How do you use painting medium?

[Jeff Fuchs]

When I was in school, I was taught to mix painting medium with the paint on the palette. I have, on occasion, read that medium should be applied to the canvas, then painted over. Yesterday I found a painting demonstration that urged painters to return to the lost technique of applying the medium to the dry canvas (or dry underpainting), and then painting wet on wet into it.

Do any of you use this technique? It seems logical to me. I am not painting yet, but I want to know these things in advance.

Here's the demo:

http://studioproducts.com/demo/demo.html

[Steven Sweeney]

After having been subjected, in training and in the real afterworld, to all manner of recipes for mediums

[Patricia Joyce]

Hi Jeff,

It's been a while since you have posted anything. I thought about you the other day and, "Aha! I bet Jeff is starting to paint and is VERY busy!! " Looks like you are getting closer.

I went to the Cennini Art Forum and saw the article and that there is a video of this type of painting. It sounds very interesting, especially since I struggle to squint and get the masses set before drawing detail. The life drawing and portrait drawing classes are helping me to work from the outside in, buiding detail later in the drawing. This is so against how I taught myself to draw portraits. A kind of starting at square one for me. And at my age!

Nice to see your post, hope to see some drawings you have completed lately as I always enjoy your work.

Following your pencil...
Pat

[Marvin Mattelson]

The subject of mediums is very tricky as alluded to by Steven. Mediums cannot draw, paint or compose. The hand of the artist controlling the brush determines the outcome of the picture.

It's been recently confirmed through rigorous scientific testing that painters before the 18th century used nothing but linseed and walnut oils. No secret mediums were employed. As a result their paintings have fared far better against the ravages of time than did much of the works that followed.

There is a lot of controversy concerning Studio Products and the claims they make. Both pro and con. I would caution against blindly following what manufacturers claim to be THE answer since their prime motivation remains fiscal health.

The other thing I caution against is following rules that contain admonitions such as always and must . There is no right way to apply paint. Any artist that thinks their way of paint application is the only correct way, is mistaken. This is the one area where the individuality of the artist can manifest and helps distinguish inherent uniqueness.

Mediums serve many functions. They alter the drying time of paints (slower and faster). They also can change the consistency of the paint by making it more transparent, translucent, stickier and/or smoother flowing.

Some of what we call mediums are simply just oils added to the paint. Some are combinations of various additions to the oil such as varnishes, synthetic resins, solvents and just about anything else imaginable.

The choices of appropriate pigments can somewhat mitigate their need. For example flake white dries quickly and may not be the best choice to keep a painting open longer. (titanium dries far more slowly).

The idea of painting over a medium can be tricky resulting in a fatter layer. However judiciously rubbing a little oil into dry paint film will decrease the sinking in of darks and allow the paint a little more flow with less drag.

Certain applications such as glazing and scumbling require more medium since the paint needs to be veil-like for these to succeed. Anyone who says that it is wrong to have oil mixed in with the paint has never had the opportunity to create paintings like Bouguereau, who used scumbling to create his luminous flesh.

Keep in mind that too much medium in all of your layers will lead to a much weaker paint film.

The bottom line is figure out what you want to achieve, pick appropriate whites for your technique and keep the KISS philosophy in your mind at all times.

Good luck!

[Linda Brandon]

Jeff, I agree with Messrs. Steven and Marvin - the subject of mediums is fraught with opinion and contention, and it's also easy to get a desired result using any number of methods.

I use Maroger because it enables me to more easlily achieve a luminous tonal effect with subtle edges. I can also throw around some painterly brushwork if I want to, and I usually want to do that - the luminosity AND the painterliness - all in the same painting. (But that's my own taste in painting.)

I apply a thin layer of Maroger every morning before I begin to work, and then I apply another layer of paint, scumbling over the surface. The surface is usually dry the next day and I work over it again and again... . Is this "better" than my alla prima work? To tell you the truth, I don't know for sure, but I have really come to love working this way.

For example, the attached painting reflects at least 15 coats of paint on the face. My paintings are done on panels and I'm not worrying about cracking or layer separation, unless somebody can give me a convincing reason to do so.

"Jolie", 20" x 16", Oil on panel

[William Forward]

I've read time and again that traditional Maroger medium (aka megilp) has serious problems over time, notably a tendency to darken unpredictably as a result of the "black oil" (linseed oil cooked with lead) component and a proneness to cracking because of the mastic element. Apparently, artists began to be aware of the drawbacks well over a hundred years ago and its use was largely abandoned. (I got most of this from Ralph Mayer's "Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques") In spite of the negative info, though, a number of current artists, yourself and David Leffel among them, seem to embrace it. Am I missing something? I know that modern substitutes are available, Gamblin makes one, as does Schmincke. Is that what you are using, or are you sticking with the original?

[Michele Rushworth]

William, who are you addressing when you refer to "you" in your question. If you mean me, I don't use Maroger for the reasons you mention. I use linseed mixed with OMS.

[Linda Brandon]

William, Maroger use is heatedly debated on other on-line Forums, notably the Studio Products "Cennini Forum". You can find many arguments along these lines at www.studioproducts.com.

[William Forward]

Michele and Linda,
I was actually trying to reply to an old post of Linda's where she spoke of using Maroger. After reading much of what has been posted here and on the studioproducts.com site (a much less civil site than this one), I confess that I'm more confused than ever. In addition, now I'm growing wary of using alkyd materials! As with too many issues today, the false and unsubstantiated info seems to get equal time with the well-researched and tested, and pretty soon nothing is clear, you don't know what to trust, and people are just arguing with each other. Help!

[Patricia Joyce]

It's so good to have this forum for those of us just beginning our journey into painting. Thank you Steven, Marvin, Linda for your perspectives, it helps me remember there are no secret formulas but many approaches suited to varying tastes and personalities.

Every day is an education for me on this forum.
Thank you!