Black goes matte

I am fairly new to oil painting and have been putting together some still lifes. I am using a little linseed oil as a medium and am not sure why some areas of the painting dry glossy and others matte (particularly in the black areas). It is all rather distracting. I would be most grateful if anyone could tell me how to remedy this and advise me how to make the black shadow deeper and a little glossier and not so grey and matte.

Thank you for your help in advance.

Yours ever,
Arthur

[David Dowbyhuz]

Welcome, Arthur.

It sounds like you're layering a dark (black, brown, etc) on top of existing paint. This "sinking in" that you're experiencing happens to us all. It'd take a real master (like Virgil Elliott) to explain the chemistry going on. I can see Virgil shuddering as I write this, but I like the judicious use of retouch varnish to "bring the color back". There's opinion about how archival a painting can be with intermediate use of retouch, but I like it a lot.

If you're patient enough (I am NOT), you can wait the full six months for a painting to dry, and then when you put your final varnish your darks will "rise again".

I'll be curious to see what others do (or don't).

Thank you David for your help. Is there any particular retouch varnish you can recommend?

Yours ever,
Arthur

[David Dowbyhuz]

I sure can't say with any degree of knowledge suppliers available in the U.K., but here in the "provinces" there's many choices. I hesitate to suggest all retouches are created equal. For something as important as a medium (yes folks, I consider retouch a medium) or any art material for that matter, you'll rarely go wrong buying the "most expensive" brand in the store. (I use Pebeo, contradictory to what I've said, because it isn't expensive.) I am an enigma. (Just ask my brother, Steve Sweeney.)

[Stanka Kordic]

Hi Arthur,

I would suggest you look at the colors you use. For example, Burnt Umber (ugh) is notorious for sinking in and 'deadening' as is Black. I only use straight black in the pupils. I mix it otherwise, using something like alizarin, ultramarine, sometimes a little raw umber. Raw umber is my 'brown' of choice.

Liquin is my current medium. I rarely see that sinking in with my colors.

Everyone has their own formula. Try different things and see what you're comfortable with.

[Steven Sweeney]

Arthur, Since you are

What a response. Steven, Stanka and David, thank you so much for taking time to advise a struggling artist. I am going to start a forum file to keep all your expertise.

Yours ever,
Arthur

[Chris Saper]

Hi Arthur,

I have had this problem with the dark transparents as well. Ann Manry Kenyon advised that I try Daniel Green's approach of using a medium of 1 part linseed oil: 2 parts Turpentine in the dark areas ONLY. It absolutely did the trick.

Chris

[Michele Rushworth]

I believe that this "sinking in" dulling effect often seen with blacks and other colors is because the black paint is losing its oil to the layers underneath. If the lower layers were thinned too far they pull oil from the top layer. The top, dull layer is then left without enough oil to even bind it properly to the painting. You can see the result of this when you wipe a dry cloth over a dry area of dull black paint and some of the pigment comes off on the cloth: it's not bound properly to the layers below it.

The method I learned for solving this problem is to restore the oil to the upper dull layer by putting a very thin coat of linseed oil over it. This is called "oiling out". Let the linseed dry and soak in. A few days later you may see that parts of the dull layer still need a bit more linseed, so reapply. When you're all done, the top layer should have an even glossy sheen like the rest of your canvas and also be bonded properly with enough oil to hold it to the painting.

Can anyone else on the forum let me know if I'm off base here? I've had this problem a few times but by not thinning my paints so much, and by using this linseed "oiling out" method, it seems to have solved the problem.

[Juan Martinez]

Arthur, et al.;

You have had some very complete answers, so I apologize for burdening you with yet another lengthy one. Unfortunately, all of what has already been said is correct. :-) That is to say, the sinking-in effect occurs for a variety of reasons and often as a combination of things, ranging from the type of ground, the amount of paint under the sunken area, the pigment(s) used, to the kind of medium. And, there are a number of different ways of dealing with it, and for different purposes. As pointed out earlier, the phenomenon is most noticeable in the blacks, the earth colours, and many of the dark, transparent colours; all of which are ground in more oil than are the lighter colours. This may have something to do with it, but I have no idea of the chemistry of it. Sinking-in also occurs in the light passages, but it is very difficult to detect there, and it doesn't affect the value as much as it might the chroma, so usually it's irrelevant in the lights.

Anyway, one of the things I wanted to add to the discussion so far is to distinguish between when you should "oil-out" and when you should use re-touch varnish. Personally, I hate retouch varnish for any area that I expect to paint over again. The new paint re-dissolves the varnish and it gets sticky and gooey and I hate it. I much prefer to use the oiling-out method. Yes, this adds oil which can contribute to darkening and yellowing over time. But, who cares if it's in the darks, anyway? Moreover, and most importantly, if you are going to paint into the area, it is better to paint into the oiled-out zone than it is to paint into the re-touch varnish. Just don't add any extra medium to your paint because the oiling-out medium acts as such already. Re-touch should be used only as a last resort, in my books, and mainly where you have long-finished a passage to your satisfaction. You might change your mind at that point, or just leave it. The intent is to leave it. Whereas, oiling-out is properly used where you fully intend to continue painting.

There are a couple of relatively simple "rules" to keep in mind when applying oiling-out medium. First, it should not be more lean (ie. have a lower percentage of oil) than the previous layer of paint. I normally just oil-out with the same richness of medium that I am intending to use that day. Second, make sure the area to be oiled-out is at least dry to the touch. Once you're applying the medium and you see paint coming off (more on this later) ... stop. Wait a while longer. There's no way around that.

How to apply the oiling-out medium? Some people use their fingers, but I find that is too aggressive. In order to get the oil into the interstices of the paint/canvas topography, you have to press too hard with your fingers. A kinder, gentler way is to dip a clean make-up sponge (one of those inexpensive wedge-shaped things sold in the bags-full at the pharmacy) into the medium and let the sponge soak some of it up. Then you go over the area on the painting carefully and just keep squeezing the sponge sufficiently to allow the medium to come out. If you glop it on too much, it will slide down the painting and leave a permanent drip if you don't catch it. Or, you can apply the medium with a soft, broad brush. I prefer the sponges, though, because I can discard them after one or two uses, whereas, I have to clean the brush.

In either case, no matter how careful you are, always keep in mind that you will have applied too much oil. Just leave it on for a few minutes to half-an-hour, though. Then, come back to the area with another clean sponge, or with a lint-free cloth such as those blue shop towels. Gently wipe down the area you previously oiled-out. This should remove unecessary oil and leave only a slight gloss and an oil layer that is mere microns thick, but with all the colours saturated properly. Again, I prefer the sponge for this because it is gentler and softer and less likely to remove paint. If you have left the painting for a week or more, there should generally be no danger of the paint coming off. However, with retouch varnish you need to wait at least a month.

Finally, to avoid using either oiling-out or retouch varnish indiscriminately, as Steven would have you do [( Steven, I think you have a typo in your post.] you should make sure that your colours have in fact sunken-in. To do this, simply lick your finger and then run it across the area in question. If the colour changes--i.e., deepens and/or brightens--you've got sinking-in. If not, and you don't like the colour that's there, then it needs re-painting.

Again, sorry about the long post. Hope it helps.

Best of luck,
Juan