Linseed Oil?

[Pam Phillips]

I have been painting for less than a year, not counting some dabbling 20 years ago. I have been mixing turpenoid natural with my paints, to varying degrees. The fumes from odorless turpenoid bother me, so I'm not even going to try turpentine. That's all I've been using and my paints are Windsor Newton.

What are the benefits of mixing paint with linseed oil or any other medium? If linseed oil is used, should you use it consistently throughout the portrait?

It's wonderful to have the opportunity to communicate on a forum with other portrait artists, including those whose work I greatly admire!

[John de la Vega]

Pam, you may want to substitute your tupenoid with Gamsol odorless mineral spirits, the best turpentine substitute I've found (so far). It's really odorless and mixes and cleans well.

About the linseed oil question, you can use it as a medium in most stages of the painting (not much sense in using it when you draw, or lay in the initial thin layers, for which turpentine is fine). I suggest you mix 2 parts linseed oil 1 part stand oil and three parts of Gamsol for an all - purpose medium, which you can use throughout the painting, even in the first stages. For the finishing layers, if you decide to try a special medium, there are a large number available, a good one is Grumbacher Painting Medium II. Specialty mediums, particularly the thicker ones, give you more control and 'feel' as well as transparency in any subtle layering and glazing. Alchemist brand mediums are outstanding, and can be ordered on the internet at www.amberalchemist.com

[Pam Phillips]

Thanks for this info.

I suggest you mix 2 parts linseed oil 1 part stand oil and three parts of Gamsol.

Now I have another question: what is stand oil?

edited to add: I just visited your web site and your work is just beautiful.

[John de la Vega]

Thank you, Pam, for your comment on my work. Sorry I didn't answer sooner, it's been hectic with teaching a workshop and moving to a new house and studio.

From the Internet:

Stand oil is Polymerized Oil

"Today artists regard the term 'Stand oil' as a poor descriptive but accepted term for polymerized oil. Heating drying oils and excluding oxygen, 250 to 300 degrees and up, will undergo this change. No oxidation of the oil occurs as in Sun Thickened Oil. The chemical structure of stand oil is identical to regular oil (in our case linseed oil).. the thickening process taking place without the harmful effects of exygen"

Too technical? Yes, don't get confused, or oxygen starved, or whatever. Buy it in any art supply store.

I hope this helps (?)
John

[Juan Martinez]

Pam

Allow me to jump in here--this is my first post on the Stroke of Genius forum. Pardon me for this being perhaps a little more lengthy than you would like it to be.

I would concur with pretty-much everything that John said. Certainly it is true that Gamblin's "Gamsol" seems to be the best odourless mineral spirit currently on the market. There is such a wide variety of mediums out there, too, that it can become quickly confusing. Plus, what I like to use, or what anyone else likes, might not end up being suitable for you. Thus, we do have to do at least some experimenting.

However, two important things I would keep in mind when delving into mediums: First; always obey the "fat-over-lean" principle. That is, one should never put a leaner (ie: less oil) layer over a fatter one. You can, however, put layers of equal oil-richness or lean-ness--as the case may be--one over the other, as you wish. Second; start out simply. That is, don't try seven different mediums on seven different pictures. Rather, try just straight linseed (plus-or-minus some spirits) for a number of pictures until you are more-or-less comfortable with that. Then, if you want to experiment with more "exotic" mediums, you will have a good basis for comparison. When using mediums, another very good rule-of-thumb is to use as little as possible. A little goes a long way.

Some pigments are naturally ground in more oil than are others. It is important to get to know which are more naturally lean and which are richer. For instance, most blacks and umbers already have a lot of oil in them, whereas most of the white pigments, particularly lead white, require far less oil to manufacture. It also takes more oil to grind a pigment than is necessary for painting with it afterwards. To compound things, many manufacturers use too much oil in all events, even for pigments that don't need so much. It is therefore a good idea to drain some of the oil out of your paints by putting the globs of paint you are about to use onto a piece of paper such as a business card first. A few minutes on the paper will soak out at least some of the oil. Then, when you add medium to them later, you will be adding as little as is possible in order to achieve your goals. Make sense?

Note: The reason the "fat-over-lean" principle is important to follow is because of the differential in drying times between a less-oily, and a more-oily paint layer. The more oil, the longer it takes to dry. If you put a leaner layer over a richer one, the lower one cannot dry properly because the one on top dries faster and impedes the drying of the lower layer. This leads to cracking and other potential harm to the picture. Oil paints dry (or cure) by a process of oxidation from the top down. They don't, in other words, dry throughout all at once. They need some "breathing" space. The Fat over Lean practice allows this to occur.

Hope this helps.

All the best,
Juan

[Pam Phillips]

John and Juan,

Thanks for all this information. I've got a long list of supplies I want to get at this point! I've gotten more instruction on this forum than I ever got in 4 years of college, many times over, in fact.

[Pam Phillips]

John,

I just wanted to add that I hope your move was more fun than work!

[John de la Vega]

Thank you for your acknowledgment and wishes, Pam, unfortunately the move itself was more work than fun, but I love my new house, studio, and grounds, with lots of beautiful trees to paint (I'll be teaching plein-air workshops here soon, hopefully the one next week will have outdoor painting if this warm weather holds!)

I'm so happy you're enjoying the Forum, we have Cynthia and her great insight and design - and of course all the participants - to thank..

Happy painting! John