Remi Engels, Ph.D. asked:


If you paint with oils you will need a solvent to clean your brushes and thin your paints. Of course, if you paint with water soluble oils then your solvent will be water.

Turpentine is a standard solvent used to thin ordinary oil paints. You can purchase turpentine in any art supply store or hardware store. In some cases, the kind of turpentine you buy in a hardware store may be fresher because of the shorter turnaround time.

Some artists work with mineral spirits. These are also available in hardware stores. To save money, buy the largest available quantity and use a smaller container when you do your actual painting.

Tube oil paint (i.e., oil paint directly from the tube) can be difficult to manipulate. Some colors are stiffer than others and may be hard to evenly distribute over your canvas. To solve this problem, artists often need to mix their tube paints with a so-called painting medium.

A painting medium is a liquid solution that makes the oil paint smoother and easier to manipulate. Adding any one of a number of different painting mediums changes the consistency of the paint. Some mediums are meant to make the paint thinner for glazing and others are meant to make the paint thicker for impasto painting. There are also mediums to shorten or lengthen the drying.

 

The most basic medium is regular turpentine. Adding a little turpentine thins oils paint. Another frequently used medium is linseed oil, which makes the paint more fluid but, over time, it also tends to yellow the paint. The most commonly used medium is a combination of turpentine and linseed oil, sometimes with the addition of a little damar varnish.

Begin by experimenting with a half-and-half mixture of turpentine and linseed oil. Because linseed oil slows down the drying process, you may want to increase the proportion of turpentine. A good mixture is three parts of turpentine to one part of linseed oil.

Once you find the medium you like, mix a batch and store it in a tightly sealed jar. As you paint, dip your brush into the medium, then add a little paint, then mix them together on your palette (mixing surface).

Preliminary compositions can be drawn on your canvas with a so-called thin turp wash, i.e., a little bit of paint with a lot of turpentine. A turp wash evaporates very quickly, so you can quickly paint over them.

In general, the more turpentine you use the matter the finish will be and the more linseed oil you use the glossier it will be. If you like robust, permanently visible brushstrokes, you may want to use less medium. Dry brush is one technique where you do not add any medium at all.

Special painting mediums are also available that change the oil paint in different ways. The most common are those that shorten or lengthen the drying time of the oil paint. Check your art supply store or the Internet to see the available types of mediums. All medium bottles will show instructions on how best to use the particular medium.

Oil paintings must be varnished to protect them from undesirable elements such as dirt and toxins. Varnish is a clear solution made from a resin and turpentine or some other solvent.

In art-supply stores you will see two major types, retouching varnish and picture varnish. Depending on the paint layer thickness, it can take six months or more for an oil painting to dry. In the meantime, the surface of the painting needs to be protected with a coat of retouching varnish. After the varnish is applied, the turpentine evaporates, and leaving a thin protective coat. You can apply retouching varnish as soon as the paint feels dry to the touch.

 

Picture varnish contains more resin than retouching varnish. It should be applied about six months after you complete a painting. If you paint with impasto-like brushstrokes, you may have to wait as long as a year before applying the final coat.

 

Both types of varnish are applied in the same manner. Using a broad, flat nylon brush, apply the varnish evenly using horizontal strokes. You can also use retouching varnish to brighten dry dull patches in your painting.

vijay asked:


If in case you’re an artist by yourself, you most likely do not need to read this as your would perhaps already be knowing it. The information given here is for the first-time artists to give a basic understanding on do and don’ts of the art reproduction.

DO’S

1) Apply the oil paint densely, particularly in the foreground to give it a feel so it would stand out as an original oil painting.

2) You need to mix as few colors as probable to get to the preferred outcome. Try to keep it within three colors.

3) When possible in its place of using white to lessen a color, use a color such as lemon yellow or yellow ocher. This would give a less crumbly look and the colors would be cleaner.

4) Blend edges to make softer them in areas, which are in the backdrop and away from the center of interest.

5) Add thick paint to point out highlights such as on rocks, tree foliage etc. Thick paint on a wine bottle in a still life would make it shine more and make a persuasive light reflection.

Don’ts

a) Don’t thin pigment with turpentine, other than usage of linseed oil. However if you require an ink consistency to make thin lines such as three branches etc. this will be the omission since these are only small touches.

b) Do not ever over-mix your colors on your using palette. This would only result into flat and dull areas in your painting.

c) Avoid mixing more than three unlike colors. Be as straight as possible. If you learn the color wheel this would as well be a good help.

Additional Hints:

If in case you add up a very thin layer of linseed oil to your canvas before you start the paint, you would work less trying to stroke the pigment on. This would give you a more workable surface as the paint would slide on. Also you would not require varnishing your painting because it ends up with a shiny look.

Remember that you were the only person that knows the disparity among your palette and a canvas. As far as the pigment is concerned they are both mixing bases, sense you could even mix your paint on either one.

jackwu asked:


If you’ve spent a lot of money just to acquire priceless oil paintings, you’re certainly entitled to be just a wee bit obsessed when it comes to caring, cleaning and minimizing damage to your oil paintings. In this article, we’ve listed three points to ponder to minimize damage to oil paintings.

Framing – I know, I know, the selection of frames to keep your oil paintings should purely be based on its aesthetic value but really, it shan’t be the case if you want to minimize damage to your oil paintings. If your oil painting is done on fabrics, it’s probable that a wooden frame is used to encase it. A wooden frame is also called a stretcher or trainer, by the way. Although there seems to be no harm done caused by wooden frames, you might want to change your opinion later on during extreme temperature changes.

How do these happen? Moisture is easily absorbed by materials like wood and fabric. Both materials also swell when humidity is present and shrinks in its absence. It’s not the same, however, with paint.

The change in size affects the oil painting and may cause the canvas to sag. Okay I know, I’m taking the long cut with this so bear with me. I just want you to understand the basics behind the warning. Now, because frame makers are aware of the changes these materials undergo, they made sure that they’re expendable joints you can use to “key out” the oil paintings and make sure it remain taut.

And the warning – don’t have it keyed out during the cold months of winter because it might cause the painting to TEAR. That’s right, not darken, not get dirtied but TEAR.

Lighting – So now you better about framing. I’m sure you’re more wary this time when it comes to lighting levels. I’ll keep it simple this time, don’t you worry. My warnings about lighting levels will be to the point: Keep oil paintings in locations that are not easily reached by the harsh rays of sunlight.

If you have no options left about where to keep them, then just make do with closed drapes. Secondly, the ideal light level for oil paintings is 200lux. Thirdly, don’t succumb to temptation and illuminate your oil paintings so its glory may be seen by all. I tell you, it would be simply murderous to your oil paintings.

Temperature and Humidity – As this was already briefly discussed already during the framing process, you now know that humidity level can very much affect the surface of your paintings. So what do I advise regarding humidity levels? Basements are just a no-no to your oil paintings. In relation to temperatures, please do think about buying temperature sensors because fluctuations can likewise cause damage to your oil paintings,if you need more information, you can visit my oil painting site http://www.photo2all.com

Remi Engels, Ph.D. asked:

Of course, before you can start a painting you have to have a number of art supplies. There are hundreds if not thousands of supplies and gadgets related to painting and on top of that many brands to choose from. Here, we will list the most essential tools you need to create an oil painting, that is, at least the way I create such a painting. Here we go:

* Brushes – Again, there are hundreds of kinds of brushes and many different brands. But to start, you really only need a few filbert brushes of fairly good quality (if you can afford them).

1. One large no. 10 or 12

2. One or two no. 8′s

3. One or two no. 6′s

4. One small no. 2

This is more than enough. The reason I suggest filbert brushes is that they more or less combine the capabilities of a round and a flat brush. Also, the main reason we need two brushes of the same size is that we can then use two colors at the same time. That means, less brush rinsing.

* Canvas – A bunch of canvases. At this time I suggest you buy pre-stretched canvases so you can start to paint immediately. Good standard starting sizes are 16″ x 12″ or 18″x24″. You can also use canvas panels which might sometimes be cheaper depending on where you buy them.

* Easel – You need an easel to put your canvas on. Try to buy a sturdy easel. In fact, you could even make your own easel out of wood if you are a bit handy.

* Palette – I prefer to a paper palette of at least 16″x20″. I actually use an 18″x24″ which gives me even more room (that is, of course, when I paint at home). These palette sheets come in pads of 50 sheets and are not very expensive. You use them to mix your paints on.

* Paints – Yes, you do need paints! Try to buy tubes containing at least 37 ml of paint. Some brands have tubes of 200 ml and for certain colors (such as white) they may even offer larger containers. The totality of tube colors you use is also called a palette. As a starting palette I suggest the following colors:

1. Lemon Yellow

2. Cadmium Yellow

3. Cadmium Red

4. Permanent Rose

5. French Ultramarine

6. Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)

7. Titanium White

8. Ivory Black

Of course, as you get more experience, you can add some tube colors. However, when you start out it is probably best to use as few colors as possible. The above colors let you produce very clean secondary colors and all sorts of tertiary ones as well. Secondary colors are colors that are made with two colors and tertiary ones are colors that are made with three colors.

* Turpentine – If you use real oil paints then you need at least a quart of turpentine or a substitute. If you use water soluble oil paints then all you need is regular water.

* Odds and Ends – If you use real oil paints you need a small container of linseed oil. You could also get a can of retouch varnish spray. And finally, also a few rolls of paper towel.

This is about the minimum you need to start oil painting. As stated before, there are many more tools to be had. I suggest going to a few art stores and see what they have. You can even check out some of the Internet stores and maybe purchase some of the tools that particularly useful to you.