Artist/Art Teacher Dianne Mize addresses two questions in this weeks Quick Tip. One quick tip on the different paint transparencies and one quick tip on using glazings.
Thanks Dianne, the best demo of what glazes do, the best description of what they are useful for. I've had teachers, graduates from the NY academy, who weren't able to explain this process nearly as clearly as you demonstrate in this by now 'longer' tip. In fact, theirs was confusing intellectual mumbojumbo. You've got the pedagogy, the skill to present complexity as cohesive. Wish I could hit 10 thumbs up !! 💃👍👍👍🙌high 10 !
I learned nothing at university from any teachers. I have learned more from Dianne in a short time than all the years I spent there. I learned from other colleagues than from anyone. She is so nice to give these lessons.
Diane: Thank you so very much for sharing your knowledge/experience with us all. I have so much to learn and you are the best source of information I have found. Please know how much I appreciate what you do. How very kind of you.
Thank you so much for this Quick Tip on Glazing. I am enjoying several of your Quick Tip videos while this corona virus has us so confined. Good time to learn new techniques!
Thank you for your quick tips, Dianne. Yours is my go-to channel when I need a refresher or have to explain something I can’t quite remember. I love your phonetic spelling of ‘grisaille’ , but how many would have the slightest idea what that means or how to pronounce it? Must be a generational thing! Anyway, thank you.
Hi Dianne - I don't know if you will see this, as this is an old Q.T. But I wanted to say two things: 1) THANK YOU for your generous sharing of your time and immense expertise here! 2) What say you to the (seemingly many) "serious" painters out there who loudly scorn the use of acrylic grounds under oils as "non-archival" and thus a 100% NO-GO?? I understand the wish and the use of so-called “best practices” to allow our paintings to "survive" as long as possible. But I personally find such high-brow contempt for the common practice of painting with oils over gesso + acrylics unfair and overly “precious". In my book, to insist that my paintings must be pristinely preserved for many centuries is unrealistic & egotistical. No painting lasts forever and the so-called Masters generally had no idea that they would become famous centuries later either…. That’s just my two-cents’ worth. What are your thoughts on the matter?
To begin with, those who claim that acrylic grounds will not survive time are dead wrong. Historically, painters have experimented with all sorts of grounds. Many have survived over centuries, others (such as some Leonardo experimented with) started falling apart immediately. Science has brought painting materials a long way. I object to any kind of dogma for the sake of itself. I do believe that we should use materials in such a way that our work holds together because we don't want it to fall apart once sold. But there's enough scientific information available to us today that informs us of what works and what doesn't work. For example, we know that acrylic painted over oil will not adhere so that's not a good practice.
Hello Dianne, The Quick Tip 178 brings me to a Question: Do you have any rules or tips for mixing colors with the same or with different properties (opaque, semi-transparent or transparent)? E. g. Opaque color 1 + Opaque color 2, or Opaque color 1 + Transparent color 2, … Are there any recommendation or rules in relation to mixing colors with the properties opaque, semi-transparent or transparent?
First, the fewer rules we have, the better we paint. There are no rules for mixing opaque colors with transparent ones. The primary reason to know the difference between the two characteristics is for use in glazing. Then the only standard to remember Is that when you mix a transparent into an opaque, it loses its transparency.
Unfortunately, in my country liquin is 200 bucks. And if I were to buy it overseas, I would have to pay in dollars, equally expensive... is there any alternative for fast drying mediums? Linseed oil, for instance, I can find on markets.. but is so wet where I live, that I would take months to finish just 2 layers in oil.... until I find an alternative (or a sponsor) I'm stuck on acrylics
Clara, long before Liquin was invented, we added a bit of cobalt linoleate called cobalt drier to speed up drying. A drying agent is not necessary unless you are doing glazing and glazing is not necessary for oil painting. So, if no drying agent is available to you, it's shouldn't hamper your ability to paint with oils.
Wonderful lesson! Can I please ask you, I have used walnut alkyd medium in my painting and I’d like to slightly shade with a glaze, would I use the paint with walnut alkyd to thin it to that transparency? Or liquin.. or a slow dry medium to be safer ?!
I have not used Walnut alkyd so am not familiar with it. I do know it was developed by the M.Graham company to be a solvent-free medium, but I'd need to do more research about it before I could answer your question with any authority.
Did the old masters use linseed oil to dilute their paint for glazing? Excellent demo btw - I've been looking for this info for a while now. Much appreciated!
I assume you're referring to the Italian Renaissance masters such as Titian. His glazing technique is the one that is usually studied these days, although the same limited materials were available to all of them. A good glaze requires that it be thin enough for multiple layers, that it dry as quickly as possible and that it hold its integrity so that one layer will go over another without rewetting it, so the old Masters used forumlas made of an oil, a dryer and a solvent. Linseed oil alone is not thin enough and dries too slowly for glazing. There are multiple forumlas used by the old masters, but one that continued to be used for centuries was varying proportions of Stand oil, damar varish, gum turpentine and cobalt drier.
Wow. Learned so much. Questions: 1 My great great grandfather was a Hudson valley painter. All his paintings have turned dark and the colours have dimmed. Can I use the techniques here to clean them up? I know my grandmother had some restored at some point. so would should try to remove varnish first? 2. I am looking at paintings I did several years ago...before cataract surgery, now the colors look dull and I want to brighten as well as put a glaze on the back ground to have it recede. There was a note not to use neutral color suggestions?
1.Usually, old paintings turn dark because of their varnish, but some are due to chemistry in inferior or incompatible paints. For removing the varnish safely, follow these instructions: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eePZXTCzPXw.html . Any artist grade mineral spirits will work. Then for applying fresh varnish, follow this guide: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IigHWFv-C_w.html OR this one: vimeo.com/434803650 2. Clean your paintings first with mineral spirits, then rubbing alcohol. Once dry, varnish it. For
I'm uncertain what you are call an impressionist technique. If you're referring to an impasto painting (see Quick Tip 184), it's probably not a good idea if you're using oil paint because the paint oxidizes from top down, making really thick paint take many, many months to dry completely.
Hi, Dianne. I'm so glad I found your channel for all the great information. In this tip you talk about Gamsol and linseed oil as a glazing medium. In looking at linseed oils - which one should I use??? The one that is mixable with water, or does it matter? Thanks.
It was absolutely necessary for the masters to use the glazing technique as they had to make their own paint using extremely rare or expensive pigments which some were extremely toxic. In fact carravagio died from lead poisoning from making lead white.
Hi Dianne, I painted pure ultramarine blue as ocean water and it’s too bright. Could I thin glaze with transparent red oxide to tone down but keep transparency I love?
Maria, there are other ways to get those blues you see. Look at the color wheel. Ultramarine blue sits on the violet side of blue on the wheel, but all blues appear to our eyes in various ranges from blue violet to blue green, depending upon the light, the weather and the movement in the water. We have that full range to work with in all their values AND in their various saturations. I suggest you explore these options.
Thank you for generously sharing your knowledge, it is just as important to me to know how to apply paint as it is to know why different paints, brushes and mediums respond the way that they do.
Dear Dianne; I am still a little confused. On portraits, as opposed to this demonstration, if you use opaque over transparencies aren't you covering up the transparencies? I can see opague on top of landscapes or still life, but not so much on portraits. They make a transparent white that works well on top of transparencies and does not cover transparencies over.
Something I don’t understand if the masters used turpentine or mineral spirits as a medium for their glazes why did it take so long for the paint and their painting dry ?that’s what I use on my Blockin my paintings and they’re ready to go the next day.
Allen, the didn't, not for glazing. Depending upon which century of masters, from the beginning of oil painting, their main binder was linseed oil, thus the slow drying. Their glazes always included some kind of binder.
If you don't mind me saying, ma"am... ...that you're one hell of a teacher! ...just the amount of detaIl in explanation goes far beyond any other art video on RU-vid..(that I'VE noticed, at least) ...thank you so much, and please keep on going! 😁
Actually, Lisa, Liquin is not a solvent, but a medium for enabling the paint to dry faster. The degree of odor depends upon how sensitive you are to smells. I don't find it defensive at all and it dissipates within a short time, depending upon how much you have used. If you use it for its purpose--to facilitate the paint drying--there is no detectable odor.
I do have some watercolor Tips here, but many of the principles I teach are easier to show with oils because of the drying time necessary for watercolor.
I am shocked to hear that you can use mineral spirits, gamsol, and linseed oil on Acrylics!! How can these oil mediums be mixed with water-based paint? If you have time to answer, I would be appreciative. Thanks for your lessons!
No, no, no. We can do an acrylic underpainting, then once it is thoroughly dry, we can use oil and its mediums to paint on top of it. That is what I am doing here. But never mix oils and acrylics when both are still wet, and never paint acrylics on top of oils.
Hi Dianne..what is the main paint when i will paint?is it opaque or transparent?if it needs to use both,then how should i know when do i use transparent paint when i am painting ?
Hi Dianne, What do you do with your oily rags and paper towels? That's the thing i keep worrying about that's keeping me from diving into oil. I'm just paranoid of fires. Thanks for any info
Zissou, I don't use rags, only paper towels, and I toss them loosely into an open receptible. Then send them out with the regular trash pickup. I always wait until pickup day before putting them in the trash bin.
The best instruction on varnishing is done by Gamblin on two videos found at ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Z7aBhe6k2ts.html and vimeo.com/434803650 . After having tried many varnishes over the years, I've found Gamvar to be the most stable and easiest to work with.
Thank you very much for your instructional videos which give a deep rooted knowledge enabling to attempt any painting. Could you please tell if we can use different mediums in one oil painting, like linseed oil plus turpentine in lower layers and then liquin for glazing in top layers?
Gamsol is a solvent, so breaks down the binder in the paint, not good for glazing. The glaze needs to include a binder to hold the particles of paint onto the canvas. And yes, too, it would be dull.
Rosee, since I don't paint with acrylics, I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer this with authority, but I do know that acrylic glazing mediums are available.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction thank you Dianne. I'll still be watching and learning as I understand some oil and acrylic techniques are universal. I use water for glazing as I never like the mediums. Thank you and enjoy your day.
Thanks Dianne ! This is precious ! My question : how do I clean a painting between two layers if the waiting time got very long and the paint in the new layer dosn´t stick. I did paint over an "old" painting (after 1 year) and at first it looked ok, but when completely dry the new layer started crumbling and fall of.I hope this makes sense. Thank you so much for all your videos !!!
Ditto to all those complimentary comments! Re' soft brush: is a brush used for acrylic painting OK? Also: is this brush also good for a thin tonal underpainting? thanks for everything.
Many of the brushes designed for acrylic painting are a bit on the stiff side, so a good soft brush that doesn't go limp with water works well with acrylics, too. As long as it's a professional quality soft brush, the brand doesn't matter. AND it can be either synthetic or natural hair. It can be used for a think tonal underpainting, but so can a good quality bristle. One caution about natural hair bristles: most of them do tend to go limp with water media.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction Thanks. Would that mean not to use a squirrel-hair brush for a preliminary wash in a watercolor painting? (Right now I'm not into watermedia at all; but, I have quite a collection of aquarell brushes.)
I didn't know! Thank you, Dianne! Very clear and useful. I stand beside Montreal Artllive (8 month ago message) who said what I couldn't quite put it into own words. :)
Thank you Dianne, your wonderful. If learned so much from all your videos and full lessons. Can I ask, I've heard an artist say to use only linseed oil for glazing, is this advisable? Can you Please tell me what is( the brush you used at 9:10) thanks
Helen, I've never used them, but some of my students have. I don't trust a material that's not been time-tested, but that's a personal bias, not a universal standard.
Wowzer another awesome video. I'm in what we used say "in hog heaven" 😆. Thank you for another fantastic video on glazing and transparent colors. Ms Michal I sign this way because I don't do much gaming Any more cause it's no fun without my running partner. Actually I'm into fossil and pretty rock hunting. 🙃☕🙏💖🇺🇸
Excellent teaching skills. This is the best explanation of glazing and options I have heard on youtube. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! Subscribed for sure:-)
Thank you very much for this and every tutorial. I glazed a painting with several coats of liquin original and ivory black and the surface ended up very glossy - is there anything I can do to remedy this? I did this before I saw this awesome tutorial...thank you again Ms. Mize...
Very good portrayal of a complex subject! Was just wondering about the use of Liquin, or other drying agents, with layers and layers of glazes. The Masters didn't have these products, and the methods they used were archival. Has there been any evidence, as of yet, about the use of modern drying agents, vs. the old methods? Is there any possibility that the drying agents used now, as glazes, may cause flaking or cracking over time? I don't know if enough time has evolved for anyone to determine the result of using the products, or if they have ways of simulating the ravages of time and atmosphere over years and years. What's your take on this?
You make a good point, Laverne. Manufacturers of the new products do have a way of testing that supposedly simulates time but I, myself, don't altogether trust it. Only time will tell. I tend to stay pretty close to traditional materials with the exception of using Liquin. There is this: in our modern world we are able to control environmental factors that, in the past, have contributed to flaking and cracking. That considered, to a certain extent we can trust most new materials, but I stay away from anything made by companies who produce cheap materials.
Dear Dianne, Thank you for addressing my question on transparent, semi transparent, and opaque oil paint. I understand what you taught. I learn from a structured instruction. However, semi opaque was not addressed, please show how that fits into the glazing process. Again, thank you rachael
Rachael, some artists will use semi-transparent (or semi-opaque) oils for glazing, but just like opaque paints, when thinned out, the semi-transparent are likely to reveal small particles of pigment. Most artists who rely on glazes stick to the truly transparent colors.
Question: I have done a couple of painting starting with a thin layer of oil ove modeling paste, for a background, let it dry, and then used acrylics in glazes and non glazes on top. I have been told this is a Nono, but I have not had problems so far, could you give your opinion on this. Also I have many acrylic colors but just a few oils, could you give your opinion on a basic oil palette and the minimum mediums you use, and the type of hair or synthetic in your glazing brush? It would be very helpful, thank you!
Linda, I explain my palette in Quick Tip 115 - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RORenwUXMDI.html . The only mediums I use are linseed oil and either Liquin or Galkyd Lite. ( I have just recently begun to work with Galkyd Lite.) The only time I use linseed oil is to loosen up paint that is stiffer than I like it to be, and I use Liquin (or GL) in small amounts only when I want the paint to dry rapidly or for glazing and signing my work. The brushes I use for glazing depend upon what I want the glaze to do, so I have a variety of those, some soft synthetic and some soft natural hair. I'm not particular about brands for glazing, rather about what the brush will do. About your using modeling past as a ground, if it's archival and compatible with your substrate, paints and mediums, I don't know why it would be a no-no. For the record, back in the 60s when I was a naïve young painter, I used Bondo as a ground over a canvas board and here more than 50 years later, I have one of those paintings hanging in my bedroom doing just fine. Archivists would probably have a fit over that.
I love this. What a great lesson. But I think that it’s VERY important to start with a good Grisaille! One that shows all the shadows, not in shadow, cast shadow, etc. Right?
Thanks Dianne, wonderful as always! I am wondering how, why and where to use glazing process at the of a finished oil painting in order to enhance the various aspects of the piece. Would you please comment on that topic.
Seniz, glazing is not always necessary, mostly if you're using the layering method like Bougeureau used is it a primary technique. Here is a link to an article that explains that: www.virtualartacademy.com/glazing-techniques-in-oil-painting/#When_are_glazing_techniques_in_oil_painting_used
Just what I needed thank you so much. I am trying to match colors in photo. A hill of evergreens at high noon. The photo shows blue green the some yellow Blue . You gave much help any thoughts would help. Thanks
Great. The best way to match the colors you are seeing is to first identify the hue, then the value, then the intensity. This sharpens you visual perception as well as makes color mixing fun rather than a struggle.
No, I've used them for more than 50 years and am as healthy as a horse. BUT I've always been careful to choose the least toxic mediums and solvents and work in a well ventilated area.
