[Minh Thong]

Hi all,

I started using oils in January - coming from sketching and pastels - and have poured over the posts that are materials and technique related here, and at two other forums, and I've been trying a little of this and that. I've been working in still life and figures as I familiarize myself with the characteristics of oils and mediums, but I want to eventually work in portraiture and so I have a couple questions about materials for portraiture.

Since I started painting I've primarily used turps alone for underpaintings and opaque passages, turps-standoil-damar for glazes, and damar and turps retouch varnish between each layer. What I want to try next is Liquin for underpainting, and Covino's painting medium for opaque and glazed areas - I didn't find that retouch between layers was doing anything for me, and I coat the canvas with medium before I lay on the pigment anyway.

Do you guys have any input into this method? Is the Covino medium OK for opaque and glazed passages? What do I lose by not using retouch varnishes?

Thanks for your kind indulgence, the level of experience (and civility) over here is amazing.

Respectfully,

Thich Minh Thong