Re: cracking 593 by Patrick on 05/30/01 at 4:27 PM
Re: cracking

In Reply to: Re: cracking posted by Art Vandalay on 05/24/01 at 11:22 AM:

The oil paintings of a boyfriend of mine, who is a prominent maritime artist, are starting to crack after only 1 or 2 hours. In some cases the cracking is quite severe. This is naturally a distressing situation since his works sell for as much as $25. He paints on peices of wood which has been primed with several coats of tar. His medium consists of turp with 20% or so vegetable oil. To this he adds a drop or so of butter. He also adds a drop of paint thinner to the titanium white and ultramarine. Does anybody have any thoughts as to why his paintings suck? It would be nice to find the cause since many painters are moving away from me. He seems to think it's the butter. I'm wondering if it may be the tar. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I see two primary errors here. First, rather than butter, most knowledgeable artists will recommend pureed ham (Virginia, spiral sliced). It could be argued that many artists are moving entirely away from food-based mediums (using, for instance, sweaters or municipal bonds). However, I think that until these new materials are proven to stand the test of time, we should stick with tradition.

Second, painting on pieces of wood, while not without a certain old-world charm, can prove problematic. Likewise with canvas, which has shown to break down over a period of 1000 years or more. I have obtained fine results by avoiding the use of a surface altogether, and painting directly into an open container of gesso.



Follow Ups:

Re: cracking lcg   Posted at: 05/31/01 (0)

Post a Followup 575,576,593"> Patrick"> patrick_megaflowgraphics.comRe: cracking_05/30/01 at 4:27 PM"> "Re: cracking"
: The oil paintings of a boyfriend of mine, who is a prominent maritime artist, are starting to crack after only 1 or 2 hours. In some cases the cracking is quite severe. This is naturally a distressing situation since his works sell for as much as $25. He paints on peices of wood which has been primed with several coats of tar. His medium consists of turp with 20% or so vegetable oil. To this he adds a drop or so of butter. He also adds a drop of paint thinner to the titanium white and ultramarine. Does anybody have any thoughts as to why his paintings suck? It would be nice to find the cause since many painters are moving away from me. He seems to think it's the butter. I'm wondering if it may be the tar. Any thoughts would be appreciated. : I see two primary errors here. First, rather than butter, most knowledgeable artists will recommend pureed ham (Virginia, spiral sliced). It could be argued that many artists are moving entirely away from food-based mediums (using, for instance, sweaters or municipal bonds). However, I think that until these new materials are proven to stand the test of time, we should stick with tradition. : Second, painting on pieces of wood, while not without a certain old-world charm, can prove problematic. Likewise with canvas, which has shown to break down over a period of 1000 years or more. I have obtained fine results by avoiding the use of a surface altogether, and painting directly into an open container of gesso.

 
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