Surfaces

Canvas -- is the generic name given to any fabric used for a painting surface. The most common and best are cotton and linen. Linen is by far the best but it is far more expensive than cotton. All the fabrics come in various weaves: coarse, medium, and fine. They can be purchased either primed or not primed. For many years canvas was primed with a hide glue and then coated with either white lead or a glue-whiting mixture. In recent years, the use of an acrylic primer or gesso has become most popular. The canvas is either stretched on a wooden frame or glued and stretched on a board or cardboard. With the wooden stretchers the canvas is cut slightly larger than the rectangle formed by the stretchers and then tacked or stapled to the frame as tightly as possible. The canvas can be tightened further by the use of small wooden or plastic wedges driven into the corners of the stretcher bars.

Other surfaces -- Oil paintings do not have to be painted on canvas. As a matter of fact, the earliest paintings were done on wooden panels. Wooden panels can still be used in the form of plywood or pressed wood. These must first be primed in the same way as canvas. It is possible to use cardboard, primed on both sides, for small paintings, but you have to be careful to avoid impure properties in the cardboard that will cause deterioration in the future. Cardboard, paper, and canvas board, are best used for sketches and preliminary work.

Easels

The easel should hold the painting approximately vertical. There are two basic types: outdoor and indoor.

Outdoor -- (This can, of course, also be used indoors). This easel is a tripod, which folds for transporting. Some (usually called French easels) have a box with a tray for the paint and brushes included. It will fold up into a box, but opens into an easel with adjustable tripod feet and an adjustable painting holder.

Indoor -- Studio easels. These are usually heavier and not very portable. The larger ones have wheels and can hold very large paintings. These easels offer many adjustments for different sizes and styles of painting.

Beginners -- It should be remembered that as a beginner there is no reason to spend a fortune on equipment. A good cheap tripod easel is fine for oils, indoor or out, the sturdier the better. Also it is just fine to work at a table, such as the kitchen table, and have the stretched canvas or a board with paper on it leaning against almost anything. The important thing is to try to work almost vertically, and to be comfortable.

Palettes

The palette is the surface on which the paints are prepared for use and mixed. The old traditional palette is the oval or rectangle, thumbhole palette (also the icon for windows paintbrush). These were made of wood and held in one hand while painting with the other. Nowadays, these are still used but can also be purchased in plastic or paper pads. Also, many artists prefer to use a stationary palette, just a flat surface on a table next to the painting. They can be much larger, sometimes of wood, plastic, paper pads or glass. Picasso used newspaper for a palette and Matisse used dinner plates.

Brushes

Brushes used for oil painting are made of various fibres. Each has a different purpose. All brushes are made up of a handle, a metal ferrule, and hair. The quality and the cost of the brush is most dependent on the type and quality of the hair used. The handles of oil brushes are long, allowing the painter more variation in grips and the ability to view the painting from a greater distance while painting.

Hog Hair -- These brushes, sometimes called bristle brushes, are the most common for oil use. They are made of stiff white bristles. The best, and most expensive are Chinese hog hair. That does not mean they come from China, but they are from a breed of pig called a Chinese White. There are even preferences within the Chinese hog family. Chunking, Junkies and Hankow are the most favoured. The reason hog bristles are favoured. For oils is that (1) they are strong and stiff, for the usually stiffer oil paint, and (2) the ends do not taper to a thin point; instead the hairs split and fork into several tips, called flags. These help in holding paint.

Sable -- A fine hair that comes to a very good point. For oil painting, most hair comes from the Asiatic mink, and is not the expensive Russian Kolinsky used in the finest water-colour brushes. For a more detailed description of sable brushes, see the section on Water-colour Brushes. Sables are used in oils when working with thin, fluid paint called long paint.

Badger -- Used for blenders, also called sweeteners, recognised by the hair which is white on the end with a black band in the middle. These are round, but fanned like a shaving brush and used to blend and soften the brushstrokes of other brushes. They also come in a fan brush style. Both are best used when dry and clean.

Mongoose -- Used for blending and painting. It has a hair somewhat stiffer than sable, but not as stiff as bristle. Good for thin paint and applying glazes and very useful in a filberts shape.

Synthetic -- There are many good synthetic fibre brushes on the market. They are usually much cheaper and combine (to some degree) the best properties of more than one of the natural fibre brushes. The best thing to do is experiment by buying one or two small versions of these and finding what works best for your style.

Brush styles

Rounds -- As the name implies. This is a brush with the hair shaped in a round ferrule and coming to a point. Good for general painting and details.

Flats -- The hair of these brushes is shaped to a flat edge. The fibre is long as opposed to a bright. Used for all general painting.

Brights -- Short hair, flat, bristle brushes. Used for stiff paint, called short paint.

Filberts -- Sometimes called “cat’s tongue” brushes. Similar to a flat, but with a slightly rounded tip. Originally developed for portraiture where a hard edge was to be avoided.

Fans -- As the name implies. It is a flat fan-shaped brush used for blending and special effects.

Blenders -- Soft brushes, usually of badger hair, in a bushy shape, used to soften or to remove the appearance of brushstrokes.

Care of brushes

Oil brushes should be rinsed in turpentine or mineral spirits and then washed carefully in soap and water. Plain household soap or dish detergent can be used, or better yet is one of the many brush soaps on the market. Personally, I prefer B&J brand brush cleaner and preservative, sold in various-size tubs.

Other tools

Palette Knives -- Palette knives have a wooden handle, a metal blade, and are strong and stiff. They are used for working with paint on the palette.

Painting Knives -- These are similar to palette knives except they have blades of various shapes and come in many sizes. They have cranked blades (bent to be offset from a straight blade). Most important is the fact that their blades get very thin and flexible at the point. These are used to apply and remove paint from the painting.

Maul Stick -- A wooden stick of various length (usually about 2 feet ) with a wooden or cloth ball at one end. The end is put on a dry section of the painting and the stick is used as a support, upon which, the brush hand, can be rested to steady the brush.

Paint

Like all paint, oils consist of dry pigment (the colour) and a binder. In the case of oil paint, that binder is some sort of oil, usually linseed oil. The oil makes the pigment fluid and, when it dries, holds the pigment to the surface.

Paint Forms

Oil paint was originally made in the artist's studio. The artist or the assistants would grind the pigment and add oil to make a paste. This was often a job given to one of the apprentices in a master's studio. This paint was stored in various ways, but one of the most popular was to put the paste in small leather pouches and tie the top tightly. The artist would poke a hole in the pouch and squeeze out a mound of paint and then when it was needed again another hole would be made in the pouch.

Tubes -- This is the most common way of buying oil paints today. Many artists prefer to make their own oil paints from dry pigments.

Quality -- Oil paints come in professional and student grade. Student grades have fillers added and sometimes the pigments are not as pure as the professional grade.

Size -- Oil paint tubes come in many sizes. The most common are the small, 11-cc size, the standard 37-cc, and the large 150-cc size. Some colours only come in the standard size from some manufacturers. It is usually most economical to use the standard size for most colours and the large for white.

White -- In oil painting white is a much used colour that deserves its own discussion.

Mediums, Varnishes and Solvents

Like all paint, oil paint consists of dry pigment (the colour) and a binder. In the case of oil paints, that binder is some sort of oil, usually linseed oil. Oil is what makes the pigment fluid and, when it dries, it is what holds the pigment to the surface.

Drying oils

Linseed Oil - An extraction from the seed of the flax plant, the same plant that is used to make linen for canvas.

Cold-Pressed Linseed Oil - Made by crushing the seeds under great pressure. Excellent for use as grinding medium in oil paints. Due to its expense, it has been replaced by steam-pressed linseed oil in commercial manufacture of paints.

Steam-Pressed Linseed Oil - Developed in the nineteenth century by heating the seed before pressing. The resulting oil is then “cleaned” by various methods. Commonly used as a binder in tube oil paint, it is very transparent and will yellow to some extent.

Sun-Thickened Linseed Oil - A process dating to the Renaissance. Equal parts of oil and water are mixed and exposed to the sun for a matter of weeks. The resulting oil is viscous, somewhat bleached and will dry in a reasonable amount of time. It also, has better brushing or flow qualities than the other forms of this oil.

Stand Oil - A form of linseed oil formed by heating to 570 degrees Fahrenheit in an oxygen-free atmosphere. This causes partial polymerisation because of its viscosity, about that of honey. It is not good as a binder in making oil paint. It is, however, excellent as an addition to painting and glazing mediums. It has very little tendency to yellow, and gives a smooth, enamel-like finish. It has a wonderful tendency to level without showing brush marks.

Venice Turpentine - A natural resin from the Australian larch. The consistency of honey. Although this is not really an oil, it is listed here because it acts like an oil in mediums. When used with stand oil or sun-thickened linseed oil, it increases brush capability and makes a tougher surface.

Other Oils - Many other oils can and are used with oil paints. Such as poppy seed oil, walnut oil, safflower oil, and more. Please look in the dictionary of terms for more about these oils.

Commercially prepared mediums

There is an endless number of prepared mediums for painting in oils. All have their advantages and special uses. Some are listed here. Try them all to find which works best for your style.

Liquin -- Bottled alkyd medium. Enhances flow properties and transparency.
It is quick-drying, and resists yellowing. Oleopasto tube alkyd-based medium.
Used for the creation of impasto techniques.

Win-Gel -- Tube medium used for glazing and detail work. Increases transparency
and gloss.

Siccatives

These are metallic salts that, when mixed with paint will rapidly speed up the drying process by increasing the oxidation rate. Should be used very sparingly because they will increase the brittle nature and limit the works permanence. Today, the most commonly used siccative is cobalt dryer.

Solvents

Used to dilute or dissolve oil paints and their mediums.

Turpentine - Distillate of pine resin. Used as a thinner for oil paints and mediums. Properly called “pure gum spirits of turpentine.” Used to thin paints or mediums. Should not be used for cleaning brushes. It leaves a gummy residue. Turps must be free of water or impurities, so it is necessary to use only artist grade.

Mineral Spirits - A refined distillate of petroleum. Also known as “paint thinner.” Usually sold under various names, such as Turpenoid. Similar properties to gum turpentine but with no gummy residue, will not deteriorate with age, and is less likely to cause allergic reaction. Also much less expensive. It will replace gum turpentine in most cases but not when mixing with hard resins such as damar. Good for cleaning brushes. When bought as turpenoid or other artist grade, good for diluting oil paint or mediums. Note: Sometimes sold as odourless, which does not mean harmless; it is still classified as moderately toxic.

Varnishes

Varnishes are solutions of resins used to coat paintings for protection and to control gloss. They are also used as an ingredient in some mediums.

Damar - Damar resin comes from certain fir trees found in Indonesia and Malaya. It can be bought in lumps or already dissolved in gum turpentine. It is brushed on a dry oil painting as picture varnish. Remember, it may take a year for an oil painting to completely dry. Damar is a yellowing varnish and can cause trouble as a picture varnish with time. One of the modern synthetic picture varnishes may be more acceptable. Always apply picture varnishes in an atmosphere of low humidity to avoid blooming (a white haze) later.

Copal Resin - Fossilised resins, varying from soft to hard. All generally called “copal.” For years there were arguments about the use of these resins for painting mediums. They can be very brittle so should not be used as a picture varnish. These resins are mined in Africa. Because they are not shipping very much anymore, they have mostly stopped being manufactured. If you do use them, do it in very small quantities.

Retouch Varnish - Made from natural or synthetic varnish with solvents such as turpentine added. Dries fast and adds gloss. Used to paint over a surface that has dried matte or dull. (This is caused by the absorption of oil at the lower layers). This will return a gloss surface and the colours will regain their original intensity.

Picture Varnish - A heavy synthetic or natural resin combined with solvent. The properties wanted in a good picture varnish are a tough surface, non-yellowing, self-desolving, somewhat plastic, should not cloud, controllable gloss. That is a lot to ask of any varnish and, as yet, there is no perfect varnish. I recommend buying any of the commercially available picture varnishes. Most are a combination of natural and synthetic ingredients and they offer the best possible balance of needed properties.

Oil painting techniques

Alla Prima - An oil painting can be completed all in one sitting using a technique called “alla prima”(Italian for “at the first”). This is sometimes called direct painting. With this technique the painter will start with broad general strokes to get the general form. This is usually done with thin paint. Usually the darks are brought up first. Next paint is applied directly over this wet paint in thicker, more opaque layers. It is very important to keep the colours clean and the strokes accurate and decisive. It is very easy to make a muddy mess. The actual variations on this style are limitless. It may not necessarily be done in one sitting. One of the great masters of this style was Peter Paul Rubens.

Frottage - derived from the French verb Frotter, (meaning "to rub"). This technique is accomplished by lightly loading the brush with thick paint and then rubbing it on a darker, dry surface. This is used in a number of ways but is very effective in creating highlights. Look at the work of Rembrandt and the later works of Titian.