I'm a beginner confused about mediums and starting
Hello,

I've been painting for about a year with the Bob Ross technique but I really want to try a more traditional method without the use of the liquid white. My first question is: what does a medium actually do and how do you apply it? Do you put it on the canvas and then put the paint or do you mix it with your paint prior to applying it? Do you change the ratio as your paint progresses? Also, a big problem that I've been encountering: starting a painting. If I want to paint a scene with lanscape and people, do I "hide" the people under some contact paper while I do the background or just carefully paint around until I get to the details of the person? I know this is a lot of very basic questions, but I really want to learn and I've been reading many books that tell me contradictory info. Thanks in advance for your answers.
 
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