Rules about oil painting if you're painting in layers:
Become conscious of drying rates. Forget the fat over lean rule. Instead, think about faster drying under slower drying. The major factor that influences drying rate is the pigment. Some pigments are fast dryers and some are slow. Test out your paints to find out. I can tell you that the cadmiums are very slow dryers, titanium white is very slow drying. The natural and synthetic earths are fast.
Be conscious of particle concentration. When linseed oil dries it needs particles in-between it. The paint from the tube is at the cPVC. If you want a transparent layer, then you need to use transparent particles.
Except for special effects that do not effect the entire paint layer, do not lower the viscosity of your paint too much. If the paint is sliding/ dripping off your palette knife, then its too runny.
You can add gloss to your painting by adding small amounts of bodied oil (stand oil). Linseed oil will make your paint more runny but won't alter the sheen. Alkyds are faster drying and should not be considered a "fat" but rather a faster dryer and should be under the slower dryers.
Helpful websites for oil painting:
http://www.artiscreation.com , https://paintingbestpractices.com (check out their files), https://www.facebook.com/groups/paintingbestpractices, www.facebook.com/NaturalPigmentsllc. (check out their videos on YouTube), JustPaint.org
SOLVENTS are not good for you. Eliminate them from your practice. This includes gamsol and the like. When the fumes are breathed in they get into your central nervous system. Just use linseed oil to thin your paint.
low viscosity medium and brush wash recipe: natural bio based solvent and linseed oil- 50/50 or just use linseed oil only.
https://arttreehouse.com/artstore/product/biobased-artist-thinner/
mediums on hand to lower viscosity of paint: linseed oil, oleogel
to hasten drying, also adds gloss: oleoresgel
to add gloss and reduce sinking in for natural earth colors: bodied oil (stand oil), or epoxide oil
transparent filler pigments to add transparency and reduce tinting strength : - Williamsburg extender medium, lithopone (add to Gamblin flake white replacement to further reduce its tinting strength)
Brushes: the rule of thumb is the stiffer the paint consistency (you are in control of this) the stiffer the brush needed. Rosemary, Robert Simmons, and Trekell brand.
I USE PAINT WITH LINSEED OIL AS ITS BINDER/VEHICLE
Pigment bound in linseed oil dries the fastest and forms the strongest paint layer. Walnut oil has been shown to yellow just as much as linseed oil, it's a slower dryer and forms a weaker bond. Some paint makers are using safflower oil in their paints because its cheaper and yellows less than linseed oil, however, it has been shown to be unstable as it is only a semi drying oil . Semi-drying oils do not polymerize completely, resulting in “weeping” paint. (read this)
many brands use linseed oil as the binder: Vasari, Rublev, Michael Harding, Williamsburg, RGH, Rembrandt, some Winsor and Newton (check on their website), Gamblin, some Utrecht (Utrecht oil colors that are safflower oil free) all Winton, and others. The most accurate way to find out what is in the paint is on the paint manufacture website, not DickBlick.
8 COLORS on my palette (here's the cheapest option):
transparent red (earth) oxide PR-101, Pyrrole Red PR-254 (Winsor & Newton "Bright Red"), Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Chromite Blue PB-36, Cad Orange (Utrecht, Winton, Gamblin), Yellow Ochre, Cad Yellow Lt.(Winton), white
Understand your pigments
Get to know the tinting strength of all of your colors by mixing equal parts with white. While you're at it get to know the drying times too.
Transparent red oxide pr-101 is a synthetic pigment made in a lab. It's natural counterpart is PR-102.
This is when you need to understand that the pigment code is not a color match thing. There can be many many variations of a color shade, depending on where the pigment was mined or how it was made in the lab. So all PR-102's are from the earth and all PR-101's are from a lab.
The same goes for yellow ochre. The yellow ochre made in a lab is PY-42 (it sometimes called yellow oxide) and the yellow ochre dug from the earth is PY-43. Because you can dig yellow ochre from many parts of the earth, it's different depending on where it's dug from with different amounts of clay and silica etc...The yellow ochre I use is from the Blue Ridge mountains! So not all "earth" colors are from the earth, you see.
If you decide to use a pigment that is actually from the earth, you might want to pay attention to how matte it dries. This is totally fine if you're doing an underpainting. But if you're using, say a natural earth color in the top layers of your painting, just add a small amount of bodied oil (stand oil) to it. The paint company probably already did this for you, but if not you're going to get a situation where some areas are "sunk in".
About Cadmiums:
Oil paint cannot be absorbed into your skin, unless you're using solvent - another reason not to use it. The more expensive brands have less to no filler pigments which can make them very high tinting, too high tinting b/c cadmiums are very high tinting. This is actually a little inconvenient b/c then you may want to add your fillers back in to make the paints easier to work with and less strong. Your choice. I have Williamsburg extender pigment for this reason. Winton brand by Winsor and Newton is what I recommend for cadmiums.
Cobalt Chromite Blue:
PB-36 goes by "cerulean blue" , "cobalt turquoise greenish" by Williamsburg. Just try cerulean blue hue by Winton if you don't want to spend a lot. The cheapest I've seen it is for $22 on RGH.
WHITE:
Titanium white's tinting strength on its own is really too strong.
Try Flake White Replacement by Gamblin or "mixing white" by Rublev. Or, best for the life of your painting -lead white #1 by Rublev. It is a naturally fast dryer (18 hours) and forms the strongest most flexible paint layer.
Stay away from Zinc oxide white (PW 4) even in small amounts. It will cause your paint to flake off. Make sure your oil paint does NOT contain zinc oxide !! https://justpaint.org/update-on-zinc/. If using oil primed linen, make sure that it does not contain zinc!!
Supports
You do not want an absorbent ground for oil painting. Most of the cotton pre-stretched canvas sold is way too absorbent. Try Michael Hardings non absorbent ground on top. I recommend polyester canvas, Primed panels, primed Aluminum Composite Material, or canvas or linen mounted to ACM. When I stretch my canvas I go corner to corner - not middle to middle. I use pliers and a small amount of thumb tacks.
Become conscious of drying rates. Forget the fat over lean rule. Instead, think about faster drying under slower drying. The major factor that influences drying rate is the pigment. Some pigments are fast dryers and some are slow. Test out your paints to find out. I can tell you that the cadmiums are very slow dryers, titanium white is very slow drying. The natural and synthetic earths are fast.
Be conscious of particle concentration. When linseed oil dries it needs particles in-between it. The paint from the tube is at the cPVC. If you want a transparent layer, then you need to use transparent particles.
Except for special effects that do not effect the entire paint layer, do not lower the viscosity of your paint too much. If the paint is sliding/ dripping off your palette knife, then its too runny.
You can add gloss to your painting by adding small amounts of bodied oil (stand oil). Linseed oil will make your paint more runny but won't alter the sheen. Alkyds are faster drying and should not be considered a "fat" but rather a faster dryer and should be under the slower dryers.
Helpful websites for oil painting:
http://www.artiscreation.com , https://paintingbestpractices.com (check out their files), https://www.facebook.com/groups/paintingbestpractices, www.facebook.com/NaturalPigmentsllc. (check out their videos on YouTube), JustPaint.org
SOLVENTS are not good for you. Eliminate them from your practice. This includes gamsol and the like. When the fumes are breathed in they get into your central nervous system. Just use linseed oil to thin your paint.
low viscosity medium and brush wash recipe: natural bio based solvent and linseed oil- 50/50 or just use linseed oil only.
https://arttreehouse.com/artstore/product/biobased-artist-thinner/
mediums on hand to lower viscosity of paint: linseed oil, oleogel
to hasten drying, also adds gloss: oleoresgel
to add gloss and reduce sinking in for natural earth colors: bodied oil (stand oil), or epoxide oil
transparent filler pigments to add transparency and reduce tinting strength : - Williamsburg extender medium, lithopone (add to Gamblin flake white replacement to further reduce its tinting strength)
Brushes: the rule of thumb is the stiffer the paint consistency (you are in control of this) the stiffer the brush needed. Rosemary, Robert Simmons, and Trekell brand.
I USE PAINT WITH LINSEED OIL AS ITS BINDER/VEHICLE
Pigment bound in linseed oil dries the fastest and forms the strongest paint layer. Walnut oil has been shown to yellow just as much as linseed oil, it's a slower dryer and forms a weaker bond. Some paint makers are using safflower oil in their paints because its cheaper and yellows less than linseed oil, however, it has been shown to be unstable as it is only a semi drying oil . Semi-drying oils do not polymerize completely, resulting in “weeping” paint. (read this)
many brands use linseed oil as the binder: Vasari, Rublev, Michael Harding, Williamsburg, RGH, Rembrandt, some Winsor and Newton (check on their website), Gamblin, some Utrecht (Utrecht oil colors that are safflower oil free) all Winton, and others. The most accurate way to find out what is in the paint is on the paint manufacture website, not DickBlick.
8 COLORS on my palette (here's the cheapest option):
transparent red (earth) oxide PR-101, Pyrrole Red PR-254 (Winsor & Newton "Bright Red"), Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Chromite Blue PB-36, Cad Orange (Utrecht, Winton, Gamblin), Yellow Ochre, Cad Yellow Lt.(Winton), white
Understand your pigments
Get to know the tinting strength of all of your colors by mixing equal parts with white. While you're at it get to know the drying times too.
Transparent red oxide pr-101 is a synthetic pigment made in a lab. It's natural counterpart is PR-102.
This is when you need to understand that the pigment code is not a color match thing. There can be many many variations of a color shade, depending on where the pigment was mined or how it was made in the lab. So all PR-102's are from the earth and all PR-101's are from a lab.
The same goes for yellow ochre. The yellow ochre made in a lab is PY-42 (it sometimes called yellow oxide) and the yellow ochre dug from the earth is PY-43. Because you can dig yellow ochre from many parts of the earth, it's different depending on where it's dug from with different amounts of clay and silica etc...The yellow ochre I use is from the Blue Ridge mountains! So not all "earth" colors are from the earth, you see.
If you decide to use a pigment that is actually from the earth, you might want to pay attention to how matte it dries. This is totally fine if you're doing an underpainting. But if you're using, say a natural earth color in the top layers of your painting, just add a small amount of bodied oil (stand oil) to it. The paint company probably already did this for you, but if not you're going to get a situation where some areas are "sunk in".
About Cadmiums:
Oil paint cannot be absorbed into your skin, unless you're using solvent - another reason not to use it. The more expensive brands have less to no filler pigments which can make them very high tinting, too high tinting b/c cadmiums are very high tinting. This is actually a little inconvenient b/c then you may want to add your fillers back in to make the paints easier to work with and less strong. Your choice. I have Williamsburg extender pigment for this reason. Winton brand by Winsor and Newton is what I recommend for cadmiums.
Cobalt Chromite Blue:
PB-36 goes by "cerulean blue" , "cobalt turquoise greenish" by Williamsburg. Just try cerulean blue hue by Winton if you don't want to spend a lot. The cheapest I've seen it is for $22 on RGH.
WHITE:
Titanium white's tinting strength on its own is really too strong.
Try Flake White Replacement by Gamblin or "mixing white" by Rublev. Or, best for the life of your painting -lead white #1 by Rublev. It is a naturally fast dryer (18 hours) and forms the strongest most flexible paint layer.
Stay away from Zinc oxide white (PW 4) even in small amounts. It will cause your paint to flake off. Make sure your oil paint does NOT contain zinc oxide !! https://justpaint.org/update-on-zinc/. If using oil primed linen, make sure that it does not contain zinc!!
Supports
You do not want an absorbent ground for oil painting. Most of the cotton pre-stretched canvas sold is way too absorbent. Try Michael Hardings non absorbent ground on top. I recommend polyester canvas, Primed panels, primed Aluminum Composite Material, or canvas or linen mounted to ACM. When I stretch my canvas I go corner to corner - not middle to middle. I use pliers and a small amount of thumb tacks.