“Ivory Skin & Black Lace” 12×12″ oil on panel. Thanks to La Esmeralda Stock on dA for the reference photo I used as inspiration!
My latest effort. This was done on the “Artist” panel by Ampersand. A good panel, classified as “budget,” but also still archival. I have a lot of these panels. It has a dovetail slot in the back, so it can be hung as-is on the wall, or slapped in a frame. I love the dovetail slot feature, which is why I’ve stockpiled a lot of these boards. They are about 3/8″ to 1/2″ thick (I think 3/8″) and the sides of the panel are painted a complementary color, so if they are hung unframed, the edges of the board look finished (somewhat reminiscent of “gallery wrap” canvases, which can also be left unframed).
I enjoyed this painting and think the model is very striking. She’s great fun to paint. So dramatic! Her skin is so pale and light, I confess I had trouble capturing that adequately with my color mixing. I think I made her a bit more “pink” than she was in the reference photo, but hopefully she’s not too ruddy or flushed. (All monitors are calibrated differently, but on my computer display, she doesn’t look too red-skinned.)
I’m going to add a brief entry to my “tutorials” section. It’s not much, but I feel badly that I haven’t been updating the blog as frequently. (It’s summer, what can I say? I went on another road trip last week.)
I’ve dabbled in alkyds (fast-drying oils) for a long time now. I first tried it in art school, many moons ago. I think that at the time we only had Winsor & Newton brand. The first impression I had of alkyds (back then) was that they weren’t as opaque as regular oils, and they had a kind of “waxy” texture. But they were quite workable, and I loved the fast drying time!
“Jason in Shadow,” 5×7″ alkyd on Gessobord. Thanks to Jason Aaron Baca (model) and Portia Shao (photographer) for the use of the stock reference photo.
Here’s an alkyd study I did recently. Now we have several brands of alkyds to choose from, and they don’t seem as “waxy” as they used to, way back. But they are still quick-drying!
I typically use Liquin (an alkyd medium) when I paint in alkyds. This should help speed drying time more. I find that usually in less than a day (depending on the paint thickness) the painting is dry enough, and ready to be worked on again.
Here’s another recent alkyd painting (WORK IN PROGRESS!).
“Blue Hair,” 12×12″ oil (alkyds) on canvas panel. WORK IN PROGRESS!!!! Thanks to Cathleen Tarawhiti on DeviantArt for the stock photo I used as reference.
With “Blue Hair,” the painting was dry to the touch later the same day, so I was able to do some work in the morning/noonish, and do a little more later on in the day. Amazing! I love my alkyds.
Even though we have several brands of alkyds to choose from (as opposed to just W&N’s alkyds, back in the day), I wish there were even more brands and colors available. Winsor & Newton’s “Griffin” brand has recently discontinued all cadmium colors. I understand that they have probably made this decision because cadmiums have some toxicity, but cadmium “hues” aren’t the same—cadmiums have an opacity and denseness that cannot be replicated in “hues.” Fortunately, the other alkyd brands (C.A.S., DaVinci, and Gamblin) do still carry cadmiums.
Each brand of alkyd has their own properties. I think DaVincis tend to be very thick and stiff. (Kind of like Old Holland in that respect.) I will still use them, am very grateful for DaVinci’s line of alkyds, but given a choice, I prefer something a little more buttery. Gamblin’s “FastMatte” alkyds are pretty good, soft and buttery, though I wish they carried more colors. CAS is a good quality brand, but sometimes their customer service sucks if you order from their site. (Long, long story there. For another time!) Griffins have a good consistency and I think a decent pigment load, but I miss the cadmium colors.
Alkyds have, in some form or another, been around for many decades. I’ve heard that studies indicate that they are “stable” and I am comfortable using them. My old paintings done in art school still seem rich and vibrant as ever. As long as we use pigments that are strong and light-fast, I think they’re an awesome alternative to regular oils. In fact, it’s perfectly acceptable to mix alkyds with regular oils. (Many artists use an alkyd white with their regular oils, which tends to speed up drying time on all the paints.) Some manufacturers of regular oils sell a “fast drying” white, which is often made with alkyds, for artists who enjoy the fast-drying properties of alkyds but don’t want to use a whole set of alkyd colors.
My absence from this blog should not be interpreted to mean that I haven’t been painting! I’ve got several new works lined up, as well as other things, art-related, going on.
“Apple” 6×8″ oil on panel. Painted from life.
This was painted a few days ago, from a simple still life setup at my studio. I painted with fellow artist Diane, who has previously worked mostly from acrylics and wants to get into oils. Continue reading “An Apple, and Alkyds”→
“Grey Kitten Head” 4×4″ oil on panel. Thanks to Catstock on DeviantArt for the use of the stock photo as reference!
I’ve missed the cat heads. Here’s a kitten head, but I fear I made this kitty a little more “mature” than the real kitten. This kitty looks like he or she is perhaps in her “teenage” years.
Cat fur is is fun to paint, but difficult. The markings, the softness, it can sometimes be tricky to capture. You’ve got to do it delicately, and with more subtle values. I enjoy the challenge and hope I’m improving in this area!
This was painted on a slightly different surface—I used Cheap Joe’s Prime Extra Fine Art Board. It’s 1/2″ thick, with a slot in the back for hanging. You can hang it as-is, or frame it as you would a regular canvas or panel. It comes unprimed, so I primed it with Winsor & Newtons “Clear Gesso” which was interesting. It is clear (though I think it’ll start to go opaque if you get it really thick) and it has quite a bit of tooth to it. I rather liked it, though.
Another kitten portrait is coming up very soon! Because if you’re familiar with this blog, you already know, I love painting the cat heads.
This is a first for my blog, and I feel a bit geeky about it. I’m posting this from my studio! I have a nice computer set up here ($100 used Mac Mini–who says that these older computers are obsolete?) and have finally configured it to upload files to my site, scan and edit artwork in Photoshop, read photos from my digital camera, and the whole bit.
Anyway, back to the painting. I’ve fussed with this one for a few days and have to say I’ve very much enjoyed the process. The reference photo used had some lovely skin tones—warm and cool, subtle shifts in color, and a calm, and beautiful expression on the model’s face.
I’m also trying to paint a little more boldly and thickly, though I guess it’s not enough yet to be obvious in the painting itself.
“Lady in Green,” 6×8″ oil on linen panel. Thanks to WhimseyStock for the use of the stock photo as reference!
I used a DickBlick linen panel for this painting. I haven’t used this brand of panel before, but I have to say I enjoyed it. There’s something about the texture of linen, and I’ve really warmed to it. This is one of the Blick’s “high end” line of panels, I assume meant to compete with brands like Fredrix’s archival linen panels. I like both brands and will pick whichever is on sale!
Another of the cat heads. I’m growing so fond of painting the cat heads. I also have a Siamese Cat Head in the works, as well as a Very Fluffy Cat Head. And of course several portraits, because portraits are always fun and exciting to paint. I’ll be writing more about these in the near future.
The latest effort is the Barn Cat. This orange boy seems like he has seen many things . . . many things . . . in his rough, barn-cat life. I hope my portrait sufficiently captures the Barn Cat persona. Or maybe not? 😉
Barn Cat, 4×4″ oil on panel.
I used a stock photo as reference, and need to go through my records to track down who to credit. (I try to be always be up-front about that, as I appreciate greatly the stock photographers who allow artists to use their photos.) UPDATE: Credit goes to elusiveelegance of DeviantArt.com!
Painted on an Ampersand Artist cradled panel. It’s either got a 3/4″ or 7/8″ cradle (kind of like a “gallery wrap” canvas, but this is made with wood). There is a “canvas-like” texture to the acrylic priming on the panel surface. I kind of like this texture for painting. The panel can be framed (like you would any regular stretched canvas) or since it’s got a “gallery-wrap” type appearance, it can be hung as-is.
I have “Tutorials” listed as a menu item in this blog, but I barely have any tutorials! So I thought I’d do a quick one on one of my favorite subjects: Art materials. I’ll cover some of my favorite products and give a few recommendations as well.
PAINT: Oil and Acrylics, which are better?
Some people who haven’t done a lot of painting get a little confused about which is “better,” oils or acrylics? The answer is, there really isn’t any “better,” these are different types of paints and will fulfill different needs.
Oils are my favorite, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like acrylics as well. I like oils because they’re so forgiving—mess up and you have time to fix it, wipe it off and blend it away . . . not as easy to do with acrylics.
Acrylics are great too, no fuss, just thin with water, easy to clean, don’t have to wait to dry! What’s not to love?
Each will appeal in their own way.
OIL PAINTS
Oil paint myths, or things you may have heard about oils that are not actually true.
They really don’t cost that much more. Oils are more dense (you can tell this when you pick up a tube, they are often heavier!). Less goes farther. That’s why tubes of acrylics are larger, to compensate for the relative ‘fluffiness’ they have compared to oils.
They are not so deadly toxic, so don’t be afraid of them! In some cases they are no more toxic than acrylics (depending on which pigments you choose). Cadmium is cadmium (toxic pigment that you don’t want to breathe in or ingest). It doesn’t matter if it’s cadmium in oils or acrylics, it’s still cadmium, right? Don’t assume that all acrylic colors are non-toxic and won’t hurt you. Check the health warning labels on both acrylic or oil colors to see what the risks are. (And remember, just because some of these pigments are classified as toxic, it doesn’t mean anyone who paints with them is immediately going to drop dead. Don’t bring food to your painting area, don’t breathe dried paint dust, wash your hands and change dirty clothes after painting: all these things reduce your risks significantly.)
It’s the solvent (thinner) you use, not the paint itself, that has more potential to be harmful. If you paint in oils but remain “solvent-free” (don’t use paint thinner, turpentine, mineral spirits) then basically all you’re breathing in is the oils (which for most people is not a problem) and whatever additives are in the paint, most which are not going to cause problems. You can get around painting with solvents by either thinning everything with an oil like linseed, safflower oil, etc., or using a non-toxic thinner like Weber Turpenoid Natural. (I use a lot of this stuff myself, but don’t mix it too heavily into my paints—mostly use it to clean my brushes between mixing colors.)
They don’t have to take forever to dry: I use an alkyd-based medium like Winsor & Newton Liquin which speeds up the drying time by a lot. Often my painting is dry to the touch after about 12-24 hours. If you paint thicker, the drying time will be longer, but not weeks and weeks!
You don’t always save money by buying student paint. It depends on which pigments you use, and where you go to shop. If you shop at your local Michael’s or other chain craft store, you might be paying almost as much for student grade paint as you could pay for artist grade through mail order. For example, wait until there’s a coupon or code and you can get some very nice cadmium colors for very affordable prices from Utrecht. Utrecht Oil colors, 37ml tube. I get a lot of my paints from Utrecht (always during a sale, always!). Many other brands of artist grade are on the “lower end range” (but still artist grade) and will do better for you (and be as cheap or cheaper) than student grade. Such brands include Lefranc & Bourgeois Artists’ Oils and Richeson Oils The Shiva Series. Wait for the sale, the discount coupon, something, and get a higher quality paint for a student grade price! (By the way, some friends have reported that some of the Utrecht colors “gum up” [start to dry] faster than other brands, so if you are concerned about that, either use some sort of covered palette [like this one, I love this one], or only place down enough paint for one or two days, so you don’t waste paint.)
Recommended oil colors (some of my favorites):
WHITE is the most important of all. If you can’t afford any other artist grade paint, at least get an artist grade white. Some nice quality whites are:
You can also choose the “Titanium White” variation on any of these brands (except Permalba, only get “Permalba White”). I just like the Titanium-Zinc mixtures best. Utrecht’s “Utrecht White” (Titanium-Zinc) is also good, but I was too lazy to put it on the list! Either Titanium-Zinc or Titanium will do you fine!
If you want to go up a little higher on the paint food chain, here are some pricier (but fabulous) whites:
What about other whites, like ones that contain lead?
I like lead white (aka Flemish White, Flake White, Cremnitz White). You don’t have to use them, but they are nice for portraits. Just take care, because you know, the lead thing. For an affordable (and in plentiful supply) lead white, I recommend Utrecht Flemish or Flake White (when on sale, the 150 mL tubes are very affordable!). You’ll have to do a quick search on Utrecht’s site for their Flemish or Flake whites.
OTHER OIL COLORS:
I spend so much time obsessing about white, I neglect the other colors! Here’s my current short list of favorite oil colors that are must-haves for my palette:
Permanent Alizarin Crimson: (Currently I’m using Blick’s Permanent Alizarin Crimson, but Winsor & Newton and Gamblin’s Alizarin Permanent are excellent too. By the way, the great Richard Schmid recommends the Winsor & Newton and Gamblin! So there you go!) BE SURE TO GET THE “PERMANENT” variant of Alizarin Crimson. The regular Alizarin Crimson will fade over time and is considered “fugitive.”
Cadmium Red Light: Right now my favorite is Holbein but many other brands are fine. Utrecht is also good. (Watch out for it gumming up early, but for the lower price, it’s worth the risk!) I’m also very partial to Blue Ridge Artist colors—very high quality, and surprisingly affordable prices for Cadmiums!
Yellow Ochre: Many brands are fine. I don’t have a strong preference in brand right now.
Cadmium Yellow Lemon (or Light): It’s got to be a cool, cool yellow. Lemon is best if you can get it. Right now I’m using Richeson Oils The Shiva Series brand, but again Utrecht’s version is good too.
Ultramarine Blue: There are so many good Ultramarines! Lefranc & Bourgeois is a good but affordable blue (anything that says “Ultramarine Blue” in it will work) but I admit that I find Blockx’s Ultramarines to be soooo fine!
“Bright Blue”, Prussian Blue or Phthalo Blue: Another richer, stronger blue. Both Prussian Blue and Phthalo are super-strong blues, a little goes a long way. They can easily overpower a mixture, but they are great for mixing blacks and other strong, dark colors. Most brands will do, because both Prussian and Phthalo are so strong that even the cheaper brands still pack a punch. Another variation that I like a lot is Utrecht’s Bright Blue. It’s a mix of Phthalo and Ultramarine and is a nice, nice blue. (You’ll have to do a bit of hunting on the Utrecht page to find Bright Blue, as I can’t seem to link to it directly.)
Transparent Red Oxide:Lefranc & Bourgeois has a good version of this, as well as Blockx’s Transparent Mars Red. Sublime! I consider Transparent Red Oxide as a must-have, even more important than other earths (like Burnt Sienna). They are great in mixtures as well as for tinting the entire canvas in preparation for starting a new painting.
Burnt Sienna, English Red, Mars Red or other “earth”: Most earth pigments are fairly affordable, so even the cheaper brands should be okay. But some are better than others! Blick Artists’ Oil Color have some good colors.
Save money, and learn color control by using limited palettes:
This works for both oils and acrylics.
If you are trying to trim down how many paints you use, or are afraid to invest in a lot of oil paints for fear you won’t like them, try a limited palette. The most obvious first choice is the Zorn Palette:
Painting done with Zorn Palette. (Thanks to Jason Aaron Baca and Portia Shao for the stock photo I used as reference!)
The Zorn Palette consists of only four pigments: White, Black, Vermillion, and Yellow Ochre. (Read more about it in this post.) There’s so many colors you can get from just these four colors. For doing a painting like the one I show above, I recommend a Cadmium Red Light (which is more vibrant and a bit “cooler” than other vermillions). An Ivory Black is “cooler” than other blacks, so that’s a good way to go.
Okay, that’s enough about oil paints for today!
Please note: I’m an “affiliate” with the online stores, whose links I give above. That means that I may get a small commission for any sale that results from visitors visiting these links. I shop at these stores all the time and would link to these stores regardless of whether I would get a commission or not! 🙂
“Eavesdropping,” 6×8″ oil on linen panel (Gatorboard).
I finally had enough, it’s done, it’s done!
This is another painting from my “novela” series (which I explain better at the bottom of this post), where I explore emotions in more depth. I always enjoy doing these paintings—so many expressions to capture! Totally love it.
I fussed with this painting for a while (you can read more of my struggles here) and decided it’s time to let it go. Time to move on to another painting! Even with the frustrating moments, I still enjoyed painting this one very much.
This painting was also my first attempt at painting on a New Traditions Art Panel, which is a bit ooh la-la and high end (too good for me! Ha!) but I had to try them out. (I’m such an art materials junkie!) I liked the lightness and sturdiness of the Gatorboard (which is like a super stable foam board with an unbendable quality) and the linen was very smooth, but somehow it seemed to suck in the paint. A bit weird to paint with. I think there are probably other linens from New Traditions that I’ll like better. (And if I don’t, oh well, I still have RayMar and Sourcetek!)
“Mercy” miniature painting, 4×4 inches, oil on Gessobord
First, I’ve been toying with the thought of using a limited palette of White, Sap Green, and Alizarin Crimson (Permanent). One of my favorite artists, John Larriva, has been playing with variations of this palette for a while, and that inspired me!
Mercy converted to B&W. Interesting! Click on image to see larger version.
Just because I felt like it, I also converted this image to B&W to see how it would look. It’s said that you can tell if the values of your painting are correct if it still looks okay in B&W. I think my painting passed the test (I hope?).
Anyway, about the limited palette: I used Liquitex Everwhite, Dick Blick’s Alizarin Crimson Permanent, and Williamsburg Sap Green. (More about the Everwhite later in this post! 🙂 )
I found the whole experience of limiting myself to just these colors, Sap Green, Alizarin Crimson Perm., and White, to be really challenging! I wasn’t sure I could do it at first. I desperately yearned for a yellow. But after a while, I got used to it and realized that it was starting to come together. It’s a bit like the Zorn Palette (see an example of that here) in that you have to think of warm and cool tones, and not so much about getting the right blue, yellow, or red. Mixing the green and the crimson together will make a pretty good dark (almost black) and it’s amazing how the flesh tones finally start to “click” after a while when you’re mixing. I’ll have to try this again sometime soon.
Okay, the other thing: Liquitex Everwhite! It’s no longer being made! An artist friend was showing me his collection of yard sale oil paints and it was the mother lode for a paint geek like me! Brand new, still in box, never used, Liquitex oil paint! I asked him if I could buy the large 150 mL tube of white, and he was willing. The tube was untouched, unused, and with a copyright date of 1980. And it was still as fresh and as buttery as it was all those decades ago! So I used it for today’s painting.
Squee! Over 34 years old! And still fresh and buttery!
This is a testimony to anyone who wonders—will my paint last? Yes, oil paint lasts for a long, long time. Occasionally you’ll have a paint mishap, where the tube gets a little hole in it or something, but assuming that the tube is sealed and undamaged, there’s no reason to worry about your paint drying out before its time. So stock up now if you can, and scour those garage sales!
There’s really no excuse for such a long absence from this blog. Other than I’ve been busy and that a lot of positive changes have happened!
I’ve been studying more, and was able to attend a workshop taught by a wonderful young artist, Adam Clague. I’ve also taken some private lessons with him. His instruction has helped me immeasurably and I’m so grateful to him!
And, I’ve been able to paint a lot more, and work from life a lot more. These are vitally important to an artist’s development.
And lastly, I got myself a new studio! It’s a mess, but was very much needed. One of my friends said that renting this studio has given me more confidence and “seriousness” about my art. I think she’s right.
Well, that’s enough of the updates. Here are a few paintings that I’ve done in the last few months:
“Green Ribbon in Her Hair” oil on panel, 8×8″.
I whine about this painting, but I’m glad it’s done. I was trying to apply many of the things I’ve learned under Adam Clague’s tutelage. I realize that there’s much more to learn. I had fun with this painting, using some Charvin brand paint (with a limited palette). I love all the variety of colors available from Charvin.
“Zorn Palette, Jason Aaron Baca” 5×7″ oil on gessobord.
I really enjoyed painting this little study. It was painted entirely with the “Zorn Palette,” a limited palette consisting of only: Vermillion Red (orange-red), Yellow Ochre, Black, and White.
The palette is inspired by Anders Zorn, who is getting a lot of attention from artists lately. (He recently had a big show in San Francisco.) In some of his paintings he focused so much on form and value, as well as temperature (“warm” vs. “cool” colors) that he could get by with just these four colors! The black paint is “cool” (almost blueish) and can substitute for a blue when needed.
You’ll see in the painting above the greenish tints in his 5-o’clock shadow, as well as the background color? All done with these four colors. I mixed the black and yellow together to get the green, and black and white gave me a “cool” grey (which can almost pass for a muted blue) which I used in the background.
The Zorn Palette is awesome. It helps the artist focus on values and shapes and brushwork, without agonizing too much over a myriad of color mixing choices. Sometimes, you don’t need any other colors other than the Zorn four (white, black, red, and yellow!).
