Australian Fine Artist

Archive for the ‘Materials Study’ Category

Hanging paintings: Dos and donts

It is easy to send off a painting to a framer to get it ready for an exhibition, but not so easy to make sure that you don’t drive the hanging committe crazy. Or worse, have your painting rejected because it has been wired up on the back with inappropriate and unsafe materials.

When you talk to your framer it is important to make sure they understand what you needs are. Often they only frame photographs or similar and do not know the requirements of exhibitions.

Case in point. We were recently hanging the paintings for the Malvern Art Society exhibition. Several of the works were strung with very thin wire, others used weak rings, other had the wire far too loose, and others used materials that would stretch and break considering the weight of the painting.

So, what should you use and how should you wire up a painting?

First. Never use the fabric-based string. It stretches and breaks and for this point I am speaking from experience, which cost me a frame as it broke when it hit the floor of the gallery. I was lucky that it didn’t hit anyone.

Second. Do not allow the wire to be too loosely strung. Galleries do not use picture rails so there is no need to allow for them

Third. Always make sure that the wire is for a painting heavier than yours. Go stronger, thicker and stainless steel – never thin copper or gold wire. This, again, will stretch and break.

Fourth. If you decide not to use clamps on your wire (which ensure it nevercomes undone), make sure that you tie and wind it on sufficiently and then put tape over it to protect the hands of the hanging team from cuts and scrapes.

Below are examples of what I am talking about.

D-rings suitable for a small painting
Stronger D-rings for a small to medium painting (under half a metre across)
Hanging set suitable for a large painting (note the thicker wire and clamps)
Note the correct and incorrect wiring. Note that the wire I have drawn in is pulled tightly to make sure that the painting hangs flush with the wall (in contrast to the usual loose wire placed anywhere from halfway, one fifth to one third from the top).

There are a variety of D-rings and wires on the market for hanging paintings. These are available at most hardward stores. They have hanging weights on them so choose a weight limit ABOVE that of your painting.

Putting your own D-rings and wires on is an easy job so why not make sure that your painting will make it to the wall of the next exhibition you enter. If you don’t think you can do it yourself, take some samples to your framer so that they know what is required. It will make your hanging committee happy, and in the long run, it will keep your hard creative work safer.

Why all oil paints aren’t the same

Pigments and Binders

As you have been painting, you may have noticed that some paints dry faster than others, and some appear leaner or more transparent. This has to do with the original pigments that are used to create a colour.

Oil colours were originally made up from natural materials taken from the ground or plants, which in many cases have now been replaced by artificially manufactured alternatives. That made some colours very expensive, and in some cases very toxic, as things like arsenic and lead were used. These have since been banned in many countries for OH&S reasons. Artists who mixed their own oil paints prior to the creation of tubes durng the Impressionist period of the early 19th century, have used a variety of binders for mixing with the pigments, some modern artists still prefer to work this way, and access the raw materials for creating their own bespoke oils. Common binders over the years have been linseed oil, safflower oil, and lavender oil.

Each pigment in its raw state is made up of larger or smaller particles. These particles can be either smooth or rough. These differences will determine the amount of area that the binder needs to cover each particle, IE: how fat or lean the colour is. The amount required will change the way the paint reacts when applied to a surface, such as drying time, and how transparent the paint is. Many colours, especially in the less expensive brands, are now made up of manufactured pigments however it appears that the principle of how these man-made pigments react with binders is still relevant.

For example, cadmium red has a large area to cover as it has large smooth particles, but alizarin crimson has more area to cover because of the amount of small irriegular particles. Test these for yourself to see which is the fattest or more opaque by thinning the paints out with more medium like artist’s linseed oil. You may also ask at your art supplier if they have paints that have natural pigments and manufactured ones, so that you can sample each to determine which you can afford, and prefer to use by testing them.

For more info, and a video go to the link below. Thanks to Winsor & Newton for another informative mini masterclass.

Reference:

http://www.winsornewton.com/au/masterclass-video-oil-absorption-rates?dm_i=4QA7,GS1,FFRLV,1AGR,1.

Painting Nudes 2017

The Third Workshop Semester 2 with David Chen

The topic for this workshop was controlling tone. In a tonal painting you decide if you want to complete a dark, medium or light toned painting, you also decide on the temperature of your colours, which can be either overall warm or cool. The overall colour of the painting is decided as well.

So what you may decide on, depending on your preferences and taste as a painter could be an overall tonal painting that is in the cool reds and a middle to dark tone, to create some richness and drama.

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Secondary Colour Bias or Base Colour

What is Colour Bias or Base Colour?

You may have noticed that when colour comes straight from the tube in oils, or other paints, that they may have a ‘look’ that may tell you what colour they have as a base. By this I mean that some blues for example may have a red base, others may have a green base, so they will naturally complement other colours with a similar base colour. A green based blue will sit nicely next to another green based colour if you want your painting to have colours that all work together and ‘relate’ to each other.

When mixing colours it is important to remember what colour base each one has so that you have a better idea of how the resultant colour will look. If you want to avoid a dull greyed off result, this is especially important. Also if you mix more than two colours together, then add white to lighten the tone, mixing the wrong colours will end up with a ‘muddy’ result.

Some effective experiments are to try mixing red based colours like Cadmium Red with Ultramarine Blue (remember that there are different Ultramarines available), you will get a brownish mix when white is added. Then try mixing Lemon Yellow with Prussian Blue as they have a green base, then a little white to lighten the tone.

As you experiment with your colours you will gradually learn that each colour fromthe tube, especially in oils, has a base colour that can be exploited. If you are a tonal painter, learning to control your colour mixes will help in creating beautiful tonal effects, and a huge variety of ‘greys’.

For more information about colour bias or base, look at the short video from Winsor & Newton at the following link, and happy painting.

http://www.winsornewton.com/au/masterclass-video-secondary-colour-bias

Mixing Greys in Water Colour

In my last blog I talked about mixing greys with acrylics and oils. I also mentioned in passing how to gain the best results when mixing greys using water colours.

In this blog I will address water colours and add a few more ideas for you to experiment with.

The same principle applies to water colours as it does to other mediums. By mixing opposite colours on the colour wheel, each will effectively knock out each others intensity, creating a grey. How much you mix of either colour will change to temperature of the finished grey.

The great thing about mixing your own greys is that you can make a range of cool or warm greys, or greys that hint at one of the colours you have used to create it.

Water colour painters during the last two centuries have experimented with greys as they produce a better dark than black, which is often too dark or deadens any colour it mixes with if the wrong black is used. This brings the point of different blacks as well, so if you want to add it to your palette, check with your supplier for the best mixing black if you want to try blending it in with other colours.

Returning to the greys, you will find that there are a few premixed greys on the market and they will also mix with your blues or reds to produce wrmer and cooloer versions of either the grey if only a touch of colour is added, or a coller version of your colour if a touch of the grey is added to it. Please note that each premixed grey has a colour base to it. This means that a colour like Paynes Grey will have a blue base, and others like Davy’s Grey have a green base, so you need to consider this when mixing. Winsor & Newton also have a colour called ‘Neutral Tint’ which is a great colour to use instead of black, and mixes very well with most colours to produce tints and tones.

Remember that mixing with white with water colours will take away their natural translucent effect, so if you want to lighten your grey thin it out with water allowing the white of the paper to come through and lighten it. White is avoided by many water colour painters, and some think it should not be used at all. There are different ‘school’ of thinking about this, but the safest thing to do with a white with water colours is to leave it until the last thing and you have the painting fairly dry to just add a few highlights here and there. Even better would be to cool it off or warm it up with just a dash of colour that you have used elsewhere in the painting so that your highlights will relate to the rest of the composition.

If you would like to leave white areas in your painting another method is to us maskign fluid. This will require planning ahead so that you can mask out the white areas in advance, but I highly recommed using it, as it will guarantee crisp white areas when it is removed, after the painting is absolutely dry. You can also remove it as a layer of colour dries so that you can paint a wash over it. This leaves a clear and clean layer of colour in the area you have had masked. This is also another method of making sure that any grey you have mixed will stay the same tone as what you have mixed when it goes onto the painting.

To see more examples of how to mix a variety of greys visit the Winsor & Newton web site at:
http://www.winsornewton.com/au/masterclass-video-mixing-water-colour-greys?utm_campaign=AU_MASTERCLASS_VIDEO_33&utm_source=emailCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=

Until next time, happy painting.

Janice.

Mixing Greys

A basic lesson that any painter needs to know is how to mix a variety of greys without having to use a blend of black and white, or Paynes Grey.

Greys are a very useful tone when painting “tonal” paintings, or for creating atmospheric perspective.

The basic method to remember is that opposite colours on the colour wheel will “knock’ each other out creating a very dark grey. By adding a small amount of white the grey will become apparent for each of these mixes.

The great thing about mixing your own greys is that you can make a range of cool or warm greys, or greys that hint at one of the colours you have used to create it. for example you may want a greenish grey, or a warm purple-grey, so you can use a mix of colours to achieve these.

Try mixing a purple with its opposite colour in equal portions and then add some white, or a mix of blue with orange then adding white.

Another mix to try that I also use instead of black, is an equal mix of Alizerin Crimson and Viridian. Together these create a beautiful near black, but when white is added result a beautiful grey. By altering the proportion of one of these colours to the other you can either warm or cool the resultant ‘black’ or grey.

These methods can be used with oil and acrylic paints, and I have also tried it with water colours, but thinned the mix with water to allow the white paper to do the lightening instead of adding white. In the case of water colours adding white will make the paint opaque and ‘milky’ which is not the best or traditional look for this medium.

To see more examples of how to mix a variety of greys visit the Winsor & Newton web site at:
http://www.winsornewton.com/au/masterclass-video-mixing-greys-using-acrylics?utm_campaign=AU_MASTERCLASS_VIDEO_44&utm_source=emailCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=

Until next time, happy painting.

Janice.

Painting Nudes Semester 2-2017

The First of Five Workshops with David Chen

Last semester ended with us understanding more about skin tones and how to use edges, tone and colour to place the model into a scene.

This semester we began by going over David’s philosophy for the workshops and his experience as first, an art student learning Academic Art Training at university (something that is not widely covered in Australia) and later as a practising artist and art teacher.

The technical issues that David has overcome during his 40 years as an artist and teacher are invaluable for students to learn as we take on the difficult subject of the human body.

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Painting Nudes 2017

The Final of Five Workshops with David Chen

During this workshop, we learnt about another method of working the model into their surroundings. Rather than having your subject, be it a human figure or even a still life or an animal, looking like they are part of their surrounds, and keeping the painting interesting takes planning and often altering what you see to what you want. During this workshop, we could either take from the objects surrounding the model and apply our imagination to make them work, or use vignetting (leaving areas of the canvas white) to merge parts of the model into the background and surrounds.

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Modelling Paste and Impasto for Painting

Adding depth and texture to your paintings

If you like the texture of paintings that shows mounds and gullies of paint rather than the flatter surfaces typical of traditional tonal paintings, you may want to consider using modelling paste with your acrylics.

A similar product is available for oils, and is as easy to use. It is typically called impasto. Both of these products added to the paint will add a large amount of volume without taking away from the intensity of the colour. If it does change to another brand. Good quality ones which I have used are Winsor & Newton and Atelier.

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Painting Nudes 2017

The Fourth of Five Workshops with David Chen

This workshop followed on fromthe previous subject about “loosening up” your painting style. One thing that I have noticed over recent years is how edges can make or break a painting. The softer and “looser” result that you may be looking for has to do with how you approach painting edges, particualrly those on you main subject in relation to the surrounding composition.

There are a few different methods to help with creating interesting edges that also bind your subject to their surroundings, rather than having them look like cardboard cutouts.

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