178: Re: Beginner painter

Art Teaching videos
1st video workshop $160.00	2nd video workshop $ 120.00	3d video workshop $110.00

Re: Beginner painter

In Reply to: Beginner painter posted by Glenn Vatter on 05/29/00 at 10:04 AM:

Hi Glenn,

perhaps thinking of that method of painting as wet-INTO-wet will help, because that is truly what it is. However, you can paint wet strokes ONTO wet paint if you develop an understanding of the way paint works and how to choose the right brush for the job.

When using oil, you may have noticed that, occasionally, a stroke will cling to wet paint perfectly and at other times it will slide and mush into it. That is due to the difference in oil content between the underlying stroke and that being applied. The idea is to keep the entire underlying layer of paint at one level of oil content with the subsequent layer at a slightly higher level. That will allow the strokes to stick without smearing. Of course that means not using damar or turps in the medium, or if you do, greatly diminishing them. Those ingredieants break the surface tension and cause smearing when painted into the wet.

The brushes should be longer bristles and softer than those used on the underlying layers. That will allow the top layer of paint to cling to the underlying layer without smearing. Some mediums allow wet into wet manipulations better than others. Maroger's medium is the most obvious choice for the painter serious about such difficult manipulations. An oil-modified alkyd, such as Liquin, is also fairly thixotropic, that is, it remains thick and stable until manipulated, at which point it becomes smooth and slippery, only to return to its thicker state upon standing. WinGel is even more so. As an engineer, I'm sure that you can see how this thixotropicity can be used to great advantage. Just remember to mix the paint and medium vigorously before applying a stroke over wet paint which has laid undisturbed. It will lay right on the surface.