[Marvin Mattelson]

It seems to me that a lot of new painters on this site are trying to learn the technique of glazing over under paintings. Glazing was originally used to achieve more chromatic effects because of the narrow range of pigments available to artists at the time. Today we have a vast array of pigments available so glazing is not needed nearly as much. In the wrong hands glazing can also produce the look of a hand tinted photo.

In my opinion you first need to learn how to paint directly and master wet into wet technique. This is the only way to learn the subtleties of manipulating oils. Even artists that extensively employ glazing still must rely on opaque paint handling for certain passages. You should first master your ability to model with paint and then if you wish to augment this with glazing techniques go right ahead.

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