Staining your canvas . . . what do you use

[Claudemir Bonfim]

Originally Posted by Michele Rushworth

...especially in thinly painted areas with only one or two layers, like the face.

Interesting, that's where my paintings are thicker.

[Sharon Knettell]

Claudimir,

In the book, "John Singer Sargent", by Carter Ratcliff, (Abbeville Press) it says " the places of masses were indicated with a rigger dipped in a flowing pigment. No preparation in colour was allowed, but the main planes of the face must be laid directly on the unprepared canvas with a broad brush." This book is available on this site.

I tone my canvasses based on my color theme, if it is to be a green theme, I tone it green, a yellow theme, yellow, etc.

After talking to Micheal Harding, the paint maker, I will not use any kind of acrylic under-painting, not even Liquin or Galkyd, or acrylic gessoed canvasses.

Alexandra,

Good pigments as a rule should not fade, alizarin, one of my favorites does. Vermilion can blacken when exposed to sulphuric acid, a by product of the use of coal heat.

All oil paints will in time yellow and get more transparent.

A recent article in "The American Scientist" shows the results of the pigment change in Seurat's "Le Grande Jatte" to be a decided shift to yellow.

Allan,

In another book on Sargent, he used thickly painted darks.

[Michele Rushworth]

After talking to Michael Harding, the paint maker, I will not use any kind of acrylic under-painting, not even Liquin or Galkyd, or acrylic gessoed canvasses.

What did he say would happen if an artist uses canvases that are gessoed with acrylic? (I sometimes use them for my non-portrait work.)

[quote]Good pigments as a rule should not fade, alizarin, one of my favorites does. [/quote}You might want to check out Gamblin's Permanent Alizarin. Richard Schmidt, among others, seem to feel it is truly permanent.

[Allan Rahbek]

Originally Posted by Michele Rushworth

What did he say would happen if an artist uses canvases that are gessoed with acrylic? (I sometimes use them for my non-portrait work.)
.

The acrylic gesso that I have used for priming canvas lately dries up matte and very absorbent. I don

[Sharon Knettell]

Michele,

He said not to use them, I have notes, I will see if I can find them.

His knowledge is quite encyclopedic and my poor brain could not quite contain the amount of information he delved out.

He went into the types of canvas, the weave, twill or regular and what effect where the flax was grown to the quality of its' use as a paint surface.

I did a bit of research last spring and I was disappointed in the lack of good painting surfaces. One reason lead gessoing is so desirable is its' flexibilty and durability. Unfortunately good prepared lead gessoed canvas is rare. But this is going beyond the purview of this thread.

As to alizarin, I am wary of using Gamblin as they use an alkali refined linseed oil as opposed to a cold-pressed linseed oil more common in European oil paint manufacture. According to Ralph Mayer, cold pressed is more durable and it does not have a suede effect. That is when a paint color changes as a result of the direction of a paint stroke.

[Terri Ficenec]

Originally Posted by Sharon Knettell

. . .According to Ralph Mayer, cold pressed is more durable and it does not have a suede effect. That is when a paint color changes as a result of the direction of a paint stroke.

Sharon, thanks for sharing that! I've noticed that effect occasionally, but didn't realize the type of oil was the cause or that some brands of paint might behave differently. Is there a particular brand you favor that doesn't produce a 'sueded' effect?

[Sharon Knettell]

Terry,

Yes, Blockx and Micheal Harding.

You could also try this trick I learned on a Daniel Greene tape. When the paint is still quite wet run a soft fan brush gently across the surace in one direction without destroying the strokes.

[Allan Rahbek]

Originally Posted by Sharon Knettell

Allan,

In another book on Sargent, he used thickly painted darks.

Sharon,

In the notes on Sargent's technique, a student of him, Miss. Heyneman, tells that he would brush in the general tone with paint diluted in turps. After then he used the paint mostly undiluted.

You are right that he painted all effects with opaque paint. He said that if we would paint something transparent, it should not be done with transparent paint, but in the right mixture of color, in opaque paint.

He also would wipe out a face or hand and start over at the next sitting if he was not satisfied with the result. That would leave several layers of skin color I guess.

Allan

[Bianca Berends]

I prefer the white of the canvas as a starting point. I don't paint thin layers, but try to paint a face in one session. The thickness of the paint is mostly the same in the shadows, midtones as in the light areas. I like the white of the canvas because it corresponds with the white of my pallet, so I know the colors I mix will come out exactly the same on the canvas.