solvent - free oil painting
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.
If you want to have a washy fast underpainting, do it in acrylics.
currently, I use 9 oil COLORS on my palette:
to figure out what colors to get and how to lay them out watch the video on color space by Gamblincolors.com. Decide for yourself. Warm colors advance and cool colors recede.
Viridian, Cobalt teal, Ultramarine Blue "Shale", Pyrrole Red PR-254 (Winsor & Newton "Bright Red"), Cad Orange (Winton, Utrecht, Gamblin), Yellow Ochre, Cad Yellow Lt.(Winton), WHITE
Ultramarine Blue
I mix ultra blue with "shale" for my "black"
Shale
Equal parts "bright red" and ultramarine blue with a touch of cad yellow light. Vasari makes it pre-mixed. You could just mix it on your palette or premix and tube your own.
Pyrrole Red
Originally developed for the automotive industry to make Ferrari Red. Meant to be used thinly with an airbrush. Has a very slow drying time. I recommend getting it from a larger paint company that uses driers. Try Winsor and Newton's "bright red" or perhaps Chroma's archival oils pyrrole red that has alkyd in it. Small paint companies such as Vasari and RGH make small batches and don't use driers. It will take over a month to dry on its own from these companies!!
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. Because the cadmiums are very high tinting naturally, they can be too high tinting in the more expensive brands. This is actually inconvenient b/c then you may want to add your fillers back in to make the paints easier to work with and less strong. Winton brand by Winsor and Newton is what I recommend for cadmiums.
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 mined with different amounts of clay and silica etc...The yellow ochre I use is from the Blue Ridge mountains made by Rublev.
WHITE
Titanium white on its own is really strong, making it easy to create a "chalky" looking painting. I don't recommend using it. It will kill your mixtures unless you are using very high tinting paint. High tinting paint is tricky to use....perhaps you might want to try to radiant colors by Gamblin.
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. Too bad it's super expensive.
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, is a slower dryer and forms a weaker bond. Some paint makers are using safflower oil in their paints because it 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, I recommend: Rublev, Michael Harding, Williamsburg, Rembrandt, some Winsor and Newton (check on their website), Gamblin, some Utrecht (Utrecht oil colors that are safflower oil free) and Winton. The most accurate way to find out what is in the paint is on the paint manufacture website, not DickBlick.
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!!
Understand your pigments
Get to know the tinting strength of all of your colors by mixing equal parts with your white. While you're at it get to know their drying times too.
Sinking - In
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.
Supports
You do not want an absorbent ground for oil painting. Most of the cotton pre-stretched canvas sold is way too absorbent for oil painting, but great for acrylics. 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.
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. You could use a mixture of Williamsburg extender medium and oleogel.
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
brush wash: put linseed oil in a silicoil jar
low viscosity medium
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. I recommend Rosemary, Robert Simmons, and Trekell brand.
Soap
If you forget about a brush soak it in Turpenoid natural, then wash it out. I also use Dr. Bronner's soap to wash my brushes.
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.
If you want to have a washy fast underpainting, do it in acrylics.
currently, I use 9 oil COLORS on my palette:
to figure out what colors to get and how to lay them out watch the video on color space by Gamblincolors.com. Decide for yourself. Warm colors advance and cool colors recede.
Viridian, Cobalt teal, Ultramarine Blue "Shale", Pyrrole Red PR-254 (Winsor & Newton "Bright Red"), Cad Orange (Winton, Utrecht, Gamblin), Yellow Ochre, Cad Yellow Lt.(Winton), WHITE
Ultramarine Blue
I mix ultra blue with "shale" for my "black"
Shale
Equal parts "bright red" and ultramarine blue with a touch of cad yellow light. Vasari makes it pre-mixed. You could just mix it on your palette or premix and tube your own.
Pyrrole Red
Originally developed for the automotive industry to make Ferrari Red. Meant to be used thinly with an airbrush. Has a very slow drying time. I recommend getting it from a larger paint company that uses driers. Try Winsor and Newton's "bright red" or perhaps Chroma's archival oils pyrrole red that has alkyd in it. Small paint companies such as Vasari and RGH make small batches and don't use driers. It will take over a month to dry on its own from these companies!!
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. Because the cadmiums are very high tinting naturally, they can be too high tinting in the more expensive brands. This is actually inconvenient b/c then you may want to add your fillers back in to make the paints easier to work with and less strong. Winton brand by Winsor and Newton is what I recommend for cadmiums.
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 mined with different amounts of clay and silica etc...The yellow ochre I use is from the Blue Ridge mountains made by Rublev.
WHITE
Titanium white on its own is really strong, making it easy to create a "chalky" looking painting. I don't recommend using it. It will kill your mixtures unless you are using very high tinting paint. High tinting paint is tricky to use....perhaps you might want to try to radiant colors by Gamblin.
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. Too bad it's super expensive.
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, is a slower dryer and forms a weaker bond. Some paint makers are using safflower oil in their paints because it 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, I recommend: Rublev, Michael Harding, Williamsburg, Rembrandt, some Winsor and Newton (check on their website), Gamblin, some Utrecht (Utrecht oil colors that are safflower oil free) and Winton. The most accurate way to find out what is in the paint is on the paint manufacture website, not DickBlick.
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!!
Understand your pigments
Get to know the tinting strength of all of your colors by mixing equal parts with your white. While you're at it get to know their drying times too.
Sinking - In
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.
Supports
You do not want an absorbent ground for oil painting. Most of the cotton pre-stretched canvas sold is way too absorbent for oil painting, but great for acrylics. 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.
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. You could use a mixture of Williamsburg extender medium and oleogel.
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
brush wash: put linseed oil in a silicoil jar
low viscosity medium
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. I recommend Rosemary, Robert Simmons, and Trekell brand.
Soap
If you forget about a brush soak it in Turpenoid natural, then wash it out. I also use Dr. Bronner's soap to wash my brushes.