Glazing

[Karin Wells]

Patt,

Did you purchase and are you following the "Old Master" techniques as described on David weaver's step-by-step videos as shown on his website at: http://flemishrealism.com? Which video are you following?

Or did you find David's step-by-step directions somewhere else?

[Michael Georges]

Patt:

Per your request, what follows is the technique I use to paint. It is just one method of painting, but it works great for me. It was taught to me by Frank Covino whose teaching I highly recommend to anyone interested in classical realism with an old master touch. His website is www.portrait-art.com. Frank is 70 this year, so catch him while you still can. I cannot say enough about what he and his knowledge have done for my work.
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I do a complete charcoal rendering of the form - this establishes the cartoon and serves as the first blush for the values, and the map for the underpainting. I fix the charcoal with retouch varnish.

Next, I do a complete monochromatic underpainting over the charcoal. I usually use a grisaille/verdaccio combination. I do use an alkyd medium during the underpainting as I want it to be rock hard dry before I start applying dead color. I take the underpainting to as finished a state and as much detail as I can. Spray with Damar Retouch Varnish to bring the values up when done.

Next I begin my dead color stage. I glaze first - things that can be glazed - clothes, backgrounds, foliage, hair, etc. I use the following medium:

5 parts Damar Varnish
5 parts Rectified Turpentine
3 parts Stand Oil
1 part Venice Turpentine

For opaque passages of the painting, I use this medium and spray it on (PreVal sprayer at HW store $5 bucks) and then paint into it. For finishing touches and high detail, I use the medium I told you about previously as it stays open longer than the above medium does.
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From further reading of your posts, it sounds like parts of your painting are "sinking in". You will get that a lot with colors like umbers - they just seem to absorb the oil and look dull on the painting in comparison to other areas. If you rub a small amount of your medium into them, it should bring them back up.

Hope that helps.

[Peter Garrett]

Hi again, Karin!

No, I don't think Aussie terminology is a foreign language. Sounds to me like we have the same understanding of opacity and transparency.

Just as a matter of interest, though: one of my teachers often adds a LITTLE bit of cremnitz white to his glazes. He has two reasons for this: first, that lead helps to produce a stable, tough film that dries a bit faster- second, that a very small amount of semi-opaque paint in the transparent film can produce subtle colour changes, and smooth out irregularities. It's still a glaze; you don't notice the white because it's so subtle. Sort of like adding a tiny bit of Chinese white to a watercolour wash, say, to change a crimson to a "pink".

I think maybe Brits and Aussies tend to think of scumbles as "broken" brushwork that allows the underlayer to show through- but as I said in my previous post, it doesn't really matter as long as the effect is what you want, right?

Cheers!

[Patt Legg]

Karin,

I have a quick moment and will answer your question. Actually, he lives within an hour of me and I studied with him as an apprentice, painting this technique and watching him also. I also have taken 2 workshops from him and getting ready to do another one. I love his technique, but personally, I feel that his edges are too hard and the skin tone a bit too waxy and I prefer more Rembrandt hard and soft paintery procedure. But what can I say------he is out there much more than I.

Cheers,
Patt

[Karin Wells]

Peter:

Adding a tiny bit of the cremnitz white to a glaze layer sounds like a good idea. I have used zinc white for this, but it doesn't do anything to enhance the stability of the paint. As to the nomenclature of painting, I find it frustrating that even though some of us artists think we're talking about the same thing when we use a term...we're not. I could use a good dictionary of "art" terminology - know any?

Patt:

Since you are following the methods taught by David Weaver, I suggest that you bring your problem painting to him and he can probably tell you exactly what went wrong.

I've see his work and his teachings seem solid. If you can master the technique he teaches, there is no reason why you cannot (within his guidelines) tweak the edges and adjust the light to your liking.

Until you master one particular way of painting (whatever it is), I don't think that you should add other techniques into it. When you have mastered something, then you can "play around with it" and make it your own. If you're going to work with David, I suggest that you be rigid about doing what he says until you get a result at least as good as his in a technical sense.