its intensity.
French ultramarine
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). A transparent colour, with high tinting strength, medium-to-slow drying time, and a deep, warm blue hue. The most versatile of the blues; mix with burnt umber to make interesting dark shades.
Cobalt blue
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). A transparent colour, with weak tinting strength and a fast drying time. It is greener and paler than ultramarine. Useful for skies and for mixing greens; very expensive, but good for glazing.
Yellow ochre
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). A fairly opaque colour, with weak tinting strength, medium-to-slow drying time, and a dark yellow hue verging on brown. Indispensable for landscape painting and for toning down mixtures.
Raw sienna
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). A transparent colour, with weak tinting strength and fast-to-medium drying time. A warmer hue than yellow ochre. Mixes well, and is excellent for glazing.
Burnt sienna
Permanence excellent (ASTM I) A transparent colour, with strong tinting strength, fast-to-medium drying time, and a rich, reddish-brown hue. It is useful for modifying sky colours, and is a good glazing colour.
Permanent rose
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). A very transparent colour, with very high tinting strength, slow drying time, and a bright pink-red hue with a violet tinge. A light-fast alternative to alizarin crimson; though expensive, a little goes a long way.
Viridian
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). A transparent colour, with good tinting strength, slow drying time, and bright, deep green hue with a bluish tinge. Mix with white to make cool greens.
Cadmium red
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). An opaque colour, with good tinting strength, slow drying time, and a bright, warm red hue. A strong, pure pigment.
Cadmium yellow
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). An opaque colour, with good tinting strength, slow drying time, and a warm hue with a hint of orange. Mix with cadmium red to form cadmium orange.
Lemon yellow
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). A transparent colour, with good tinting strength, medium drying time, and a cool, pale yellow hue. Forms delicate, cool greens when mixed with blues.
Winsor violet
Starter palette
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). A transparent colour, with high tinting strength, medium drying time, and a strong, warm hue. Very useful for modifying blues in skies, and making greys with yellows, browns and greens.
The ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) codes for lightfastness:
ASTM l: excellent lightfastness
ASTM ll: very good lightfastness
ASTM Ill: not sufficiently lightfast
Variations
Roy Freer’s work uses rich, saturated hues. He sees his subjects in terms of colour, rather than tone. This painting employs his ‘spectrum palette’, which consists of lemon yellow, cadmium yellow yellow ochre, cadmium orange, vermilion, rose madder, cobalt blue, cobalt violet and viridian.
Roy Freer
Blue Pathways
Oil on canvas
100 × 120cm (40 × 48in)
Pigments may vary both in their hue and handling characteristics, according to the manufacturer. This applies particularly to the earth colours -ochres, umbers and siennas – which are natural pigments and vary in hue according to source. Some burnt siennas, for example, are yellowish, while others have a reddish tint.
Terre verte
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). A transparent colour, with low tinting strength, medium-to-slow drying time, and a pale greenish-grey hue. An excellent green for landscapes, it is best applied in thin glazes.
Raw umber
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). A transparent colour, with good tinting strength, fast drying time, and a greenish-brown hue. Raw umber is a very useful colour for underpainting, as it dries rapidly.
Phthalocyanine blue
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). A transparent colour, with a very high tinting strength, medium-to-slow drying time, and a very bright, deep blue hue. More permanent and more intense than Prussian blue.
Alizarin crimson
Permanence very weak (ASTM III). A very transparent colour, with high tinting strength, very slow drying time, and a cool, slightly bluish-red hue. It tends to fade in thin washes, or when mixed with white.
Ivory black
Permanence excellent (ASTM I). An opaque colour, with good tinting strength, very slow drying time, and a slight brown tinge. Mixing ivory black with yellow makes a versatile green.
Auxiliary colours
Should you wish to augment your basic palette with additional colours for particular subjects, you may find some of the colours shown here useful.
| BINDERS FOR OILS | Binders, mediums and diluents are the various fluids that are either combined with the pigment at the manufacturing stage or added to the tube colour to facilitate the application of paint to the support. |
Binder composition
Pigments for oil paints are ground into a drying vegetable oil, which is known as a vehicle or binder. When bound, the pigment particles are suspended in the oil and can be easily brushed onto the painting surface. When the oil has dried by absorbing oxygen, it seals the pigment to the surface.
Linseed oil
This oil, pressed from the seeds of the flax plant, is available in several forms, and acts both as a binder and as an ingredient in oil-painting mediums. Linseed oil dries quickly at first, but the complete drying process will take many years. It oxidizes into a tough, leathery film which hardens and becomes more transparent on ageing.
