I took a Bob Ross class once and I didn’t learn as much in 45 minutes as I did just now. All I knew is that oils take a long time to dry (wasn’t told they cure) and that thick layers dry slower (but not told they can warp)
1. I think if you use less and less solvent per layer but keep the amount of oil constant you don't use the fat over lean rule because the solvent just evaporates. 2. I think if you add oil to your oilcolor it also get's thicker & dries slower (that's what you want) 3. Rule Number 4... don't use zincwhite... at least many people say that it crackless after some years and some companies already discontinued to sell it. but ... I'm still a beginner... please correct me if I missunderstood something.
It can definitely be confusing! It took me a while to fully understand. Essentially these rules only apply whenever you paint over an existing layer of oil paint. It’s like stacking pancakes, you would make sure each pancake is slightly smaller than the last so they would stack well. In the case of a painting you want to make sure each layer is more flexible, than the last so it stacks well & won’t crack over time. If you painted a brittle layer on top of a more flexible one instead, that top layer of paint will ultimately crack as the flexible lower layers expand & contract underneath during any environmental fluctuations. Adding more oil medium into the paint, painting thickly or using the colours or mediums that are slower to dry are all ways to make the paint more flexible so each layer of your painting needs more not less of these qualities & that’s where the 3 rules come in. It’s the same way if you use nail polish (the old school kind) & don’t let each layer dry in between it’s more likely to crack faster. But don’t worry too much about the rules. It’s more important to just get painting!
Oh I had to watch it like 10 times and pause it. And I already knew the fat over lean meaning each layer needs to have as much oil as the last or more or the paint might crack. So basically use less oil in the beginning and build up each layer. I started off prepping a dozen canvases w/ Bob Ross’ 3 ingredients recipe for 1st later he called it white magic. I use white acrylic for 1st base instead of gesso (waste of money you can make your own. Also it improves nothing accomplishes nothing) I’m brand new to oil - although tho it’s different, takes awhile to study. say it’s way EASIER and more enjoyable and forgiving. I blow through paper towels and all my brushes it’s a collosal waste Acrylics may be child/ pet friendly (w/out lineseed oils fumes, fun to blend but they’re maddening bc they dry so fast. The liquid retarder (slow dri ) is toxic. ttac””””””””””””””””””””””””
The paints themselves are not toxic unless ingested … which sounds silly but if you have kids or pets around (or even if you tend to get paint on your hands and then eat) it’s best to check warning labels on paint tubes or look up the colours online to make sure the pigments you buy aren’t harmful. The most toxic paints that are still sold are lead whites like flake or cremintz (they tend to be rare and well labeled), cobalt & cadmium. As far as the solvent, if you have bad ventilation and if you’re buying new paints you could get water soluble oil paint. If you already have your paints then you can go solvent free - using something like linseed or safflower oil to wash brushes before soap and water. Just remember that very oily rags & paper towels can be a fire risk. I have a few vids on how to dispose of rags safely but it essentially boils down to lay them flat to dry & then put them in a fire safe metal bin or cookie tin.
hey doris, i’ve been really scratching my brain about this thick over thin stuff. where i live, only linseed oil and turpentine are widely available. so, if i’m working fat over lean, using linseed as a carrier and turpentine as a solvent, can i apply thick paint over a fat layer with linseed or is that going to cause cracking? what should i do if i want to layer impasto on top safely? should i impasto and then glaze?
It is possible that thick paint over a fat layer may cause cracking down the line. It all comes down to the flexibility in the layer. At the same time some techniques break the rules a little bit. Like glazing over thicker paint. The main thing is to allow the layer underneath to fully dry. It’s sometimes difficult to follow the rules to the letter. There are many artists who use techniques that definitely break the rules a bit but choose to for the sake of their style etc. best practice would be that you impasto - let it fully dry & then glaze to prevent cracking.
I use liquin as my oil medium and gamsol as my solvent. Although I rarely use any solvent in my painting other than in the very first layer. You can combine liquin & linseed oil (in some ways you always do as oil paint usually uses linseed oil as a binder). But the main difference in their flexibility is their dry time. If using both liquin & linseed in the same painting put liquin only in the first layers as it is a much faster drying synthetic resin & then use linseed in the last layers as it is a slower drying, richer natural oil. Hope this helps :)
@@sheemakhan4738 yes. She states it right in the video, she just got the sign wrong. The reason is a thin paint dries faster. So that a thin layer will shrink on top of a thick layer that has not yet dried. You will end up with cracking or ‘crazing’ . If you paint your thin layers first, then your thicker layers will be able to have a longer time to set. Equally, don’t use linseed or other oils in your first layers as they fall in the ‘thick’ definition. If you need to add something to your paint so it moves better on an early layer, use gamsol to thin it.
Yes! In some ways it’s best as oil paint usually comes in the best pigment to oil ratio for each colour. The only issue is if you paint in layers over top dry oil paint it’s good to add more oil medium to prevent cracking so you could encounter issues without oil medium in that case. But if you paint alla prima you shouldn’t have any problem :)
The same rules apply! Essentially the main difference with water soluble oil paints is that you substitute the solvent - instead of a mineral spirit it’s water. Otherwise they work in the same way & you have to apply the 3 rules to prevent cracking.
@@swamp6825 Its not about it being an oil painting goofy, but the processes used as it comes together. So many fools clueless to doing it proper to get the permanence required, they watch some video, or go to some hack art school and think they "have it" Then there is the whole chemistry involved and the impurities in the modern materials used these days. Fine Art like you just mentioned, being bought theses days? yeah permanence matters. Who do you think is going to spend xxxxxx dollars and NOT know it is going to last past 50 yrs or more without, cracking, or falling in? Do a cursory investigation yourself, there is plenty of evidence out there on the more modern artists works "falling apart" in 20 40 yrs and needing a re work, for the ones that can even be saved.
The advice in this video is specifically taught so oil paintings become more flexible with every layer & therefore don’t crack down the line. I just did a longer video on how to prevent cracking & have other videos on making permanent paintings as there are also other factors that make paintings more archival. But the rules in this video are the most significant for making permanent oil paintings.
@@dorisroseart The general rules are not enough. Look I am not bashing the vid, or saying the methods put forth are with malice, but just that the body of evidence is out there. Whats your oldest work 50yrs? where has it been sitting? There are many factors involved, and just some pat procedures handed down over the years is not cutting it, according the the evidence, especially with layering.
