SUGESTED ART MATERIALS FOR OIL PAINTERS
with Michael E. Vermette
1. 8 to 10 Stretched canvas, boards, Masonite or wood panels, or stretched canvases. Recommended minimum size 8 x 10 inches and maximum size 11 x 14 inch.
2. Paint Box and or combination box and easel or separate easel large enough to contain your palette as well as paints and brushes etc.
3. Bottle or small pint can of nontoxic turpentine (mostly for cleaning brushes, We do not like to use it for oil painting at all because it dulls the colors and will eventually crack the paint) and a bottle of sun thickened linseed oil. I mostly use an old Venetian method of painting using Black Oil Wax medium I make my self. This medium makes painting virtually solvent free. I can provide it for students. You may also use Liquin if you'd rather go with a resin based medium. Also buy a can of GO-JO- which can be found in any automotive shop.
4. Oil Paint; at least a warm and cool of each primary color and black and white. Depending on how much paint you use, paint with the best you can afford, a paint tube packed with pigment with only linseed oil as a binder. The brands I use are Willamsburg, Blockx, Old Holand, and Sennelier oils in 35 ml tubes. We recommend the following colors:
Cadmium Yellow Light or Aureolin Cadmium Yellow Deep Yellow Ochre or Italian Yellow Ochre Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red Deep or Mars Red Persian Rose Permanent Crimson or Quinacridon Magenta Burnt Sienna Cobalt Violet Deep
or manganese Violet Manganese Blue Ultramarine Blue Prussian or Phthalo Blue Viridian Green Indigo Lamp Black or
Ivory Black Large tube of Titanium /Zinc White, Titanium is preferred.
5. Brushes; round, flat or filbert oil painting brushes from sizes no.6 to a no.12. Choose at least three (one small, medium, and large). You might also be able to use a smallbrush for detail or your signature.
6. Palette Knives. I like to use a very small 1 inch, a medium and large palette knife for small and larger studio paintings.
7. A folding Oil Painting Palette.
8. Rags(one per painting); preferably cotton rags because they soak up paint and clean better than polyester. You can also use paper towels.
9. Charcoal, graphite pencils or sticks, or vine charcoal.
10.Wet canvas carrier system, clips or foamboard strips. (They can be made of foamboard strips and made into a frame taped around the panel or canvas and then duck taped on to the back of the painting and stacked upon each other with a foamboard divider, stored in a small cardboard mailer or pizza box for multiple small studies. Refer to the workbook for and illustrated alternative.
11. Miscellaneous Supplies, including: a roll of 2" duck tape, foamboard strips 1 inch by 16 ½ inches long, (natural are the best), Sketch book . 2 cups for holding solvents or Black Oil, ex-acto knife and GO-JO hand cleaner.
I recommend that you order from Dick Blick 1-800-704-7744 at www.DickBlick.com or Judson's Outfitters at judsonart.com and compare prices.
THE GYPSUM [GESSO] GROUND FOR PREPARING WOOD PANELS
The Gypsum Gessoed wood panels are thought of as the most highly prized surfaces to paint on. I agree. They possess extraordinary luminosity and cause oil paint to stick to the surface of them even in a light mist along the coast. This is my own personal formula that will allow you to make your own.
Step 1: I begin with an solid oak board that is at least 80% kiln dried, 8 inches by 10 inches or larger by 1/4 inch thick. Score/scratch the wood surface with course sand paper to take off the smooth finish that the plainer left. I score the wood in a cross grain circular motion and scratch all sides of the board.
Step 2: Next I make a mixture of glue water, made of rabbit skin glue 70 grams to 1 Liter of water or a little stronger with 100 grams to 1 liter of water. In a double boiler, heat up the mixture until the powdered glue completely dissolves into the water, It should he hot to the touch but not brought to a boil. This will ruin the glue water and make it unsuitable for use. Rabbit glue comes in a powder form and you can get it through Daniel Smith Art Supplies.
Step 3: Then I allow the glue water to cool so that it is warm to the touch and apply one coat of glue water to all sides. Apply the glue by stippling the brush and apply thin. Since I usually prepare up to 25 panels each time I do this process, I place all of boards on two 1-inch by ¼ inch pine slats to keep the panel off the table to air dry. I paint all 25 boards on one side first plus the edges and allow to dry for about an hour. Then afer about an hour I flip them and do the other side. This seals the panel giving it a perfect moisture barrier. Then let them dry overnight.
Step 4: The next day I mix up the gesso using a measure of glue water, an equal measure of Zinc White, and an equal measure of Gypsum (or Terra Alba). You can get these powered pigments and chalks through Daniel Smith Art Supplies. Heat the mixture up in a double boiler until the powder is all dissolved into the hot glue water ( again do not bring to a boil or you will render the mixture useless).
Step 5: The first glue-gypsum white ground must be exceptionally thin, not wet, and must not be put on with a full brush, but stippled in such a way that it lies over the board like a veil. This is the most important step to avoid the paint curling off the board. Also never put a heat source to the panels to quicken the drying time. I paint about 25 panels at a time and by the time I finished with the last one I can flip the first one and keep going down the line. I usually begin by applying the gesso vertically.
Step 6: At about half an hour, after the first coat has dried on the surface, a second layer may be stippled on at right angles to the first in a horizontal manner.
Step 7: After allowing to dry at least a half hour for each surface, continue to apply up to 5 to 6 more coats of gesso in right vertical an d horizontal coats with a full brush now until the board is smooth, bright white and without veins of the wood showing through. These coats are essential in giving your boards a high degree of luminosity. They will also have a high degree of absorbency improving your adhesion of paint to the surface., considered by many to be the reasons why this board is the most highly prized surface of them all.
BLACK OIL WAX MEDIUM
Michael E. Vermette
Telephone: 207.827-7573
Black Oil Wax Medium 2 oz tube $50.00 or 4.65 oz tube $100.00
Many of my students and fellow artists over the years have seen me in demonstrations use exclusively Black Oil Wax Medium as our primary oil painting medium. This is an incredible medium that helps oil paint to stick on top of oil paint to allow you to paint alla prima and impasto. it also make oil paint semi-transparent and brighter. Amazingly, when dried it keeps its luster to the point that you would swear it was still wet.More Importantly it eliminates the use of dangerous air-born solvents found in turpentine, demar varnish, Copal varnish, and the like. Turpentine as well as (synthetic plastic) resin mediums like alkyd will also dull your paint. Turpentine makes paintings crack over time, particularly thick impasto oil paintings. Black Oil Wax medium does not crack over time. In fact you could roll up the painting once dried without it cracking because the wax medium is so flexible. Black Oil Wax medium is an old oil painting medium of the Venetian masters that is largely a best-kept secret formula that was rediscovered by Jacques Maroger, the head art restorer of the Louver in Paris 1940’s. It is made up of Bees wax, Linseed Oil and a trace amount of Litharge (Powdered Rust of Lead). The lead gets dissolved into the other ingredients by heating slowly until they all become Black Oil Wax medium. In that state the medium has very little odor and is safe to use. It has a coffee amber color that disappears when mixed up to 50% with oil paint; making it thick and creamy as peanut butter, adding a beautiful luster to the paint (that Titans and Rubens is thought to have used in his paintings). It dries quickly within a day or two skinning over on the painting surface and is recommended for impasto painting but can be used to paint thinly as well. If you would like to try some of this medium, we would be happy to make it for you as my student. I charge $50.00 for large 150 ml tube. Simply call Michael Vermette at 207.827-7573 or e-mail [email protected]. We can also deliver the medium on the first day of the workshop or I can send it in advance if you include $3.00 extra for shipping.
