Knives, paints and thinners - Oil painting techniques

Knives, paints and thinners - Oil painting techniques I used three types of palette knives, sizes 1 to 3, all of the same shape, long triangular, with a rounded blunt tip. Knives are not easy to master, but once mastered, they can create effects that are difficult to achieve with any other tool. In most common use a knife work, can see the picture as plasterer mud knife, not much better effect than wipe mud, but, if painting knife nimble robust performance into full play, and combine it and clever brushwork, could create a simple pen or a knife can draw the magic perfect effect. The best examples of this can be found in the best works of the late Nicolas Fitchen. His technique is sometimes so dazzling that it overtakes the subject, reminding one of Chase's warning: "To learn painting so well that you can hide your technique." The picture shows the five knives I use, from left to right are palette knives no. 3, 2 and 1, followed by a regular single-sided blade with a handle that I use to scrape the palette. The one on the far right I can't name, it's probably a medical knife, flat on the bottom, slightly curved on both sides to the top. The blade is hard. But the sides can be sharpened and I use it to scrape excess dry color off the canvas or board. pigment The method of using pigments will be discussed in detail in the chapter "Color" of this book, which is mainly about the characteristics of oil paints. First of all, oil paints are not all the same. No matter it is the same brand or different brand, the quality between them is different. Most American brands say they meet the so-called CS98-62 standard, which means they meet all the specifications in terms of formula, stability and durability. However, since this standard is not legal, you can do as you please. We have to go by what the label says, which is, to put it craggly, we took our chances. Most manufacturers offer two grades of oil paints, one for "students" and one for "professionals". The student's contains a variety of chemicals that do not change, such as barium sulfate, aluminum hydroxide and aluminum stearate. Student paints usually contain more oil per tube than professional ones. Student paint costs less. The quality is also inferior. The raw materials in professional paints are ground very fine, and small amounts of other things may be added to improve their performance. To ensure the quality of his work, a painter must master the knowledge of repeated experiments and comparisons with each brand of paint. Two or three times a year I buy large quantities of material and sample all the colours in the studio for light resistance testing. First, I draw two bars in the same color on the board and let them dry. One was then covered with cardboard and the other exposed to sunlight for three months, and the two were compared. Naturally, some pigments fade a little. Although a painting cannot normally be exposed directly to the sun for three months, through such experiments, I have often found that some so-called "permanent" pigments have undergone unexpected changes of varying degrees. All things considered, I think the paints that painters use today are as good, or better, than they used to be. Upon my examination, I also believe that, with a few exceptions, american-made paints are generally better than Those made in Europe. This is hardly surprising, since Europe has experienced many upheavals in this century. But I think it's just a temporary phenomenon. thinner I don't use thinner than pure resin turpentine. But there are dozens on the market. I have tried most well-known thinners and some less well-known ones. Thinners are used for two purposes. First, they can be added to oil paints to give them a flowing consistency, which is easier to use than if they were extruded directly from a hose. Second, a small amount of pigment is added to a thinner that can be used as a transparent coating. However, only when the color added is already transparent (such as ultramarine or fuchsia) will a truly transparent coating be formed. If the pigment itself is opaque, such as rose earth red or cadmium yellow, it can only form pigment particles suspension or diffusion of glue. This mixture lacks good optics when applied thin. I know many painters who use thinners as a panacea for all kinds of painting problems. On the surface, these thinners improved the quality of the painting, making it more like the painting of a master. It is a common argument that all great masters possess a secret recipe that enables them to create masterpieces. In fact, it is impossible to have a secret recipe other than solid skills. All thinners have one thing in common: they damage pigments. It's simple. The quality of pigment depends on how well the raw material is ground and whether the ratio of oil to pigment is appropriate. All paint factories have chemists constantly checking the quality of their products. Each color specifies the correct ratio of oil to paint, which produces the most beautiful color and the most suitable consistency. The oil content required varies widely from color to color. When a thinner is added, the ideal oil content of the pigment is changed, the color composition is reduced and the quality is changed. In fairness, I would say that the basic idea in favour of thinner is a good one. There should be something added to the pigment to improve its gloss and performance. Unfortunately, no formula can do this without side effects. If thinner has to be used, the formula described by Ralph Meiner in The Drawing Materials and Techniques Manual, Third edition (Wiggin, New York, 1970), p. 216, is probably the best and least harmful to painting. The main reason I don't focus on thinners or other dopants is that I can use a variety of brush strokes (such as dry strokes and thin brushes) to get the same results. When I need to tone the paint (usually at the beginning of a painting), I use refined pure resin turpentine. Turpentine is a volatile oil; it almost completely evaporates. Therefore, the oil content of the pigment remains unchanged. Do not produce yellowing oil film for a long time. Finally, most of my work is direct, like demonstrations 5, 6, 7, so I don't have to worry about the bad effects of using turpentine (the worst effects are too thin and dull).