Terri Ficenec: Saying Hello!

[Darla Dixon]

Hi Terri, it's nice to meet you. I have 9 year old twin daughters, so I understand EXACTLY what you meant about it being a little difficult with 'high spirited' kids around! I also have a small house and now a 2 month old baby boy. My art table is in a corner of the living room with all kinds of distractions. I work in graphite pencil, colored pencil, micron pen, pastels, and very often all of the above for mixed media pieces.

With children around, if I were you, I'd stay away from the oil paints and turpenoid etc because of health risks to the family, unless you can find a new well ventilated area in which to work. Obviously at 8 and 9 years old, there's less risk of them ingesting the chemicals, but the chemicals in the air are what I'm referring to as risk factors.

Someone mentioned Winsor & Newton, and they do make very good water-soluble oil paints. They are a special new formulation. I think most portrait artists don't like to work in acrylic because acrylic dries so fast, and there's also a little bit of the opinion by many artists, whether they feel it consciously or unconsciously, that unless they are painting in oils, they don't feel like they are 'really' painting. I am open to all mediums for portraiture, have tried oils and it was fine but I didn't feel the connection I felt that I needed to have to create. Maybe I will someday.

[Terri Ficenec]

Hi Darla!

Thanks - and nice to meet you too! (9 year-old twins and a baby, you do have your hands full!) I've taken over the spare bedroom for a studio so I am able to at least limit some of the hustle and bustle around my work, but ventilation is still a concern. For now, I'm sticking with the acrylics. I've got a couple of commissions for acrylic paintings - that helps! (And to be honest, I would need a fair amount of practice with oils and maybe some instruction in different oil mediums - in order to even feel competent! . . . so that's on hold for now.)

I usually like that the acrylics dry quickly - although I envy the luxury of blending wet on wet!

[Michele Rushworth]

On the ventilation issue, you can use Gamsol odorless mineral spirits (which is a less dangerous and less odorous solvent than most) and put a tabletop fan in a window, facing out. That should take care of most of the ventilation issues.

I was taught to paint using acrylics, and I also used watercolor for a long time, but since I've moved to oils I would never switch back now. I love the rich, lush look that other media just don't have.

[Terri Ficenec]

Hi Michele!

First, let me say that your work is absolutely beautiful - especially Ben and Samantha, Chloe, and Erika and Robbie! From the volume of work (all oils?) on your web-site, it looks as if you've been painting in oils for quite awhile now. I'm curious to know more of your experience with switching?

- what prompted the switch - customer demand?
- how did you go about learning how to handle the oils when you switched... did you take classes, just jump right in?
- how long did it take you to feel competent, confident enough to accept commissions once you switched to the oils? (and were you doing commissions in acrylics, or were the acrylics more just from when you were a student?)

I 'learned' to paint in oils, taking lessons from a local still-life/landscape artist at her studio starting when I was 9 and intermittently through high school. But as I read here on the Forum painters talking about technique, and all the variations of oils that are used as mediums, I think those early lessons were severely lacking. We just used the paints right out of the tubes - no medium at all! It was a little like pushing mud around on the canvas. So my memories of oil painting, (and those early paintings!) are less than impressive. But I hope if I learned proper technique, I'd have better luck with it now.

My husband is just mmmm... tolerating my decision to 'quit my day job' and paint... (college tuitions in the not-too-distant future!) and commissions coming in help to put his mind a little more at ease, I think. I'm concerned about how much down-time it would take for me to really learn to use oils effectively. And though I think this is a switch I will want to make at some point, I think timing will be key.

So, anyway,... I've digressed into rambling! Any insights on your experience transitioning to oils would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Terri

[Michele Rushworth]

I think you'll find the transition to oils to be easier than you might think. I had never done a portrait in oils (only pastel) until two and a half years ago and, yes, all the work on my site is in oils.

To be honest, I decided to learn oils because of customer demand. It takes me the same amount of work to create a portrait in oils as it does in any other medium, and they command much higher prices, in general. I also love the look of oil paintings and the buttery feel of the paint on the brush as I work.

I taught myself how to use oils, mostly by reading the posts on this site. Working with the paints straight out of the tube, as you did, is fine, assuming you use the better brands. (You might want to try Gamblin brand as a good place to start.)

If you want to thin the paints, try a mixture of 50% odorless mineral spirits (Gamsol) and linseed oil, but don't thin them too much. As you add more layers, put in more linseed and less mineral spirits. There are as many opinions as to what medium to use and how to use it as there are artists, but with that basic formula you'll be off to a good start.

That's about all you need to know to make the switch. Just jump right in!

[Terri Ficenec]

Hi Michele!

-- and thanks for the encouragement! I'm trying to keep my schedule clear between Thanksgiving and Christmas so that I can try the oils then.

Will let you know how it goes!