5. Oil – Equipment and Basic Techniques

Although oils are unquestionably a bit more cumbersome than water-colors — they are messier, take a long time to dry and are harder to clean up after, to name a few of their less attractive qualities— many paint­ers feel their advantages far outweigh such minor annoyances. Oils are much easier to handle, for one thing. Whereas it requires considerable experience before one can hope to become skillful in controlling watercolor, the beginner working with oil paints is often pleasantly surprised at how easily he obtains attractive colors and textures. Further, he finds he can make any changes or cor­rections that seem necessary without difficulty and, if he wishes, can even scrape the whole painting down to the bare canvas and begin again.

Equipment

As with watercolor, one needs only a few things at the start, but these should be of the best. There is no economy in buying cheap paints, brushes or canvases, for you can't hope to do your best work with poor quality tools and materials. On the other hand, there is no need, at the outset, to buy everything in sight (although, if one can afford to, it is often tempting to do so). As you experiment and find your own way of working, you will gradually want to add certain items as you feel you need them.

Supports

The material on which a painting is made is called the "support." It is possible to paint on almost any kind of material or substance, but the usual support for an easel paint­ing is canvas mounted on wood stretchers. There are, however, some artists who prefer a rigid support (as opposed to the resilience of stretched canvas) and they will usually choose a panel of plywood or Masonite or some similar material.

Panels of canvas mounted on composition boards of various kinds are also available. These are some­times very convenient for outdoor sketching since they come in sizes that fit easily into the lid of a sketch box. They vary greatly in quality, however, and even the best are not usually regarded as satisfactory for important work.

Artists' canvas is made of either cotton or linen and comes in various grades and textures. Cotton canvas, usually less expensive than linen, has a smooth, machine-made texture. The cheaper grades of linen canvas are often loosely woven and irregular in contrast to the evenness of the more expensive grades. Some artists like to paint on the smoother sur­faces, but others prefer the textural irregularities of the cheaper linen. One's choice will depend largely on one's personal painting style.

Canvases already mounted on stretchers can be bought at most art supply stores, but many artists find it more convenient and economical to keep a supply of stretcher strips on hand and tack the canvas, which can be bought by the yard or roll, into place as needed. Any dealer will show you how to do it — it's no great trick. As to size, canvas-meas­uring 17y2 by 21 y2 inches will fit a 16- by 20-inch stretcher, allowing a 3/4-inch lap for tacking it to the stretcher. This, is a good size for many purposes.

The kind of canvas normally stocked by art supply stores is already sized (often with glue or gelatin and water) and primed (generally with White Lead and oil) to form the painting ground or surface. Such canvas usually requires no additional preparation before the artist begins to paint on it. If, however, you should ever wish to use raw or unprepared canvas (the kind not ordinarily sold for artists' use), it would be neces­sary to size and prime it yourself in order to prevent the paint from soaking through. Detailed instruc­tions on how to size and prime canvas and other kinds of support are available in several of the refer­ence books on painting techniques already mentioned.

Brushes

The brushes ordinarily used for oil painting are stiff bristle brushes which come in "bright" — flat, thin brushes with short bristles, "flats" — thicker, with longer bristles, some­times oval rather than square, and "rounds" — same length as flats but rounded, with pointed tips. (See Figure 10.) The springy, relatively soft sable brushes, which are ideal for the watercolorist, are employed in oil work only for fine detail, soft brush strokes and delicate blendings. They are made both flat and round, common kinds being shorthaired bright, pointed rounds and flat longs.

Two other types of brushes are sometimes used by the oil painter. One, known as a blender, is soft and often large and flat (though blenders come in a variety of shapes and sizes); the other is an inexpen­sive brush (such as can be bought in any hardware store) for varnish­ing. A typical selection of brushes for oil painting would include a few flat bristles (some with short hairs and some with long), ranging per­haps from Number 2 to Number 8; four or five red sables, some round and some flat, starting with Num­ber 3 and running to Number 12 or 16 (all should preferably have long han­dles); a couple of blenders measuring 1 inch to 2 inches; and a flat var­nishing brush about 1 inch in width. As you experiment with different brushes and discover which ones you prefer to work with, you may want to add several brushes of the type and size used most often. Some painters like to have a separate brush at hand for every dominant color in a painting. Others use one brush for light colors and another for dark. Such practices undoubtedly save time and paint. If only one or two brushes are used throughout, they will need very frequent wiping.

Figure 10, Bristle brushes are most commonly used for oil painting. It is helpful to have them in several sizes and shapes. Shown here from left to right are a Number 8 bright, a Number 7 flat, a Number 1 round, and a lettering brush.

Figure 11. Stiff, trowel-shaped knives are well-suited for mixing paint. Straight, more flexible blades are generally preferred for applying paint to canvas.

Care of Brushes

Brushes are rather expensive, so they deserve proper care. Never let paint dry in them. As you work, rinse each brush frequently in tur­pentine, kerosene or mineral spirits (or some similar solvent); then wipe it with a rag. At the close of a paint­ing session, rinse each brush in the solvent even more thoroughly (excess paint can first be squeezed out on newspaper), after which you should wash it painstakingly with warm water (not hot) and laundry soap. Rub the brush on the soap and scrub it with a circular motion on the palm of your hand. Rinse. Then shape the wet bristles with the fingers — but don't squeeze! — and allow them to dry. Never stand brushes on their bristles.

Palette and Painting Knives

Some knives are used primarily for mixing colors on the palette. Others are used in place of brushes, or in conjunction with them, for the actual painting, conveying the paint to the canvas and spreading it in position. The type of knife selected depends on its intended use (see Figure 11). For mixing paint, a stiff knife — often trowel-shaped — is good. A wide blade aids in this manipulation. For applying paint, many artists choose a straight, more flexible blade, although preferences vary amazingly. Incidentally, never use your painting knife to scrape dried paint off your palette or you may ruin it. A putty knife is better for such purposes.

Palettes

As we have already indicated in Chapter 3, there are many types of palettes (objects on which the paint­er arranges his colors); the choice depends to a large extent on the working habits of the artist. The painter who likes to back away from his work frequently and then dash up for a few quick dabs, almost requires some type of thumbhole palette he can hold in his arm. Yet many painters, especially when work­ing indoors, prefer a stationary pal­ette. A sheet of glass, porcelain, plastic or painted wood laid on top of a table or artist's taboret is very convenient. Such a table-top palette leaves both hands free and is often large enough to accommodate many colors, plus cups of thinning me­diums, bottles of varnish, brushes, palette knives and other tools, which can be spread out ready for imme­diate action.

Whatever kind of palette is used, an important factor is its color. Many wooden palettes are finished in natu­ral wood tones which are sometimes needlessly conspicuous, making it hard for the painter to judge cor­rectly the hues of his paints. It is better to use a palette finished in white or neutral gray. You can, of course, paint or lacquer any wooden palette to either hue. If glass is used — as on a table top — a sheet of white or neutral gray paper can be placed under it.

Thinning and Mixing Mediums

Paints, as they come from the tube, vary greatly in consistency. Some are excessively oily, others stringy and gummy; some tend to dry out quickly. For these and other reasons, artists sometimes mix their pigments with various types of thinners and mixing mediums. The most common is rectified turpentine — "turps" in the vocabulary of the painter. (Ordinary turpentine from the paint store is not satisfactory, however.) Refined linseed oil, sun-thickened oil and stand oil are other common thinning mediums (usually intermixed with turpentine, varnish or both). The proper use of these various mediums depends on so many factors that we can only recom­mend reference to the technical books already mentioned for those who wish to know all about this subject.

We should point out, however, a few of the more obvious things to keep in mind in using mediums. First, inasmuch as most tube colors already contain too much binding medium (in order to prevent deterioration in the tube), the amount of added me­dium of an oily nature should be kept to a minimum. Such a medium should also be simple in its chemical makeup. It would obviously be un­wise to use too many substances in a picture because of possible ultimate reaction. In other words, a single medium should usually be employed throughout a painting un­less one is an expert in such matters.

Incidentally, if the medium is varied from paint layer to paint layer, one should observe the old painting rule of "fat over lean." This means that for the under layers of the painting, the "lean" and quick-drying turpen­tine might be used, with more oil added in the upper layers (the same procedure house painters follow). But never reverse the process.

Speaking of turpentine, many paint­ers rely overmuch on it. Employed to excess, turpentine tends to weaken paints with which it is mixed as it over dilutes the oily binders which hold the pigment particles together. Turps, being a solvent, also tends to dissolve any paint underneath. Too much turpentine causes painted sur­faces to dry flat (dull) or to exhibit alternate areas of dullness and gloss, according to the relative amounts of turpentine and oil present. Turps is best for under painting and for alia prima painting done at one sitting.

An excess of linseed (or other) oil is about as bad as too much turpen­tine. Oily paints can prove sticky and slow drying, which can be espe­cially annoying if they are used for under painting which is to be gone over later with additional coats. Most oils also tend to darken gradually on exposure.

For these reasons, artists often mix half linseed oil and half turpentine as a medium. Another commonly used formula calls for thirds of tur­pentine, linseed oil and dammar varnish. Some artists substitute copal varnish for the dammar; still others prefer to buy one of several ready-prepared mediums.

Driers

In order to speed up the drying of paintings, artists sometimes add to their paints small quantities of siccative. This must be used sparingly, however. Employed to excess, it is said to be very harmful, impairing the permanence of a painting. A drop of drier (preferably the type known as "cobalt") to 2 teaspoonfuls of your painting medium, plus a drop to each 2 inches of paint as squeezed from the tube, should be ample un­less the atmosphere is unusually humid.

Certain colors dry more rapidly than others. In most makes, the earth pigments (such as the ochres and umbers) and the lead pigments (including Flake White and Naples Yellow) dry so quickly that they can serve as driers if you mix them judi­ciously into your other colors. Ob­viously, no siccative should be added to colors which dry well by them­selves. Some colors, including most of the blacks, the Cadmiums and Vermilion, dry slowly. However, man­ufacturers often adjust such varying drying rates so that they are less extreme in some brands than in others and this makes it impossible to give any definite rules.

Additional Equipment

As you develop your own methods of working, you will quickly accumu­late an assortment of paraphernalia you feel you can't get along without. For oil painting, an easel is essential; you will also need small cups to hold mixing mediums and solvents (for rinsing your brushes). Rags are practically indispensable for wiping your brushes and, dipped in turpen­tine, they can also be useful for wiping off faulty areas of a painting. Remember that paint and oil-soaked rags are highly inflammable, so dispose of them accordingly. If you are work­ing indoors, a painter's drop cloth or its equivalent can save a lot of trouble and worry. Artists' smocks are also useful for protecting your clothes. Finally, a paint box — or sketch box, as it is usually called — is a handy way of carrying your equipment for outdoor work and can also serve as a convenient storage space in your studio.

Brush and Knife Exercises

Once you have selected your canvas or panel and set your palette, you have only to pick up some color on your brush or knife and begin to paint. It's as simple as that. Of course, how you hold your brush or knife and the manner in which you apply paint to canvas can make a very great difference in the kind of picture you will paint. But there is no one approved way and artists tend to be even more individual in their painting habits than in their handwriting.

Some artists — although not very many — like to work in a very detailed manner. They may work sitting down, choose small canvases and use fine brushes, holding them like pencils, close to the metal ferrule. Where even greater accuracy or small detail is desired, an artist may use a maulstick as a hand support.

Many painters, however, disapprove of such practices, preferring instead a less labored approach. They be­lieve that it is better to paint on their feet, using a rather long-handled brush grasped at or near the small end. This allows them to see the painting as a whole and execute it with freedom, speed and breadth.

You will, of course, eventually find the way of working that suits you best. In the meantime, it is well to beware of one especially bad habit that painters sometimes fall into at the beginning and later find very hard to break: staying too close to your painting as you execute it. When you work too close, your eye tends to focus on a few square inches at a time, with the result that you may be tempted to overdevelop this limit­ed area, and then the next such area, thus losing the bigness of conception and boldness of execu­tion without which a painting is usually doomed to failure.

As a preliminary to painting a pic­ture, it may be helpful to experiment with your brushes and knives to find out what kinds of lines, tones and tex­tures you can produce with each one. Examples are shown in Figure 12. Squeeze out four or five colors on your palette. Use the paint just as it comes from the tube for these exercises unless you find it unwork­able, in which case you can add a minimum of medium. You might choose White, Burnt Umber, Ultra­marine, Cadmium Yellow and Aliz­arin Crimson for these experiments; such an assortment will give you a wide range of hue and value, but any colors will do. The important thing here is not the way the colors com­bine (this will be discussed later on), but the way you can use your tools to achieve particular tones and tex­tures.

Exercise 11: Lines — With each of your brushes, in turn, carry some single strokes across your canvas, similar to those at the top of page 54. Use paint generously. Don't be disturbed by the ridges of paint which may squeeze out along the edges of a stroke, or by the way the line breaks and lets some canvas show through as the brushful of paint becomes exhausted, giving the result known as "dry brush." These effects are characteristic of oil painting and often are created intentionally. Do some lines with the flat sides of your brushes, others with the thinner edges. Try light paint, medium paint, dark paint. Tip the bristles at differ­ent angles to the canvas. Vary your pressure. Make wavy lines, broken lines, zigzag lines. Invent lines of your own. Ultimately, you will need them all. As you work with your brush, you may find that you will want to turn it over, or up on edge, every little while in order to use the paint which accumulates. That's all right, too.

Exercise 12: Broken Color — Now dip your brush into two or more colors at a time and draw a number of lines again. As you paint, these colors will automatically blend some­what, yet each will remain visible in places. Accidental effects obtained this way can be telling at times.

Figure 12. Experiment with your brushes and knives to see how many kinds of lines, tones and textures you can produce. Examples are shown here and on the previous page.

Exercise 13: Tones — Since most painting is tonal rather than linear, experiment with various ways of combining brush strokes to fill areas with tone. Let long straight lines slightly overlap. Or crisscross some strokes, perhaps brushing them out later into comparatively uniform tone, possibly with small bare areas of the canvas showing between them. In brief, combine short straight strokes, short curved strokes, short wavy or broken strokes; then do longer strokes having similar variety. Make some smooth, uniform tones. Grade some tones from light to dark; some from dark to light; some from one color to another, in each case striv­ing for a uniform gradation. Paint light lines or dots into dark areas. In other words, be inventive.

Exercise 14: Dabs or Blobs of Color — Tones are often built up by merely touching a paint-laden brush to the canvas repeatedly to "print" many dabs of color side by side. These may or may not overlap. Often sev­eral colors are used in this way, the different colors more or less inter­mingling, but each still retaining something of its original hue.

Exercise 15: Thinned Paint — For early work on a canvas, the paint is often considerably thinned (usually with turpentine) for laying the foun­dation (under painting) for the work to follow. The paint must not, of course, be thin enough to run, but it can approach that state. Experi­ment with paint thus diluted with turpentine to different consistencies. Then thin some with oil instead of turps so as to get the feel and ap­pearance of both types of paint. Next try a medium of half turps, half oil.

Exercise 16: Wiping Off — If a cer­tain passage fails to "arrive" when you are painting a picture, it is best not to flop with it too long. The usual procedure is to scrape it with a palette knife or wipe it off (in whole or in part) with a paint rag. Your index finger shoved into a folded rag is a good tool for this. Just use the rag-covered finger like a brush (per­haps dipping it into turpentine first) and wipe into the offensive area.

Paint a few areas and then ex­periment with them in this manner, wiping some of them away entirely and leaving others to paint over again later. These wiped lines some­times become a part of the final technique.

Exercise 17: Knife Painting — Now use your painting knives much the same as you have your brushes. Draw wide lines with the flat or the point of a knife, fine lines with its edge. Dab on blobs of thick paint. Use a knife as a spreader to cover large canvas areas and as a scratchier or scraper of tone already in place. In short, try everything which comes to mind, remembering that, as with your brushes, every trick which you learn now will have a thousand later applications. Your knives may seem clumsy tools at first, but with practice they can become amazing­ly fast and effective.

Exercise 18: Painting into Dry Paint — Much work is painted "wet-in-wet," the artist completing a picture at one sitting. This is known as alia prima painting. Often, however, it is nec­essary or desirable to come back to a painting the next day or several days later, or even on many different occasions. This means painting into areas which are already partially dry. The effects which result are likely to be quite different from those painted in any other way.

As an experiment in this direction, coat some fairly large areas with different tones and let them dry par­tially. In a day or two — or even in a few hours — paint back into them. If such areas are quite dry, by the way, they often receive subsequent brushwork more sympathetically if they are first coated with a bit of medium or retouching varnish. This is especially true if they have dried flat and dull. The medium or varnish may be sprayed on with a fixative blower.

And now, having gained some ex­perience in handling brushes, knives and paints, we are ready to return to the subject of color itself, particularly in relation to pigments.

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