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Except for small portions to be quoted in a review, no portion ofthis book may be reproduced in any way, shape, or form withoutthe express written consent of the author.

Quotations from Oil Painting Techniques and Materials by HaroldSpeed, The Craftsman’s Handbook by Cennino d’Andrea Cennini,and Methods and Materials of Painting of the Great Schools and Mastersby Sir Charles Eastlake used by permission from Dover Publications.Quotation from Novum Organum by Francis Bacon, translated andedited by Peter Urbach and John Gibson, by permission from OpenCourt Publishing Company.

Published in the United States by ZoetropeCover, design and typography by ZoetropeMt. Airy, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaFirst edition May Fourteenth edition October

PAPERBACK ISBN - - - -

With regard to authority,it is the greatest weakness

to attribute infinite credit to particularauthors, and to refuse his own

prerogative to time,the author of all authors,

and, therefore, of all authority.For, truth is rightly named

the daughter of time,not of authority.

It is not wonderful,therefore, if the bonds of

antiquity, authority, and unanimity,have so enchained the power

of man,that he

is unable(as if bewitched)

to becomefamiliar with

things themselves.

– Francis BaconNovum Organum,

i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Formulas x Acknowledgments xiii Major Sources xiv To the Intrepid Reader xv

INTO THE LABYRINTH . The Frame of Reference

. Older Practice . Wonder

CONCEPTS . A Mysterious Portal . The Creative Dialogue . In Plain Sight . Simplicity . Synthesis . Balance . Authenticity . The Long View . Process

ASPECTS . Nature . The Painter’s Art History . Scholarship . Criticism . Alberti’s Triad . Drawing . Water Mediums . The Transition to Paint . Photographs . Memory . Rough and Smooth . The Structure of Style . The Narrative Moment . Creative Tension . The Value Scale . Physical Scale . Composition . Rhythm . Brushwork . Edges

. The Axioms

COLOUR . An Unruly Lexicon . The Quest for Dimension . The Logic of Light . Temperature

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. Observed and Mixed Colour . Colour Blocks . Contrast . Value and Temperature Relation . Chromatic Relativity . The Greek Key T. The Tetrachrmatkón . Transparent, Translucent, and Opaque . Axes of Differentiation . Colour Types . The Envelope . Spatial Convention Overview . Dimensional Scale . Colour Key . Theory and Practice . The Art of Black . The Worlds of Gray . Unity . The Grammar of Colour . Spatial Convention Chronology

MATERIALS . Time . Space . A Craft of One’s Own .. Types of Written Craft .. The Most Reliable Resource .. Supplies .. Notebook .. Tools .. Safe Practice .. Easel .. Palette .. Test Panels T. Paint & Medium Test Panel T. Incremental Test Panel .. Long-Term Technical Issues . Structure . Supports .. Stretchers .. Canvas ... Bulk Priming .. Paper ... Increasing Stability .. Paper Board .. Panels ... Hardboard ... Quality Plywood ... Fabric on Panel Techniques ... Unattached Fabric on Panel ... OMG Panels . Size Overview

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. Grounds .. Commercial Grounds .. Relative Absorbency .. The Traditional Stone Dusts .. Stretched Canvas .. Glue Gesso ... Gypsum Gesso ... Chalk and Marble Dust Gesso ... Paradoxical Gesso ... Glue Gesso Techniques .. PVA Size and Ground .. Acrylic Size and Ground ... Acrylic or PVA Ground with Gypsum .. Methyl Cellulose Size and Ground

... Methyl Cellulose Stabilizer .. Oil Grounds ... The Imprimatura or Toned Ground . Brushes .. Brush Types .. Using Brushes .. The Brush Tip .. Brush Care .. Painting Knives . Oil Paint .. Commercial Paint T. Medium to Commercial Paint Ratios .. Handmade Paint .. Handmade Tempera ... Methyl Cellulose Tempera . Recommended Colours .. Primary Colours .. Secondary Colours ... Brown Pigment Nomenclature Issues .. Black .. Earth Colours .. Emulating Historic Pigments .. Traditional Extenders .. White Overview ... Titanium Alterations .. Lead White ... Traditional Lead White Variations ... The Transparentizing of Lead White ... Unwashed Lead White . The Oil T. Drying Rates of the Major Painting Oils .. Paint Film Overview

.. Linseed Oil ... The Darkening Potential of Linseed Oil ... Causes of Darkening ... Prevention of Darkening .. Walnut Oil .. Hemp Oil

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.. Poppy Oil .. Further Slow Drying Oils .. Further Quick Drying Oil . Refining the Oil .. The Colour of the Oil .. Organic Flax Oils .. Refining Procedure Overview .. Traditional Refining Procedures ... Chemistry of the Process ... Refining Ingredients .. Water, Sand, and Salt Refining ... Storing and Aging the Oil ... Refining Details and Adjustments .. Emulsion Prewashes .. Larger Scale Refining .. Water and Salt Refining .. Water-Alone Refining ... Improving Commercially Refined Oil .. Alcohol Refining .. Boiling Water Refining .. Snow Refining .. Emulsion Refining ... Roland’s Liquid Soap Refining ... Methyl Cellulose Refining ... Ground Silica Refining ... Chlorophyllin Refining ... Water-Soluble Beeswax Refining .. Prior Oxygenation .. Refining Summary . Solvents . Driers .. Primary Drier Overview .. Primary Drier Alternatives

MEDIUMS & VARNISHES . Proportion and Evolution T. Relative Ingredient Proportions .. Medium Types .. Medium Characteristics .. Fat Over Lean T. Fat Over Lean in Practice Examples ... Fat Over Lean in Practice ... Fat and Lean Materials .. Layers and Increments ... Alla Prima Incremental System ... Indirect Incremental System T. Indirect Medium to Paint Ratios

... Medium to Paint Ratios T. Saturating Medium to Paint Ratios T. Saturating Medium Ratios in Layers ... The Number of Layers

.. Creating Mediums

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.. Using Mediums .. Historic Medium Patterns ... The th Century Dilemma .. Stabilization and Sequestering ... The Sequestering Agents T. Sequestering Agent Ratios . Oil Mediums T. Oil Types and their Characters .. Aged Oil .. Autoxidized Oils T. Relative Oil Thickness ... Minimizing Autoxidized Oil Yellowing T. Mixing Oils to Minimize Yellowing .. Preheated Oils .. Thickened Oils ... Handmade Prepolymerized Oils ... Commercial Prepolymerized Oils .. Leaded Oils ... Basic Leaded Oil ... Other Leaded Oils ... Leaded Oil Details ... Unsun Oil

... Unsun-Solvent Mediums ... Ecks ... Leaded Oil Conclusion .. Mixed Oil Mediums T. Prepolymerized Oil Comparison . Conditioning Mediums T. Example Conditioning Ratios .. Oil Conditioning ... Oil-in-Oil Thixotropy ... High Oil Phase Emulsion Overview . The Putty Medium T. Putty Ratios and Use .. Putty to Paint Ratios .. The Stone Dusts .. Putty Additions ... Dry Additions ... Thicker Oil Additions ... Resin Additions ... Water-based Additions .. Putty in Use .. Basic Putty Formulas .. Fused Damar-Beeswax Oil or Putty .. Putty Exercises . Silica Gel Mediums .. Silica Gel Proportions ... Silica and Water Gel ... Silica Gel and the Putty Medium ... Gel de Gent . Resin Mediums .. Resin History

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. Soft Resin Varnishes and Mediums T. Resin Ratings .. Damar Resin ... Fused Damar ... Incremental Fused Damar and Egg White .. Mastic Resin T. Incremental System Example ... Mastic Gel Mediums ... Roberson’s Medium .. The Balsams ... A Small Amount of Pine Resin ... Cold Balsam Medium ... Fused Balsam Medium ... Rubens, Resin, and Solvent ... Balsam, Oil and Solvent Medium ... Mobile Larch Medium .. Alternate Soft Resins ... Spirit Copal or Sandarac Concentrate . Hard Resin Varnishes and Mediums .. Sandarac Varnish .. Copal Varnish ... Copal Oil Medium ... Rembrandt Peale’s Copal Vehicle .. Amber Varnish

... Methods and Amber Oil ... Amber Spirit Varnishes .. Strasbourg Method . Emulsion Mediums .. Egg Emulsion Mediums ... Tempera Grassa T. Oil and Water Phase Tempera ... Tempera Grassa Using Commercial Paint .. High Oil Phase Emulsion Mediums ... Egg White Emulsions ... Starch Emulsions ... Starch Emulsion Additions ... Starch and Fused Damar ... Glue or Methyl Cellulose Emulsions

... Cherry and Almond Gum Emulsions ... Gum Tragacanth Emulsions ... Gum Arabic Emulsions

.. Compound Egg Emulsions .. Silica Gel Emulsions . Beeswax .. Soft Resin, Oil, & Beeswax Mediums ... Fused Damar, Oil, & Beeswax ... Fused Balsam, Oil, & Beeswax ... Sandarac or Copal with Oil & Beeswax ... Triple Boiled Oil with Balsam & Beeswax ... Commercial Oil with Balsam & Beeswax ... Egg Yolk with Resin & Beeswax .. Combined Soft Resin, Oil, & Beeswax

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.. Water-Soluble Beeswax .. Hardened Beeswax .. Other Waxes . Traditional Liquid Soap . Drying, Removal, Grinding Back . Final Varnishing .. Traditional Varnishes

... Traditional Varnishes in Use ... Oil as a Temporary Final Coating .. Modern Varnishes ... Modern Varnishes in Use .. Matte Finish .. When to Varnish . Framing

METHODS . Animation and Organization . Paint Handling . Paint Development . The Triads .. Single Triad Palettes ... The Tetrachromatikón ... Vivid Tetrachromatikón ... Classical with Modern Pigments ... Cool Process ... Painterly Process ... Dark Transparent ... Light Opaque .. Four Colour Palettes ... Modern Vivid ... Modern Grounded ... Painterly Process with Black ... Constable Study ... Valenciennes Study ... French th Century: Low Chroma ... Seascape or Dry Season ... Early Renaissance .. Two Triad Palettes ... Basic Traditional Palette ... Basic Monet Palette ... Modified Monet Palette ... Low Chroma Still Life ... Medium Chroma Primaries ... Modular Modern Primaries ... Modular Landscape ... New Amsterdam Palette ... Full Perennial Palette .. The Three Triad Palette ... Three Triad: Grounded ... Three Triad: High Chroma ... Three Triad: Classical Landscape ... Three Triad: Van Gogh Study

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... Three Triad: Sketch for The Hay Wain . Specialized Palettes . Indirect Painting .. Underpainting .. Underpainting Palettes .. Water-Based Underpaints .. Tempera Underpaints ... Methyl Cellulose Tempera Underpaint T. Water-Based and Tempera Underpaints ... Glue Tempera Underpaint

... Egg Tempera Underpaint ... Tempera with Optical Color Separation .. Indirect Medium Systems .. Indirect Method Example .. Indirect System Observations ... Wet-in-Wet Paint ... Saturation and Sequestering ... The Flexible Destination ... Smooth Surface Work in Thin Layers T. Smooth Surface Oil-Alone Layering T. Smooth Surface Sequestered Layering ... Micro-Impressionism ... Beading . Alla Prima Painting .. Studies .. Extended Alla Prima .. Layered Alla Prima .. Putty Alla Prima .. The No-Mix Method .. Outdoor Methods ... Modern Method ... Traditional Method ... Early th Century Outdoor Palette

... Outdoor Execution . Couch Methods

.. The Prehensile Couch .. The Mobile Couch .. Water-Refined Linseed Unsun Couch . Optical Colour Separation .. Optical Exercises . Mixing Colour .. Intuitive Mixing ... Mud .. Systematic Mixing .. The Mixing Principles .. The Predimensional Palette ... Predimensional Example .. Positive, Negative, and Neutral Colour F. Positive, Negative, and Neutral Colour F. Predimensional Palette Layout ... th Century Approaches to Colour . System Review

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.. Functional Systems ... The Conditioning System ... The Water-Refined Linseed Oil System ... The Fused Damar System ... Water Phase Emulsion System ... The High Oil Phase Emulsion System ... The Alla Prima System ... The Indirect System ... Non Toxic Systems ... In the Classroom .. Historic Systems ... The Early Panel System

... The Renaissance Florentine System ... The Layer System on Canvas

... The th Century System ... The th Century Outdoor System ... The French Impressionist System

... The Paris Academic th Century System .. Issues of th Century Technique .. The Case for Natural Painting . Technical Synopsis

THE PROCESS AND THE PEA

BIBLIOGRAPHY . Technical Art History & Older Practice . Scholarship . The Painting Professors . The Painter as Author . Outdoor Painting . Geometry . Conservation & Related Science . Older Manufacturing Methods . Lead White . Emulsion Chemistry . Plant Oil Chemistry & Refining . Resin & Varnish . Beeswax . Philosophy

APPENDICES I The Lost Components

II The Hand Refined Linseed Oils III Properties of Ingredients IV Paintings Cited V Core Technique Reference

INDEX

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FORMULAS

These are given in parts by volume, or in the metric system,by weight or volume, followed by American kitchen mea-surements in parentheses. Measure carefully, in order topaint creatively. Minimize cumulative measuring errors by keeping the measuring method consistent. Some formulas are designed for panels only. Variables in ingredients and mea-suring make a scale and a notebook a good idea. It is alsohelpful to outline the method as well as the ingredient propor-tions. The weight of hygroscopic ingredients such as natural chalk alters with higher and lower humidity. Relative humidity can make a difference in terms of systemic yellowing potential, see section .. and subsections. Some formulas specify hand-refined oil. Using mainstream art supply (MAS) oils tends to alter the formula’s rheology from taut to flaccid: a fundamental fork in the technical road. Some formulas use historical ingred-ients, including solvents, that can be toxic if not used withproper care or ventilation. Some oil formulas use high heat, which can be dangerous because hot oil can cause serious burns. In the text, these formulas are noted: These materials and methods are part of the historical craft, but none of them are necessary or crucial. It is recommended to avoid man-made versions of traditional materials. Use natural chalk, rather than precipitated chalk, actual bone ash, rather than calcium phosphate, etcetera.

. Glue Size, for Panels & Stretched Canvas . Gesso Grosso . Gypsum Gesso . Chalk and Marble Dust Gesso . Oil Emulsion Gesso . Paradoxical Gesso . PVA Size . PVA Ground . Acrylic Size . Acrylic Ground . Methyl Cellulose Size . Methyl Cellulose Ground . Methyl Cellulose Stabilizer . Titanium Oil Primer . White Lead Oil Primer . Textured White Lead Primer . Textured Titanium Primer . Methyl Cellulose Tempera & . Strong Titanium Paint . Translucent Titanium Paint . Salt, Sand, and Water Refining . Water and Salt Refining . Water-Alone Refining . Alcohol Refining . Marciana (Boiling Water and Sand) Refining

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. Marciana with Salt Refining . Snow Refining . Roland’s Soap Refining . Methyl Cellulose Refining . Ground Silica Refining . Chlorophyllin Refining . Water-Soluble Beeswax Refining . Prior Oxygenation . Ca: Preheated Oil . PbO: Leaded Linseed Oil . :-: Leaded Walnut Oil . Unsun Oil Method . Six Mixed Oil Medium Examples . : or Aged Oil Chalk Putty . : Thixotropic Chalk Putty . BPO or Stand Oil Alla Prima Putty . Modular Emulsion Putty . Two Versions of Calcite Putty . Four Quarters Putty . Egg Yolk Putty for Larger Work . Fused Damar-Beeswax Oil or Putty . Basic Silica Gel . Silica Gel with Silica and Water Gel . Basic Silica Gel and Chalk Putty . Gel de Gent . Fused Damar Medium . Fused Damar and Egg White Putty . Mastic Gel . Roberson’s Medium . Washed Soft Resin or Balsam . Cold Balsam Dipping Medium . Fused Balsam Medium . Balsam, Oil and Solvent Medium . Mobile Larch Medium . Spirit Sandarac or Copal Oil Gel . Copal Oil Medium . Strasbourg Method . Egg Emulsion with Resin . Egg Emulsion with Beeswax . Egg Emulsion and Methyl Cellulose . BPO Egg Emulsion . Modular Tempera Grassa . Egg Yolk and Oil Paint Emulsion . Fused Damar and Egg White Putty- . Two Types of Starch Gel . Basic Cold Starch Emulsion . Cold Starch and Glue Gel Emulsion . Enhanced Starch Putty . Starch and Fused Damar . : MC Methyl Cellulose Paste . Three Glue or MC Emulsion Putty Variations . Egg White and Glue Size Putty

xii

. Egg Yolk and Glue Size Putty . Whole Egg and Balsam Putty . Egg Yolk, Methyl Cellulose, and Fused Damar . Fused Damar, Starch, and Egg Yolk . Two Silica Emulsion Gel Formulas . Wax-OMS Paste . % Wax-in-Oil Medium Bases . Basic Wax Emulsion Putty . Sequestering Emulsion Putty . Fused Damar, Wax and Oil Putty . Fused Damar and Wax Fine Gliding Gel . Fused Balsam, Oil, and Wax . Sandarac or Copal, Wax, and Oil . TBO & BPO with Balsam and Wax . Commercial Oil with Balsam and Wax . Egg Yolk with Soft Resin and Wax . Two Combined Medium Examples . Water-Soluble Beeswax Paste . Hardened Beeswax . Traditional Liquid Soap . Damar Varnish, lb. Cut . Soft Gloss Regalrez and Wax Varnish . Solvent Putty Underpaint . Water-Based Underpaint Options . Methyl Cellulose Tempera Underpaint . Glue Tempera Underpaint . Egg Tempera Underpaint . Smooth Surface Oil-Alone Layering . Five Prehensile Couches . Four Mobile Oil Couches . Mobile Silica Gel Couch

MATERIAL AND SCIENTIFIC ABBREVIATIONS BPO: commercial burnt plate oil CPVC: critical pigment volume concentration FD: fused damar MAS: mainstream art supply

MC: methyl-celluloseMUFA: monounsaturated fatty acids

OMS: odorless mineral spirits PUFA: polyunsaturated fatty acid PVA: polyvinyl acetate SFA: saturated fatty acids TAG: triacylglycerol TBO: triple boiled oil VOCs: volatile organic compounds

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many thanks to the following for their help with this project:

Dr. Roland Greimers, professor of cellular imaging and flowcytometry at the University of Liège, asked and answered a great manytechnical questions, explained a great deal of chemistry, provided aunique dialogue about details of materials and methods based on hisown research, and generously shared many ideas for materials andprocedures. Allison B. Cooke, professor emeritus in the Department of Art andDesign, Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, edited the early text with patience and enthusiasm. Belgian painter Wim de Gent contributed to the oil and resintechnology, provided detailed discussions regarding the layered allaprima technique, and made helpful comments on the text. Dr. Michael Strauss, painter and Professor of Chemistry emeritus atthe University of Vermont, contributed lab equipment, linseed oilchemistry, and suggested the efficacy of simple declarative sentences. Vermont conservator Suki Fredericks explained the details of avariety of conservation options about final varnish from a practicalperspective. Dr. Christopher Lenard, painter and Senior Lecturer inMathematics and Statistics at La Trobe University, made manyinsightful comments on an early version of the text and itsorganization. Dr. Philip Bayliss-Brown made extensive valuable suggestionsabout a later version of the text and its organization. California painter Ed Welch contributed samples of oldercommercial paint and historic pigments from his collection. Canadian painter Thomas Hirsz very kindly supplied hand-pressed linseed and poppy oil. Israeli painter David Louis sent a sample of triple boiled oil. European painter Christian Ward Hidaka supplied examples ofcold-pressed French artisanal walnut oil. Swedish painter Peter Paduan contributed information aboutmaking lead carbonate from his experience. Last but not least, thanks to Lily, the tricolour semi-mackereltabby who edited editions seven through fourteen with precision,daring, and an ever-incisive touch.

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MAJOR SOURCES

Sources referenced by name in the text are listed below. Other sourcesare listed by their bibliography number in parentheses.

Alberti: Leon Battista Alberti, On Painting, Carlyle: Leslie Carlyle, The Artist’s Assistant, Cennini: Cennino d’Andrea Cennini, The Craftsman’s Handbook,Translated by Daniel Thompson, Church: Sir A.H. Church, The Chemistry of Paints and Painting, Dalí: Salvador Dalí, Fifty Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship, Delacroix: Eugène Delacroix, The Journals of Eugène Delacroix, -. Numbers in parentheses refer to specific entry dates.De Mayerne: Sir Théodore Turquet de Mayerne, The De MayerneManuscript, Sloane (c.-), English translation in LostSecrets of Flemish Painting, , by Donald Fels. Numbers inparentheses refer to the Fels system of entries.De Wetering: Ernst Van de Wetering, Rembrandt The Painter at Work,Doerner: Max Doerner, The Materials of the Artist and Their Use inPainting, Eastlake: Sir Charles Eastlake, Methods and Materials of Painting of theGreat Schools and Masters (I, ; II, ). Numbers in parenthesesrefer to volume and page numbers.Gottsegen: Mark David Gottsegen, The Painter’s Handbook, revisededition, Laurie: A.P. Laurie, The Painter’s Methods and Materials, Merrifield: Mary P. Merrifield, Medieval and Renaissance Treatises on theArts of Painting, Mérimée: J. F. L. Mérimée, The Art of Painting in Oil and Fresco, French, English NG: National Gallery Technical Bulletin. Various authors, followed byvolume number when applicableOudry: Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Discourse on the Practice of Painting and itsMain Processes: Underpainting, Overpainting, and Retouching, PRPT: Joyce Townsend, Jaqueline Ridge, and Stephen Hackney,Pre-Raphaelite Painting Techniques, .RAM: Bomford, Kirby, Roy, Rüger, White, Rembrandt: Art in theMaking Series, revised edition, Stols-Witlox: M.J.N. Stols-Witlox, Historical recipes for preparatory layersfor oil paintings in manuals, manuscripts, and handbooks in North WestEurope, -: analysis and reconstructions, TAM: Edited by Jo Kirby, Susie Nash, and Joanna Cannon, Trade inArtist’s Materials: Markets and Commerce in Europe to , Wehlte: Kurt Wehlte, The Materials and Techniques of Painting,

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TO THE INTREPID READERLiving Craft is a record of a research project into handmade oil paintingmaterials that began in . It is for experienced painters interested inthe handmade craft. The focus of the book is on what worked, and why,but also on constructing evolving systems within the creative process.Living Craft contains detailed explanations about how oil painting works,and many options about what to make, and how to make it.

This book is about creative development using painting materials andvisual logic. It references older texts, and the findings of technical arthistory, but is not about copying what was done four and five hundredyears ago. On the one hand, crucial details of the past cannot be knownwith certainty, and, more importantly, the living aspect of the creativeprocess occurs in, and only in, the present moment. Just as there wasonly one Leonardo or Rembrandt, there is only one you.

Our culture tends to enthrone novelty and speed for their own sake.This approach is entertaining, yet, given that the purpose of creativity istransformative, tends to sacrifice the journey for the destination. Thequick journey diminishes not only its quality, but the quality of thedestinations available to it. If you read Living Craft as the record of acreative journey, each step of which is equally important, rather thanskimming it in search of a speedy destination, this will allow the bookto adjust, perhaps even alter, the definition of the painting process youhave, almost inevitably, inherited from contemporary culture andeducation. This will contribute greatly to your experience makingpaintings with the book’s methods and materials.

This is not to imply that you have been misdirected, conned, gulled, liedto, bilked, duped, flimflammed, gypped, tricked, cheated, hornswoggled, or solda bill of goods by your culture and its ever-confident, yet ever-changing,definitions of painting, education, or reality.

But every historical period operates within a frame of reference thatis difficult to go beyond, simply because everyone exists and functions,unconsciously and often blindly, within it. If we look beyond technique,and investigate the foundation of older painting, we find an expandedframe of reference about how painting is defined, and learn why thisdefinition remains personally and culturally relevant. This is the frameof reference of this book. It is based on the dialogue betweenperennialism and the hands-on ingenuity of older practice, and, as such,may seem new – even, irony of ironies – shockingly new at this point.

Yet in terms of human culture, this approach to life, and the art wemake from it, is quite old. It has, both practically and philosophically,stood the test of time, as the fount and origin of human creativity. Assuch, I humbly suggest you to explore the methods and materialsdetailed here, the experience of the craft they offer, and the definitionof painting they embody, as an organic whole. Once you have taken thethis into account, doing it your own way – the most crucial part, howdid I know? – will be both more reliable, and capable of surprisingcreativity, in practice.

FROM ‘ INTO THE LABYRINTH’SECTION :

. THE FRAME OF REFERENCEOnce upon a time, long ago, and even far away for those of us in theNew World, painters had a deep understanding of their materials. Thiscame about through a combination of training and experience, in aworld both simpler and more complex than our own. Under thesecircumstances, the complimentary routines of life and art fused naturallyinto a living craft. Currently, this understanding is often framed as amyth, yet the work it produced can be seen in museums all over theworld. Culturally, its existence is paradoxical: this type of evidence fromthe past is an inspiration to some, a burden to others. As painters, canwe leave pride and prejudice behind, and explore older practice,artistically and technically, as a set of creative tools? That these tools produced work of unusual quality has long been anaxiom of Western culture. As such, what became lost from the earlycraft has intrigued and plagued painters for centuries, perhaps evenbefore Reynolds famously set out late in his career to emulateRembrandt’s late style with such mixed results. At this point, through acombination of research and technological advances in the analysis ofolder paintings, we know more than ever before about the ingredientsof older technique in terms of pigments and mediums. But how thesewere modified and assembled, the details of the working methods of thepainter’s studio during the long th to th century apogee of the craft,will probably always remain a mystery. Given that secrecy regardingphysical means – the art of concealing the art – was always a basicprofessional intent, perhaps this is just as it should be. The craft of painting has changed greatly in the last six hundred years,especially in terms of the vast array of mainstream art supply (MAS)materials now readily available. But, while modern life encourages usto be consumers, we still have opposable thumbs and the ability to makethings, offering both a different type and quality of experience. Thus,there are now two crafts: one based on purchased materials, and onebased on personal materials. The purchased craft is a search for what tobuy, and from whom. The handmade craft develops incrementally withthe materials themselves. It remains physical, and begins where it alwayshas, in a daily relationship with pigments and oil, chalk and glue,grinding, mixing, brushing, scraping. For all the changes in the worldsince , when the Ghent Altarpiece, legendary centerpiece of theearly craft, was completed, this story is still about learning, anddiscovering further levels of, a series of deceptively simple procedures.

Similarly, this book began with an apparently simple question: Whatwould happen if the craft were explored once again as it had beenoriginally: step by step, by hand? The goal was not the historicallyaccurate reconstruction, but a creative analogy: older principles andmethods applied within a contemporary context. Several related arguments are presented here about oil painting as apersonal or vocational practice. They are addressed in relation to thequality of life – the daily creative tension between process and product– and are illustrated by examples of paintings from art history, andresearch from conservation and technical art history.

PAINTING FROM LIFEFirst, that painting is about life, and that life is the primary teaching tool,both literally and conceptually, which contains, and therefore cannot bedefined by, ideas. Painting from life views the mental, emotional, andphysical aspects of experience as equals. Second, that a handmade crafthas exponentially more to offer than a machine-made one, but also that,within a given personal style, certain aspects of the craft may be morerelevant than others. Third, that an experiential or heuristic approachto the materials offers more than an abstract or empirical one. Fourth,that the most functional relationship between art and craft is reciprocal,not hierarchical. Fifth, that honoring the original contract of art inservice to society has more to offer than ignoring it. This last argumentgoes back at least as far as Diderot’s distinction between le naïf and lethéâtral, and, by implication, to Plato’s complaint in The Republic thatpainting is merely copying, not a creative art. The philosophical andpractical elements of painting are currently presented in separate covers.In this text, practice and motivation are viewed as complementaryaspects of a craft whose tenets are neither materialist, empirical, norintellectual, but grounded in the physical and metaphysical inter-dependence of craftsperson and society.

THE SECTIONSThis book contains seven sections: concepts, aspects, colour, materials,mediums and varnishes, methods, and systems. The information basis isuniformly threefold, or triadic: older practice as defined by technical arthistory, the craft as a creative resource, and the equal validity of logic andintuition in the painting process. The goal is to offer an alternative toboth the encyclopedia of differential description, and the grimoire ofequivocal arcana, through a practical, holistic reference that documentsone painter’s experience in detail. Whether of technique, proportion,or innovation, the details of daily experience combine to generate aprocess that is both stable and lively. Modern texts on painting occur inframes of reference that are either scientific or aesthetic. The case ispresented here for the dynamic, and symbiotic, interaction between theart and its materials so evident in the th-th century heyday of thecraft. Older practice is examined for what it explains about the cultural

attitudes that generated it, and what this offers painters working today.This approach can be applied to any level of experience, by anyonewhose attitude stresses the quality, rather than the tempo, of the creativeprocess. As a frame of reference, it still provides what it originally did:an opportunity for the life and the work to become one.

CONCEPTSLearning to think in colour and form develops the relationship betweenthe visual and verbal realms of the brain. This connects logical andintuitive problem-solving skills and includes more of each over time.The concepts organize the process, aiding intuition through the simplebut infinite logic of dialectic analysis. This ancient technique uses theinteraction of opposites – the basic teaching tool of all humanexperience – to create new possibilities, even a new frame of reference,through creative synthesis. In using this book, the opposites that interactare reading and painting: the logical mind and the intuitive hands.

ASPECTSThe aspects emphasize elements of the process and the high levels ofvisual logic and tactile awareness that are intrinsic to older painting. Oneexpects this depth from the materials, but it begins with the way theprocess itself is conceived, then organized.

COLOURThis section explains how colour is arranged to evoke light and space,and the ways older painting used optical techniques to map colour toform. These methods create more perceptual colour from fewerpigments via discreet simultaneous contrast with the added dimensionsof pigment optics and the many ways positive, negative, and neutralcolour can be differentiated, and integrated. They define a triadicbalance between the vivacity of local colour, the unity of an integratedlight-shadow axis, and the optical depth of the paint itself.

MATERIALSThe materials are principally traditional, based on the older texts on theone hand, and the findings of technical art history on the other. Modernmaterials have been incorporated when they have proven to be stableand non-yellowing.

MEDIUMS AND VARNISHESThis section offers choices that developed based on the findings oftechnical art history, made with both handmade and, in some cases,quality modern materials. The positive, as well as potentially negative,aspects of six medium types are covered – oil, putty, egg, resin, emulsion,and beeswax – along with various useful combinations.

METHODSThe emphasis of the methods is on the th century, but some concepts or formulas – panels, gypsum gesso, tempera grassa, the Strasbourg Method – are earlier. The methods developed by comparing the formulas and instructions in older texts with the findings of modern conservation research. Technical art history has shown that the older texts themselves are most often compilations, the work of scribes, not painters, and contain both useful and unlikely information. Technical publications from London’s National Gallery and Tate Gallery proved to be a reliable filter for the older texts. The consistent message of informed simplicity from these findings effectively sliced through the Gordian Knot of the literary trail, establishing the basis of the older system as simplicity, ingenuity, and expediency, derived from cumulative experience, and practiced in the service of longevity. For the craftsperson working to secure a livelihood in a cultured, yet highly competitive context, this approach also functioned as advertising, and insurance.

SAFETYThis book contains examples of methods and materials from older practice that are hazardous, and are indicated thusly: . While historical, and well-documented in older sources, all of these approaches are now optional, and their use or avoidance should always be considered in light of the larger issues of personal and environmental health.

SYSTEMSThe systems are technical, based on a specific approach to the materials and methods, or historical, based on sets of materials and methods that generated a certain style at a given period. In either case, the systems tend to be about the balanced interaction of very specific sets of materials.

PURPOSEThis book explores the relationship between the creative and practical aspects of oil painting. Its materials and techniques are not historical reenactments, nor definitive; it is a record of what worked for one interested party, and why. The purpose has been to explore a partnership with the craft that is functional and creative now. This bond occurred naturally during the th-th century flowering of the craft; there is no reason why it cannot happen again once again. This begins by addressing the materials on their own terms. Given that overarching attention to detail is the literal foundation of life on this planet, it makes sense that it is the basis of any creative process. Once observed, these details naturally assemble themselves into systems whose components and behaviors are logical, yet otherwise inconceivable. What we term the craft is actually the endless cornucopia of details generated by focused personal attention. Developing this dialogue with the materials incrementally, from the inside out, produces far reaching results for the life, the work, and their creative partnership at the easel.

FROM CONCEPTSSECT ION :

. THE CREATIVE DIALOGUECreativity in painting combines the opposite qualities of inspiration andorganization. Inspiration is vivifying and compelling, but how can it becommunicated with all its nuance and finesse? Inspiration needs amethod of expression. Organization is meditative and anodyne, but whatis its motivation? Organization needs a purpose.

Inspiration and organization are fundamentally different qualities.Because of this, their combined effect can be far greater than either onealone. Inspiration is intuitive and extra-conscious; it arrives withoutwarning and urges activity. Organization is physical and conscious,cumulative in its ability to codify, marshal, and deploy. These divergentqualities, as warp and weft, are woven together through the hands in thepresent moment. Inspiration may not be clear about what it wants, butis decisive about what it doesn’t. Organization, like a map, points outpossible ways to get to a given destination. The potential of inspirationis infinite, but mercurial, while organization is a function of experienceand diligence. The intensity of inspiration puts stress on organization toadapt to its demands. Within this context, inspiration as a sense ofpurpose or transcendental instinct comes first, organization as thought,or analysis, comes second. Organization prepares the soil, butinspiration provides both the seed, and the rain that allow it to sprout.The greater the level of organization, the more opportunity inspirationhas to flourish. Yet each combination of inspiration and organization isunique, the product of specific circumstances. No formula existsthrough which inspiration and organization are permanently reconciled.Art history provides many creative models, and these form a pattern, buteach reconciliation occurs in the moment, and is also gone with thatmoment. Despite talent and training, the process retains elements thatare inscrutable. Even in the canon of officially ‘great’ painters, somepaintings are unaccountably better than others. This is perhaps why fineart is viewed as invaluable, or valued to the point of absurdity. Theineffable has somehow been documented with both clarity and detail,the macrocosm of the universal has been expressed through themicrocosm of a human being: an intrinsically miraculous event.

FROM ASPECTS ,SECTION :

. THE PAINTER’S ART HISTORYAlthough painting is fundamentally a response to life, it is also a responseto painting. For painters especially, art history has a compelling tale totell. When Delacroix has a technical question, he visits the Louvre, and

returns to his studio with a solution. From this perspective, it is notimportant who was the royal painter, who made the most money, orwhose behavior made the most eyes roll, but whose work offers the mostmeaningful example; who is the most relevant teacher. Exploring arthistory personally, outside the bright lights of a given period, offers morein the way of perspective and options. A deeper pattern of give andtake, cause and effect, emerges. Older books are increasingly easy tolocate, image searches online can be surprising in terms of illustratingthe variety of a given painter’s work, as opposed to what is generallyselected from that work for print. Just as the craft offers more than meetsthe eye, individual choices soon diverge from those of Art History .There are excellent painters who, even now, remain relatively unknown.Having had careers in daylight rather than limelight, their work may feelrefreshingly genuine. Over time, a group of personal antecedents comestogether, fellow travelers who become guides to the process. Art history often features biography, but painters also have their ownwords. Constable wrote incisive prose; his letters are full of periodcolour (..). Pissarro’s letters to his son Lucien offer deep insightsinto the milieu surrounding the birth of Impressionism (..). TheDelacroix journal contains decades of piquant observations about every-thing (..). The letters of Van Gogh offer a systematic and far moreaccurate account of his approach to life and art than the ‘mad genius’meme of popular art history (..). Gwen John’s notebooks offer koan-like insights into her thoughts and technique (..). Well-knownpainters tend to loom larger than life in art history, yet here is Delacroixin his fifties, excited as a schoolboy to be out of pestilential Paris; hereis Constable, berating the dairyman for watering his children’s milk; wewitness John and Pissarro struggling serially with the conflicting needsof security and independence. The familiar narrative of life reflected ina letter or notebook re-establishes a human context for the distant or‘great’ historical figure. A large part of the early painter’s apprenticeship involved assimilatingthe master’s style; this was logical when a group of artisans workedtogether on the same painting. Early in his career, Raphael painted in amanner similar to his teacher, Perugino. As Raphael continued todevelop, his own more fluid style emerged from an approach thatremained creatively syncretic. Beginning with emulation, and endingwith adulation, can be seen in the work of many well-known olderpainters. Today, we are told early and often not to copy, but to beoriginal; with the best intentions this is even promoted ideologically ingrade school. But oil painters have learned through the copying processfor centuries, and this remains a unique tool for developing greaterunderstanding of how a given painter thinks, feels, and acts, simplybecause recreating a painting is a far deeper experience than looking atit. Students copying a Monet painting are always surprised that thecolours are less bright, more broken, than they appear: illustratingpreconceptions about colour as well as simultaneous contrast. Copying

is especially valuable for learning more about realistic light, or foranalyzing a painter of personal interest: Delacroix made copies afterRubens, Rubens himself copied work by Titian in Madrid while famousthroughout Europe. The conventions used to depict light and shadowvary in different cultures and time periods. Studying these methodsleads to colour mixing with more precision and depth. The relationship of current painting to its past generates attitudesranging from adoration to rejection. Does the best painting follow aspecific tradition, or is the individual response determinate? Art historyoffers a variety of solutions, but, like time itself, these are relative.During their own time, the Pre-Raphaelites were often criticized forbeing too past oriented. Yet, now that their work has also become partof the fabled past, this is not such an issue: this occasionally self-conscious but sincere style is another chapter in the story. But, doesworking with the past mean it should it be imitated as closely as possible?And if so, which past are we talking about? The aesthetics of Van Eyck,Giotto, Praxiteles, and Lascaux are all ‘old,’ and all quite different. Theunreliable narrative of the past – the difficulty in interpreting Baxandall’sconcept of the ‘period eye’ accurately from the present – also provides aperplexing factor. Is the painting process focused on present tensecreativity, or aesthetic anthropology? Sorting these elements out canmake it tempting to discard the past for the simplicity of a fresh start.Yet modernism has proven that nothing becomes dated more quicklythan work based on this principle. Shorn of the past, the present easilybecomes ephemeral; trends are seized upon and discarded withincreasing rapidity, even vapidity, as painting devolves into a revolvingdoor of fashionable diversion. Incorporating a larger time frame, arthistory demonstrates that, while the New must happen, it does so mostreliably in relation to the Old. Working with tradition casts the past notas an idol to be worshiped or destroyed, but as a tool. Painting usesbrushes to place colour creatively on canvas; style uses the self to applytradition creatively in the present. The present chooses what is mostrelevant from the past, and brings this into being again in a new form.This process contains an initial element of exploration, even imitation,but the results are applied towards renewal.

A seminal example of this occurs in the development of Manet, whoconsciously applied aspects of the past to recreate painting in the present.Manet is often spoken of as having been influenced by Velázquez, butthe structure of this process is more creative. Searching for an antidoteto the prevalent Neoclassical imitation of Poussin or Raphael, Manetfound several things of interest in Velázquez: a forthright approach toobservation and execution, a sculptural condensation of form, and theuse of black and white to set off colour and amplify visual gravity. Yet,these elements also exist in Women of Algiers () by Delacroix, apainting that entered the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris when Manet wastwo years old. In contrast to the idealization of the past often featuredin academic painting, these frank stylistic elements are combined as tools

to accomplish Manet’s own goals for painting which is unabashedly, andoften uncomfortably, about the present. This is not just the influenceof Velázquez or Delacroix, but these painters deeply considered andcreatively recast. This seamless fusion can take time: in Manet’s case, hemethodically develops ways to augment an earlier simplification of formwith tighter and denser paint. This process results in a lively, detailedsynthesis that becomes relevant, as something genuinely new, for thepainting of the future.

FROM COLOURSECTION :

. AN UNRULY LEXICONColour as a language is at once articulate and inscrutable. A similar basison wavelength and tonal relationships makes for interesting comparisonswith music, but there are no discrete scales or specific notes in colour torely on: colour in paint is in a constant state of flux. This means colouris limitless, which is always exciting. But, as is the case with words, it isnot a matter of knowing them all, but of assembling a natural vocabularyin an inspired sequence. At this point, tension often exists between colour for its own sake,and colour as an aspect of the painting process. Early in The Interactionof Color (), Albers states that paint is too complex a tool for the studyof colour (..). Conceptual colour and its physical vehicle cancertainly be treated as different things, but, for painters, they act as one,meaning complexity of colour in paint needs to be understood. Wehltesuggests that the study of colour, like drawing, occur separately, andprior to work with paint, allowing the inevitable fascination with colouras a Ding an sich to develop on its own terms. After a period ofexperimental freedom, working with a basic selection of traditionalpigments is more likely to provide a sense of direction, rather thanlimitation. We are typically educated with an emphasis on the efficiency of linearthought, and this is mirrored in the flat color of much th centurypainting: this is as linear as colour gets. But, conceptually and in nature,colour is multi-dimensional. Planar colour can certainly be artistic, butdoes not exist in nature. Which makes the planar approach complex:on the one hand, a search for the abstract basis of colour as a universallanguage, on the other, a rejection of the way colour occurs within theuniverse of our common experience. Because colour is so related to feeling, it is most often usedintuitively: painters develop a personal method of altering or condensingcolour, a chromatic shorthand. In realism this works up to a point, whichis defined by both the period and the imperatives of the style.Convincing natural colour involves fine tuning value and temperature

within the light-shadow axis when mapping colour to form. Morerealistic rendering is typically paired with more realistic colour, butneither of these may be necessary: a great deal of art has been made withstrong shapes and simple colour. To use colour intuitively and creatively,it must first be harnessed to, or filtered through, the system establishedby the logic of light. Colour can be creative within this logic, but isunreliable, or, at best, difficult to develop further, without it. We can turn to the scientific study of colour, but this is not based onthe physical behavior of pigments. Modern colour models are three-dimensional solids that take value and chroma into account, but do notaddress the degree of transparence, the chromatic complexity introducedby layering, or the all-important way colours – especially colours ofdifferent types, or contrasting temperatures – interact. Any model is alsorelatively abstract compared to the living quality of colour embodied aspaint. Colour knowledge can be helpful, but pigment awareness leadsto colour instinct – an aesthetic feeling for colour in paint – which ismore useful in practice. In realistic painting, colour is used to create a consistent illusion ofthree-dimensions on a flat surface. This means arranging colours toappear to be in different planes – to advance or recede – through mappingcolour to form by type. Colour has a structure whose study makes it easierto comprehend. A given colour in a painting has a:

. Value from light to dark . Temperature from warm to cool . Chroma from dull to vivid . Degree of transparence, translucence, or opacity . Level in the order of the paint layers . Specific technical type:

a) Hues are made from colours alone b) Tints contain white

c) Shades contain blackd) Tones contain gray

The endless potential of colour can be likened to the immensenumber of words in a dictionary. A realistic painting needs anarrangement of colour that is literally or figuratively accurate, and this islike choosing certain words to tell a specific story in the way that feelsbest. This means exploring colour within the light and shadow axis, aswell as the air quality, of a specific place and time. The goal is to inte-grate chromatic variety with value, temperature, atmospheric recession,and midtone vivacity, so the painting reads as a unified whole. Given the primal appeal of colour, the variety of pigments availablenow is a mixed blessing. Even as late as the th century, the permanentpigments beyond the earth colours numbered less than two dozen. Atthis point, manufacturers gleefully put out a redundant exorbitancy ofcolours, and information about which to choose for the palette is ofcourse contradictory. Paint nomenclature remains a disorganized

mélange of actual, historical, and alluring names, for which there areloose traditions but no rules. Under these circumstances, the harriedpainter is apt to substitute a variety of scintillating pigments for the artof colour mixing. This can easily lead to paintings with ChromaticAnxiety Disorder: too many pigments without enough relationshipbetween them. When this occurs, we are not using, but being used by,colour. Relentless vivacity is wearying to the eye, just as relentlessfortissimo is wearying to the ear. In nature, vivacity is selective, balancedby the neutrality of reflections and the unity provided by theatmospheric envelope. Similarly, finely tuned colour dynamics can bean important aspect of the painting as a work of art. To create harmony, or the sense of a specific place and time, a limitedpalette is an asset. This sets up a natural emphasis on colour mixing tech-nique, and the balanced colour relationships found in nature. Well-known colours can be seen as boring, but prosaic colour on the palettedoes not mean prosaic colour on the painting itself, because the perceptionof any colour is always determined by its context. We think of cadmium redlight as a certain colour, but when it is surrounded by blue, orange,white, or gray, it appears different in each case. This introduces animportant paradox. On the one hand, cadmium red light does exist as aspecific bright red-orange hue, but on the other hand, no colour isabsolute, either in a painting, or in life. The actual chroma of a colourmay be less, or more, than its perceived chroma, according to the coloursit is reacting with. And colours are constantly reacting with one another,this is what they do. As such, colours are tuned to create more or lessperceived chroma, to advance or recede to a given degree. Creating aconvincing illusion of light and space is a matter of mixing colour withinthe key of a given light-shadow axis. Because colour is so sensitive tocontext, mixing technique is the most effective tool for creating uniquecolour, allowing the development of a unique set of contexts or rela-tionships. Without using contrasting temperatures to establish the colourcontext, a tendency to substitute chroma and energy for accuracyoccurs. This approach typically involves great earnestness and heroicgnashing of teeth, but is not consistent, nor replicable, because it ignoresthe logic of light as the immutable foundation of colour relationships.A lively execution is wonderful, as is getting in touch with one’s creativesubconscious, but these admirable approaches do not somehow alter thephysics of the planet. Alla prima techniques featuring spontaneous orreactive mixing emphasize a strictly limited palette for precisely thisreason. Colour mixing has many levels; a limited palette facilitatesfinding evolved ones because these exist within the sphere defined by theaxes of red, yellow, and blue. To make convincing colour, it is importantto both see it, and envision it. A method of sequencing the transitionfrom the colour we observe, to the colour we mix, provides theorganization that allows inspiration to be translated clearly. Without thisanimating tension, we are either copying, which is boring, or guessing,which is exhausting.

The one hundred and forty-seven tubes on display at the store givethe impression that all this choice is crucial. But this is not true. Weonly need to be concerned conceptually with the primaries: red, yellow,and blue. Each primary comes in two types: warm and cool. In thedaylight palette, in addition to white and possibly black, there are sixbasic positions to consider: warm and cool versions of each primary.These positions don’t all have to be filled: a painting can be made witha triad of three primaries and white. Many older paintings were madewith a limited palette to concentrate on the advanced depiction of valueand temperature that establishes a given visual-emotional mood. Assuch, when constructing a light oriented palette, it is important to firstchose not what feels new or provocative, but what is necessary.Observing the progress of successful colourists such as Bonnard orMatisse, we see that more adventurous colour comes after learning todepict light and form. Painting light convincingly is not enhanced bycolour variety, nor by colour identity, but by the accuracy, and thereforeharmony, of the colour relationships within the value structure. Thesemust be finely tuned to feel natural and are far easier to access with fewercolours and mixing based on value and temperature – the logic of light– than with more colours and mixing based on guesswork. As with anypractice, guesswork develops over time, but guesswork tends to bindcolour to a reliable but predictable formula. Colour mixing is oftensubjected to rules, such as ‘never mix more than three colours together.’This particular guideline is functional up to a point, but it is moreaccurate to say that mixing more than three colours together can achievegreat subtlety, but the value and temperature shifts of the colour key inquestion need to be well tuned in order to keep the adjacent colours inthe same key. Like training wheels on a bicycle, guidelines can behelpful for learning, but eventually restrict the potential of the vehicle.The precision of realistic colour is such that a system for organizing valueand temperature shifts is necessary. Because painters have worked thisway for centuries, and there are several specific patterns, and acceptedconventions, from which to learn the art of dimensional mapping. InWestern art history, the coordination of value and temperature to createthe illusion of space is at first tentative and relatively formulaic, butbecomes more subtle and creative, over time. The varieties of th

century colourist realism all use different iterations of this principle. Theeye accepts great license from colour as long as the basic logic of thelight-shadow axis is consistent, as it is in nature. Colours clearly have meaning, but these are hard to pin down. Isthat an angry, or a joyous red? A sad or hopeful blue? A cringing oraffirmative yellow? Colours have a specific symbology, but these areinconsistent from culture to culture. How is meaning changed by shapeor context, when many colours are arranged together? The power ofcolour is its existence as a language, but in a realm beyond words: itsimply acts on consciousness. And, though we are unified in ourresponse to colour, these responses are necessarily diverse.

The complex relationship between colour, feeling, and meaningmakes colour selection largely intuitive. Shifts here are oftenunconscious. Is the palette too bright or dull? Discovering the current‘right’ colour or colour combination is a relief: work can proceed in theappropriate emotional key once again. Conversely, certain colours may feel intrinsically wrong. In herdiaries, Virginia Woolf recounts Roger Fry’s sudden pronouncementone day while painting in southern France that yellow-green is not anartistic colour, and the ensuing arch debate with her sister, the painterVanessa Bell. Because all colours are, in the largest sense, created equal,exploring areas of colour which have been unconsciously edited out, oractively dismissed, can be intriguing. Are our inclinations highlyrefined, or prejudices in disguise? A given colour may not be seen, butthis does not mean it isn’t there: the chromatic frame of reference of atime and place can become difficult to see when existing within it. The intensity of our reaction to colour is modeled on the evolvedway colour occurs in nature. Analogously, older paintings often exhibitgreat finesse in the way colour dynamics direct the eye. The power ofcolour is always exercised within the logic of light. Examining colourthrough the system of nature allows value and temperature relationshipsto be tuned with natural creativity. Yet, just as painting is more thandrawing, it is more than colour.

FROM MATERIALSSECTION :

. TIMEThe most basic material in painting is time. The consensus definition oftime is fixed and linear: as children we learn very early that the clockgoes tick-tock, tick-tock. But this is mechanical time, corresponding to theGreek word, chronos. Time as we experience it, on the other hand, is aprotean, extra-logical substance that is responsive to our consciousnessmoment to moment: time flies, or stands still, based on how we feel. Assuch, control over the mechanical clock is not as important as awarenessof the personal or emotional clock. This corresponds to the type oftime the Greeks defined as kairos: the moment where a relevant changeoccurs, a moment of evolution which is necessarily outside of linearity.

We have natural clocks available in the sun and the moon.Mechanical clocks move from left to right, while natural clocks movefrom right to left. The sun defines what can happen in a day, and, sea-sonally, Spring tends to be more creative than Winter. The phases of agiven lunar cycle often define the arrival, development, and completionof a specific concept or approach in the work. The moon’s effects areemotional, and therefore personal, but the cycle has a pattern. The newmoon can be somewhat puzzling until its often unexpected definition

of new is grasped. The full moon tends to be both energetic andfulfilling. The third week of the moon works best for work already inprogress. The fourth week may see energy waning, especially in the lastdays before the new moon begins: a good time to do errands, makematerials or clean the studio. Observing how this natural clock operatespersonally can help the work evolve more harmoniously.

Early in the vastly calmer th century, Wordsworth wrote that, ‘theworld is too much with us.’ Worldly demands, ‘getting and spending,’tend to imprison the process of life, and the work derived from it, onthe surface. A great deal may be going on, but, without the guidanceof a larger purpose, the activity merely generates more of the same.When viewed from a broader perspective, temporal demands can easilyseem arbitrary, even artificial. Simplifying the external life allows theinner life to emerge and pursue its natural course with certainty anddignity. The work is the fruit, the process is the vine, inspiration is therainfall, but quality time is the soil in which the system is anchored. Thisis personal, as opposed to culturally imposed, time. In a prescient entry,Delacroix (--) observes that progress based on machines will onlyend up turning people into machines. The focus of modern life onhaste and the gadgetry to enable it often means the sacrifice ofmeaningful simplicity for arbitrary complexity. Whether this createsactual accomplishment, or merely the perpetual illusion thereof, isincreasingly open to debate. How can we still generate the expandedtime clearly at the foundation of older painting? Painting shifts consciousness out of conventional time and space, tothe extent that the painter is often not in the studio, but in the painting.This extended, even alternate, version of reality is the result of executinga routine that is familiar but requires concentration. The most exper-ienced painter still pays attention to the work in progress because this isprecisely what makes the process function, creating a painting that feelsalive. This level of attention makes the basic resources of feeling andconsideration readily available. Access to personal clarity is provided bya spacious and personal sense of time. Spacious time occurs readily viaexternal simplicity. If the external life is ordered and uncluttered,anxieties about time management fall away, and internal growth for theprocess can be fostered and implemented naturally. Practically, thismeans finding a way to disengage from other demands, and establishboth external and internal peace. Painting is quite old and hard to fool.It is aware that it both needs and creates a qualitative difference in time;that this is fundamental to its identity and purpose. Once this is alsointrinsic to daily life, the process becomes inviolable, simply because itfunctions more naturally when spacious time is the vehicle forconsciousness. Struggling with endless social demands as a youngpainter in Paris, Delacroix is clear in early entries that he must learn tomake the quality of his working time come first. These opposite typesof time are helpful to one another once they are in relative balance: the

demands of the outer world are offset by the life of the inner world. Anongoing dialogue can then take place, developing the evolution of both.

. OIL PAINTCompared to egg tempera, oil introduced increased saturation, morelifelike movement, a more dramatic value scale, and the ability to finishan image in less time. But the oil medium was also less stable andpredictable. Linseed oil made the strongest film, but needed to becarefully refined to avoid yellowing. In an indirect or layered technique,the values of layers could alter over time: the white becoming moretransparent due to saponification, the darks becoming morepredominant due to the increasing influence of a toned ground. Theground and paint on stretched canvas needed to be thin and flexible toavoid longer term cracking due to movement of the canvas. With thelater introduction of driers and resin globally in the medium, furtherissues associated with the degradation of the paint film over time couldoccur. While many different ingredients and formulas worked at first,it turned out, over time, to be a fine line between paintings thatremained as they were painted, and paintings that did not. Oil paint,like life itself, appears simpler on the surface than it is in practice.

PERIOD SOLUTIONS, PERIOD PAINTTechnical solutions to these issues have been different based on thematerials of a given period, and the stylistic solutions appreciated by agiven culture. Even in the same period, solutions can be different. Thelater th century French academic system involved significant technicalfine tuning with the medium but, in the same period, the Impressionistsystem of Monet used paint alone. It is important to note that Monetused the period paint alone; this style is not readily accessible with modernpaint alone. Painters are often interested in the style of a certain olderpainter: this painter is doing what comes naturally, in plain sight, it mustbe possible to do that too. Yet basic physical differences between thatpainter’s handmade paint, and the MAS paint available now, may makethat style difficult to emulate in a way that is technically sound. Therehave been many versions ‘oil paint’ over the centuries. While it isexpedient to work is with readily available materials, it is also importantto be aware of what a given paint and medium combination can, andcannot, reliably do.

DEFINING BETTER PAINTThe working qualities of the paint are the foundation of the style. Somepainters prefer paint with more movement, or glide, others prefer paintwith more density, or grab. The nominal behavior of the paint out ofthe tube is easily altered or adjusted by the medium, and, to a certainextent, by the ground. It is often assumed that commercial paint mustbe better than primitive older paint because it is the result of SuperiorModern Technology. It is also often assumed that profit-oriented mod-

ern paint must be worse than the Sacred Handmade Paint of Yore.When these assumptions interact, hairs are split, and feathers tend to fly.Can better quality paint be defined technically? Yes, but it is not aboutthe particle size in micrometers, or how perfectly the pigment isdispersed. The highest quality paint contains no chemicals or driers, themost pigment, the highest quality oil, and the least amount of thesimplest ingredient, such as beeswax or fumed silica, to keep the pigmentin suspension. Its shelf life would be relatively short, and not the samefor all pigments. The latter of these criteria – the quality of the oil, andthe amount of pigment – in fact eliminate all paint currently made. Thisdoes not mean that modern commercial paint is ‘bad.’ Moderncommercial paint is simply the result of a set of interactions betweenmanufacturer and marketplace, a situation with specific strengths andlimitations. Awareness of these allows an informed set of decisions tobe made about what type of paint to work with in a given situation.1

METAL SOAP FORMATIONThough the paint appears to be dry, the chemistry of the paint filmcontinues to evolve for centuries. Later in its life, the saturated fattyacids released by the aged polymerized oil interact with the variousmetallic pigments used for most of oil painting’s history to produceamorphous metallic soaps. This process is enabled by high levels ofhumidity (..), and has been studied most with regard to lead soaps.Metal soaps in the paint film enhance stability in the short run, butultimately lead to degradation (..). This is principally because, asmetal soaps crystallize and grow over time, they can cause various issuesin the paint film such as surface cracks, eruptions, and delamination(..). Yet, paradoxically, research has shown that metallic ions are alsonecessary for the formation of a durable paint film (..). Because thisphenomenon takes so long to develop, investigations of this are recent,meaning we know far more about the long term behavior of historicpigments than modern ones. However, research has identified themetals whose pigments are most likely to cause metal soap formation as:aluminum, manganese, copper, lead, and zinc. The metals least likely tocause soap formation over time are: calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, andcobalt (..). There are subtleties involved: the Mars pigments, as pureiron oxides, and the ochres, do not cause metal soap formation, but rawand burnt sienna, with their manganese and aluminum components, do(..). Research has also shown that aluminum stearate – a metal soapitself – as a dispersing agent contributes to metal soap formation, evenwith pigments that do not form metal soaps readily. Finally, it isimportant to note that this process takes centuries. It can be discouraged

1 Recent conservation research has shown that the th century system of chemicaladditives can be responsible for a variety of relatively serious conservation issues over time,see The Modern System of Additives in section .. below. Some of the smallermanufacturers are aware of this, and are now making simpler, additive-free paint.

by paint without additives, pigments resistant to saponification, calciumcarbonate in the paint film, using a less acidic oil such as walnut insteadof linseed, and by protecting the painting from excess humidity.

. THE OILThe traditional oils were long thought to be linseed oil in the north andSpain, and walnut oil in Italy, but research has revealed more general useof both. This is aligned with recent findings that explore the records ofthe materials trade network in Europe, highly developed even by theth century. At the Liegnitz Fair of , linseed, walnut, hemp, andpoppy oil were available, with poppy eight times the cost of linseed(TAM). Terms such as linseed oil are often discussed as if they representsingular, finite things. But all oils from a given plant species are not thesame. Factors such as the cultivar, climate, and degree of ripeness atharvesting all affect how an oil performs. Another, equally importantand complex set of factors comes into play when the oil is refined. Assuch, a given oil, raw or refined, can be clearly preferable to another ofthe same name.

OILS IN GENERAL USELinseed oil dries most quickly, and makes the strongest paint film, butits large proportion of linolenic acid (C:) also gives it the mostpotential to yellow. The De Mayerne Manuscript has many recipesdesigned to diminish this, and the Northern European painter’s opinionsthere are generally in favor of walnut oil, although Van Dyck prefersethanol-refined linseed oil, which is relatively non-yellowing. The useof poppy oil grew in Holland in the th century, and is associated withthe bright palette of floral specialists. Poppy oil is slow drying, and canwrinkle if too much raw, commercially refined oil is used in a layer, but isthe most reliably non-yellowing of the traditional oils. It makes arelatively soft film, but, if prepolymerized somewhat, this may be a long-term advantage on stretched canvas. Walnut oil is closely associated witholder Italian painting and provides a happy medium between linseed andpoppy, especially in a warm, dry climate where it dries quickly. Hempis mentioned occasionally in older texts, is between walnut and linseedin its drying time, and yellows less than expected based on that dryingtime. Historic use of hemp may have been impeded by its initial darkgreen colour, but this is fugitive. Grapeseed and sunflower oil – refined,all nearly colourless – are similar to poppy oil. They are non-yellowing,very slow drying, and make a relatively soft film. Very small additionsof these can be used for colours that dry quickly in the tube, or,autoxidized or heat-polymerized somewhat, to extend the open time ofa medium, allowing an alla prima painting to continue over a few days.It is important to be cautious with these slower drying oils, using themin small amounts, and in a heat polymerized state when possible.

FACTORS AFFECTING DRYING SPEEDEach of the oils has a native drying speed, but certain factors aid dryingin all oils. Any oil in a paint film dries faster when:

. It has been autoxidized or prepolymerized.. Ambient room temperature is higher.. The pigments used accelerate drying.. A drier is added to the oil, see Driers, section ..

THE BEST OILThe debate about the ‘best’ oil for painting has gone on for centuries.Much is sometimes made of the film strength of linseed oil versus walnutoil, and linseed oil does make a stronger film. But most ItalianRenaissance paintings were made with walnut oil, probably heat-bodiedin many cases, and are still with us. Much is made of the potential oflinseed oil to yellow, based on the th century experience with lowquality oil. But it is more accurate to say that unrefined linseed oilyellows, hot-pressed (hardware store) linseed oil yellows, alkali-refinedcommercial linseed oil may yellow, depending on the refining process.Linseed oil is also more sensitive to darkness and humidity, making theuse of a sequestering agent (see section ..), or an addition of % of aslightly prepolymerized unsaturated oil like poppy advisable for brightercolour schemes. Quality commercially refined linseed oil, thoughseldom cold-pressed, no longer darkens overtly. On the other hand, thisoil dries slowly, four to seven days in an unpigmented test is common.However, an unrefined organic cold-pressed oil, which is then handrefined using the methods below, dries as quickly as one or two days inan unpigmented test, overnight when used with a palette of traditionalpigments, yellows only slightly more than walnut oil when new, andabout equally once aged. Commercial walnut, or commercial cold-pressed linseed oil are naturally suited to finer or thinner painting; thefaster drying water-refined linseed oils to work with denser paint andmore force. Still, the blandness of commercial oils can be transformedto some extent by the medium. As such, the best oil is still a personalchoice: the one that both suits the painter’s style and is reliably available.

A CORNERSTONE OF THE OLDER CRAFTThe way the oil is refined and subsequently modified is a basiccornerstone of the older craft with great potential to enhance the styleand longevity of the work. This body of knowledge was lost to theincreasing use of commercial materials in the th and th century, thenvirtually eliminated in the textbook th century version of the craft,resulting in the current MAS view of the oil as merely a placeholder forthe pigment. Printed remarks about ‘the oil’ are about the readilyavailable oil of the author’s period, and can be quite misleading Olderoils were hand-pressed, and hand-refined. As such, regardless of theplant of origin, these oils had more body or snap than their refinedmodern versions. This behavior can be replicated with any cold-pressed,

unrefined oil by hand-refining it. These oils are typically available fromnutritional or specialty sources, and can be extremely high quality. Asthe fastest drying oil, the change in linseed oil from the commercial tohand-refined version is the most dramatic, and the most profound interms of the options this change makes available. De Mayerne collectedmany methods for refining oil, Eastlake, Merrifield, and even Maroger,in his posthumously published A la recherche des secrets des grands peintres(), concur that beginning with a cold-pressed, washed oil is crucial.There is nothing ‘wrong’ with quality commercially refined linseed oilat this point, but the natural behaviors and effects of hand-refined oil areunavailable with it, because the rheological potential of the oil is removed, rather than enhanced, by the commercial refining process.

FROM MEDIUMS AND VARNISHESSECTION :

. PROPORTION AND EVOLUTIONCommercial paint is convenient, but also features the uniformity of aproduct, making the medium’s potential of perennial interest. The th-th century craft contains many technical variations, but these provedstable because the craft was handmade from the root of the process.Beginning in the th century with Watteau, perhaps the first well-known painter to disregard the craft (..), painters occasionallyconcentrated on short term results using complex materials. This meansthe medium is an area where a great deal has gone wrong: one ofTurner’s paintings famously cracked within a week of leaving the studio(..). Once the paint was made commercially, the medium followed.The th century contained many proprietary formulas such asRoberson’s Medium, some books of formulas even contained blanksthat could be filled by sending the author further payment! (..).

In th and th century texts a separate medium component is given.But the concept does not exist in De Mayerne. In the palette illustrationof entry , De Mayerne indicates a large blank space where the coloursare mixed with the oil: the simplest system possible. In a letter writtenearly in the th century, Constable warns against period ‘nostrums’ infavor of linseed oil alone (..). Still, later in his career in a notoriouslydamp climate, Constable used poppy oil, and the sequestering triad ofegg, resin, and wax (..). Even for a painter committed to simplicity,technique evolved due to the nature of the medium itself. Literary detective work is often used to establish the pedigree of amaterial. The detective work may be sincere and painstaking, but theterritory itself is quicksand. The amount of information actually writtenby working painters is small, and has been gone over assiduously.Scholarship has identified the occasional ‘impossible’ recipe – possibly

due to a mischievous copyist, possibly to a lost code – and there are alsonumerous improbable recipes, especially for varnish, clearly not sourcedfrom practice. This occurred because books made up of various craftsecrets were a growth industry for centuries, often attracting ‘authors’who were simply collators and copyists. This can make theidentification of specific materials obscure, and details of procedure non-existent. The secrecy of guilds and working painters means that theevidence presented in these texts is often highly condensed andequivocal. Even with a reliable source such as De Mayerne, a questionexists about how much the mettlesome – and perhaps meddlesome –doctor was actually told. Within the craft, half the story is as effectiveas none, and far more polite. Rubens, for example, does not mentionegg white to De Mayerne, a material now thought to be part of histechnique (..). The consistent conservatism of older practice established by the NGresearch is logical for the artisan with a reputation to establish andprotect. The degree of accomplishment in this work, and its hallowingover time, make it easy to forget that painting was most often a meansto economic security in an aristocratic milieu with exacting expectationsabout the objects that represented it.

Table : Relative Ingredient Ratios

Proportions offer helpful guidelines. Accurate measurement andconsistent medium-to-paint proportions help the process be reliable andreplicable. Through excluding or minimizing solvent, denser and richermediums can be used in relatively small amounts by conditioning the paintwith them before beginning, see section .. Say we want to stay below% wax and % resin in the paint film. With the mediums in Table above, Formula A can be used at medium to both and paint,whereas Formula B, by containing more wax and resin to begin with, isbetter used at medium to paint. Paying attention to the relative

FORMULA A : IN PAINT : IN PAINT : IN PAINT

Wax % .% % .%

Resin % .% % .%

Chalk % .% % %

Oil % .% % .%

FORMULA B : IN PAINT : IN PAINT : IN PAINT

Wax % % % .%

Resin % .% % .%

Chalk % % % %

Oil % % % .%

ingredient proportions in the medium, combined with the proportion ofmedium to paint, allows the working personality and look of a givensystem to be replicated, altered, or refined easily based on how it looks,and whether the colour remains reliably bright over time.

. . MEDIUM TYPESThere are six basic medium types. Which medium works best dependson how the style uses colour, whether the system is alla prima orindirect, whether the surface smooth or broken, and, last, but not least,on the quality of the oil. In larger terms, the best medium is the onethat is invisible, allowing the most natural expression of the hands.

OIL-ALONE MEDIUMSThe primary instance of the medium is the oil in the paint. Paint wasoriginally handmade with oil that was cold-pressed, and hand-refined.The oil was also probably aged, preheated or thickened slightly in mostcases. This type of oil is more stable, and more protective againsthumidity. A technical article often reports the medium in older paintingas simply ‘oil.’ But this can be many different types of oil, most of whichare not in the th century texts, or the current frame of reference. Inreaction to overemphasis on solvents and resins in the th centurytextbooks, more painters are interested in painting with oil-alone. Thisis supported both by the findings of conservation – oil-alone films arestronger, less likely to delaminate over time – and those of technical arthistory – oil-alone films are dominant th – th century painting.However, here are two important points. First, this body of work wasmost often made with a lower chroma group of pigments with highchroma midtones, using the white light-brown shadow convention, andvalue scales that often emphasized chiaroscuro over colour. Thisapproach places the viewer’s eye in an overall warm shadow matrix thatis very effective at masking moderate darkening of the oil.

Second, contemporary realism is unlikely to be executed in the olderway, often featuring the brightest overall colour possible. This meansthat, while brilliant pigments may mask it temporarily, modern realismis likely to emphasize darkening of the medium over time. As such,nothing is more important to an oil-alone technique than the quality ofthe oil itself, used with an acute awareness of the Fat Over Lean principle,see section .., especially if the work is on stretched canvas. If thematerials used are commercial, the oil quality has been pre-determined,and this may or may not be non-yellowing enough over time unless thepainting is made in ultra-thin paint, which conservation has establishedhas its own longevity issues.

This means that long-term brightness in an oil-alone technique maybe simplest to achieve technically the same way it was in older practice,with hand-refined oil in both the paint and the medium, the stability ofwhich allows further indirect layers until brightness itself stabilizes.Conversely, the style can be adjusted to work with quality commercial

paint. The styles of th century painters such as Lucien Freud andGiorgio Morandi suggest that they may have been created to referencethe traditional palette, yet with awareness of the limitations of the oil incommercial paint of their period. Experience suggests that high quality,additive-free commercial paint can do better at this point (), but thisis a situation that is always in flux, therefore one to be aware of in termsof envisioning how the style can most effectively make use of the paint.

SATURATION VIA THICKER OILFor use in a separate medium, oil can be thickened three ways to saturatethe final paint film. These are compared in Oil Mediums, section ..

Autoxidized oils: These are thickened by exposure to air. They arethe most adhesive or resinous group, especially made with one of thewater-refined linseed oils in section ..

Heat polymerized oils: These are thickened in response to high heat.They flow and level for smooth surface styles, and make long, sinuouslines with soft brushes.

An autoxidized oil can be heat-polymerized, as in the Olio d’ Gravesprocedure in section .... A heat polymerized oil can be autoxidizedas well, this occurs quickly compared to raw oil.

Oxidized and saponified oils: Oils can also be thickened in the presenceof air and a metallic salt, historically, lead metal, carbonate, or oxide, aprocess called oxidation-saponification. These oils have a gelled qualitythat lends itself to elegantly condensed form, see section ...Pros: Simple procedure at the easel, technically simple and potentiallyhighly stable over time in layers.Cons: May darken over time if not sequestered, see section .., basedon oil quality, quantity, type, observance of fat over lean, and climate.Substrate: Panels or stretched canvas.

PUTTY MEDIUMSAnother approach involves altering the paint’s behavior using the puttymedium derived from recent research into the methods of Rembrandtand Velázquez. These painters sometimes modified their paint withground chalk or calcite, respectively; ground silica is also recorded inVenetian painting. Putty mediums aid stability, and create a variety oftextures from broken to smooth. They work well with lower chromapalettes and chiaroscuro, as they were originally used, but may benefitfrom the sequestering agents, section .., to maintain full brilliance usingvivid modern colour. See section ..Pros: Increased stability and brightness when used moderately withquality oil, charismatic application potential.Cons: Overuse of thick putty on canvas can cause long term cracking. Astyle using impasto beyond highlights may take time to master.As with oil mediums, may darken if not sequestered based on oil quality,quantity, type, observance of fat over lean, and climate.Substrate: Panels or stretched canvas.

EGG EMULSION MEDIUMSA third type of medium derives from the interaction of oil paint withthe older egg tempera medium, incorporating a small quantity of egg –either whole, the white, or the yolk – into the paint. Egg emulsionmediums are often used with resin, but do not need to be.

Egg yolk: The yolk gives a matte look, finer discreteness and handling,but is also an arresting agent, and helps keep the colours brighter overtime. Egg yolk ages inflexibly, and is safest on panels, but the amountneeded to make a difference is quite small, between two and threepercent by volume. This group also includes egg emulsion mediums.These tend to lower gloss and brighten chroma. They feature the perm-anent, quick setting and drying, character of egg yolk, and producesemi-blendable paint in a wide range of behaviors. See section ...

Egg white: Very small amounts mixed into the medium give athixotropic paint with resistance to blending and charismatic handling.

Whole egg: This balances the behavior of the yolk and white, and istypically seen in tempera grassa formulas.Pros: Increased brightness and chroma relative to straight oil paint, manypossible stable combinations of ingredients.Cons: Must be made, often to order, requires understanding emulsionproperties, conditioning on the palette, proportional discipline,mediums with egg yolk require refrigeration to keep.Substrate: Panels only beyond very small additions.

OTHER EMULSION MEDIUMSA fourth medium type is an emulsion made using a thickener such asstarch, methyl cellulose, or hide glue as the aqueous element. Theseadditions can be used in greater amounts to make water phase temperaon panels, or, with less water and in smaller amounts, as an oil phaseemulsion to modify oil paint. Oil phase emulsions have density withpressure sensitivity and add an element of smush – the mashed potatoeffect – to the paint’s rheology. See section ..Pros: Increased brightness and chroma relative to straight oil paint, manypossible stable combinations of ingredients and impasto potentials.Cons: Must be made, often to order, require understanding of emulsionproperties, conditioning on the palette, and proportional discipline.Substrate: Panels, stretched canvas if used in moderation.

RESIN MEDIUMSA fifth type of medium uses resins from trees. There are many types ofresin with different optical and working characteristics. Resins can bedissolved in oil via heat, or dissolved in solvent, making two basic groups.

Hard resin varnish: Hard resins such as amber or the harder copals mustbe dissolved by heat, making oil varnishes. These protect the film wellfrom humidity and, as such, from the effects of aging, but tend to darkenbecause of the temperature the oil is heated to, and because of theoxidation of the solvent that is used to dilute the product.

Soft resin varnish: Soft resins such as damar or the balsams can bedissolved with solvent to make spirit varnishes, but can also be heatedinto the oil without solvent. There are also resins, such as sandarac orManila copal, that are typically dissolved with heat, but can also bedissolved in a strong solvent such as spike lavender. These materials offerdamar varnish alternatives in the medium, see section ....

The NG research has shown that ‘small amounts’ of resin,predominantly softer ‘pine resins,’ were used consistently for certaincolours, but not globally, i.e. in a medium used for the entire painting, inpre-th century painting practice. Resins add luminosity, and helpprotect against drying down or sinking-in: the technical basis of theirrecurrence as ‘the lost secret,’ see section .., below. The reliable wayto incorporate resin is in a ‘small amount’ to add brightness and alterpaint handling, not in larger amounts for increased saturation or bravurahandling. In larger amounts, brittleness and darkening may not occurquickly, but do occur. Small additions of beeswax may mitigate this toan extent by protecting the paint film further from humidity andoxidation. See sections .-.Pros: Increased sequestering and luminosity in layers in small amounts.Cons: Darkening, brittleness in larger amounts. Darkening of oxidizedsolvent if used. Lower long term film integration of spirit varnishes.Substrate: Panels or stretched canvas.

BEESWAX MEDIUMSA sixth medium type uses beeswax in the paint. Wax is sequesteringand the most flexible material in painting, but beyond very smallamounts, is not used alone because this makes a softer paint film,especially at higher temperatures. It is, however, useful with othermedium ingredients, as in the various sequestering mediums based onheat polymerized oil, soft resin, and beeswax. See Beeswax, section .,and its formulas.Pros: Sequestering, increases flexibility, set at room temperature, edgeinterest and painterly handling. Use at less than % of the paint film.Cons: Overuse makes a soft paint film. Long term darkening is reportedfor th century paint made with large amounts of wax (..).Substrate: Panels or stretched canvas.

MIXED MEDIUM TYPESThese mediums often have complex working characteristics. Balancingthe behavior of disparate ingredients allows these mediums to dounlikely things. The mechanics of this process can be deceptive. If, forexample, a medium is made from three ingredients – oil, chalk, and eggwhite – it appears that there are three axes of behavior to consider. Butthe character of the oil is an important fourth axis. Refining procedure,age, and type of polymerization, and level of polymerization, are allfactors. A little highly autoxidized hand-refined linseed oil, for example,

tends to make the paint tighter, while commercial heat-polymerized oilssuch as stand oil or burnt plate oil, make it looser.Pros: Can create unique balanced working characteristics.Cons: Can also create confusion, requires proportional discipline andawareness for success.

. . MEDIUM CHARACTERISTICSThe medium’s job is to enable natural painting. The basic issue is howto balance the paint’s movement with how much it stays put. Is loosepaint better, with plenty of glide, or should it have more hold, or grab?Grab can be increased until the paint no longer moves freely, introducingmore potential for texture. Is this interesting, or frustrating? Shouldlayering be possible wet-in-wet, a working balance of grab and glide?Or is the seamless, even elegant, blending of a single layer moreimportant? Can grab and glide be balanced for both possibilities at once? At first, answers to these questions are not made, but just happen.Over time, a personal pattern becomes clear. At one extreme the paintis facile, mobile, and ever-blendable in one layer. This is a natural func-tion of commercial paint, or a medium of thin oil on a non-absorbentground. At the other extreme, the paint sets firmly in discrete pieces,the technique is incremental, the surface is broken. This is a functionof paint handmade with aged oil, or a medium with thicker hand-refined oil, an arresting agent, an absorbent ground, or combinationsthereof. Between these poles many possibilities exist. Any medium hasa zone of functional viscosity, which varies, slightly to greatly, with theground and the brushes. This is also a function of temperature: coldertemperatures typically make mediums denser. Formulating a medium isabout adjusting its physical characteristics. These include the proportionof grab and glide the medium gives the paint, and the influence of thephysical depth – thickness or thinness – of the paint.

Pressure and timing may also come into play. When working wet-in-wet, pressure tends to decrease as the depth of paint increases, a casewhere firm pressure with a clean brush can result in blending,ploughing, or removal. With some medium types, the brushstrokesremain discrete if placed, but can be blended with more pressure, allowinga möbius of wet-in-wet options. Open time is extended with materialsthat dry slowly. Using solvent or materials that set, open time becomesanother form of pressure. Finally, the medium can enhance or diminishsaturation. Options are best explored by adjusting the systemincrementally, and writing changes down for future reference.

THICK AND THINPaint can be thickened or thinned by the medium. Thin paint is moreliteral, potentially more detailed, often perceived as less charismatic, butis also less likely to darken after drying. Thin paint is necessary forunderpainting in an indirect method, and traditional academictechnique always keeps the paint on the thin side. This is typically done

with a small amount of solvent, thin oil, a mix of solvent and oil, or amedium combining resin varnish, thicker oil, and solvent. Solvent addsmobility or glide until it evaporates. Thin oil adds glide for a fullworking day unless the ground is absorbent. Soft resin varnishintroduces an element of grab as the solvent in the varnish evaporates,very small amounts of hard resin varnish introduce thixotropy or boing.

Paint can be thickened with many different types of medium.Thick paint tends to have a larger application scale, naturally making astyle that is broader, or more painterly. It is capable of an enormousvariety of behaviors, and is often seen in expressive alla prima work, orthe final layer of an indirect painting. But, especially in a system basedon linseed oil, care needs to be taken to avoid thick paint drying downin value and brilliance in the first few months of the painting’s life. Thisis not necessarily disastrous, but can be avoided. See sections ...-.

GRABThere are three types of grab: one related to stickiness, one to thixotropy,and one to physical density. Resins increase grab; soft resin spiritvarnishes in a sticky way, hard resin oil varnishes in a thixotropic way.Autoxidized oils such as sun oil and studio oil increase grab withmoderate stickiness. Of the commercial thicker oils, only triple boiledoil (TBO) increases grab. Chalk, calcite or marble dust, and fine silica(quartz, flint, cristobalite) increase grab by increasing density. Waxincreases grab in a cool studio, but not in a warm one. Small additionsof egg – yolk, white, or whole – increase grab, but not as much as hardresin varnish. Egg white, as the water-based medium of manuscriptillumination, may have had early use to arrest the paint, and is nowsuspected as an aspect of the Rubens style (..). Earlier st centuryresearch noted that the small amounts involved are difficult to find inolder paint films (..), but this situation may be changing as a resultof proteomics (..). Very small amounts of water-based additions suchas methyl cellulose, starch gel, and hide glue, add a gentle but persistentgrab that helps brushstrokes remain discrete, and hold a firm edge.Increasing the water-based addition makes layering and broken surfacespossible. More grab is helpful in small scale work, where flowing paintmay not make the appropriate level of detail. Grab can be increasedglobally by an absorbent ground. Yet too much grab can mean difficultyin blending, or even in application, for the opening layer of paint.

GLIDEThin or heat-bodied oils increase glide, as does solvent until itevaporates. A fumed silica gel increases the glide of thicker paint. Boneash makes a medium more slippery or mobile. Stand oil or burnt plateoil, while thick, also increase glide, to the point of possibly melting inlarger amounts. Glide with thinner studio or sun oil is sticky; aged orheat-polymerized oil has more glide regardless of density. Glide ishelpful in larger scale work, increasing the sense of organic movement

and finesse. Glide is influenced by various factors: a putty made withcalcite has more glide than a putty made with chalk, unless the oilinvolved is preheated or aged. Wax increases glide in a warmer studio.Soft brushes require paint with more glide than firmer ones. Glide canbe enhanced globally by a minimally absorbent ground. Glide enhancesblending and facility, but too much glide can lead to lack of cohesion.

RHEOLOGYThe rheology of the paint is the sum of its physical working char-acteristics, how it flows from the brush. Paint can be thick or thin,mobile or adhesive, long (elastic) or short (buttery!), leveling andblendable, or quick setting and tending towards impasto. These qualitiestypically moderate one another when ingredients are combined, andunusually balanced combinations are possible. The rheology of hand-made paint is far more sensitive to traditional modifiers than MAS paint.

THIXOTROPYA paint is called thixotropic if it is gelatinous but mobile, and sets againafter being moved. Scientifically, the fluid exhibits increased viscosity atrest, but decreased viscosity under shear stress. Thixotropic paint isgently adhesive, with elasticity in motion, and forms low relief. This isthe result of a combination of grab, glide, and viscosity, and is typicallyachieved by a physical, rather than chemical, reaction. Paint handmadewith hand-refined linseed oil is inherently thixotropic, more so if the oilis aged. A small addition of hard resin varnish, elastic oil, traditionalburnt plate oil, thicker hand-refined studio or sun oil, or ecks makes evencommercial paint thixotropic, as does the silica gel, the use of a chalkputty medium, a small addition of egg yolk, hide glue, starch, or methylcellulose. The oils and varnishes have more elasticity, the water-basedingredients are shorter and tighter. These characteristics can be balancedmany ways by the proportions of the formula.

DEPTHThe behavior of the system changes relative to the amount of paint thathas been put on wet-in-wet. Once the ground has been covered, moreor less movement may become progressively possible with the same paintdepending on how much the paint beneath it has set. Does paint go intopaint, over paint, or can it do both depending on the amount of pressureand the brushes in use? Experience allows finely tuned layering as thepainting progresses based on how pressure is applied relative to depth.A useful paint viscosity for alla prima or completion is one that islayerable with soft brushes, but can also be moved or ploughed withbristle brushes. This develops confident handling as colour and formcan be adjusted by either adding or subtracting paint.

TIMING AND SETMediums can be formulated to use timing for various painterly effects.The work develops on a schedule as the medium sets progressively.Timing is focal when using a quick-setting soft resin varnish in amedium or couch, but also in an extended alla prima system where thepainting is finished over several days. Timing is related to depth: howmuch paint is put on, and how fast. The same system may producedifferent results when executed at different speeds. A medium thatbecomes sticky makes it possible for the paint to set, or become tight,too quickly. Increasing the application speed results in a looser feelingagain. Conversely, if slower application works better, the open time ofthe medium can be increased. Alla prima work is more likely to usetiming than work in layers, although the final layer in an indirectpainting often benefits from a medium which adds liveliness. Serialadjustments to medium proportions can create systems with a surprisingbalance of opposite qualities.

PRESSUREWith certain mediums, the relative pressure of the brush becomes animportant factor in the look of the painting. Pressure can be used atdifferent intensities to apply more paint, blend existing paint, or ploughinto previous paint. Pressure is an aspect of any additive system, butbecomes focal with thixotropic materials. Pressure is also related tobrush type: softer brushes have a more expressive range of pressure thanfirmer ones. A soft brush ploughs smoothly, a bristle brush ploughsbluntly, with more potential for removal, or for flipping obscured colourback onto the surface. Eastlake notes this method of weaving layers ofpaint together inscrutably in relation to Rembrandt’s later technique.

BRUSHES AND APPLICATION SCALEThe medium is formulated for the style desired and the type of brushused. A viscous medium may quickly destroy fine brushes. Conversely,it is difficult to apply a thin, flowing medium with coarse brushes. Yet,there are also times when a slight mismatch between paint and brushescan produce interesting results. The viscosity of the paint can beadjusted to be mobile with bristle brushes, but tight or layering withsofter brushes, allowing elements of both types of handling in one layer.By enabling a variety of manipulations, this offers flexibility with onepalette of paint. The scale of the work is also a factor. A dense mediumwith a larger application scale may feel lugubrious on a small painting,but unify a large one. A quick setting medium may make appropriatedetail on a small painting, but feel fussy or constrained on a large one.

SATURATIONMedium ingredients either enhance or diminish saturation. Matte orunsaturated paint has a higher value structure, more reflective brilliance,and more emphasis on the pigment, as seen in fresco, or tempera. Glossyor saturated paint has a deeper value structure and the potential for great

optical depth: the original appeal of oil as a medium. In general,paintings made with opaque paint look better with low saturation,allowing the viewer to look at them. Conversely, paintings made withtransparent pigments and optical colour separation (section .) look betterwith high saturation, encouraging the viewer to look into them. Prepolymerized oil, resin varnish, and egg white enhance saturation.Stone dust, egg yolk, starch gel, or beeswax, reduce saturation, requiringfurther thick oil to dry with a gloss. A conditioning medium (section .)sets up the surface quality desired globally, before the work begins. Thiscan be as simple as mixing a small amount of thicker oil into the paintfor more density, movement, and saturation. An alla prima medium can bequite saturating, but be wary of over-saturation. This is especially possiblewith commercial heat-polymerized oils – stand oil, burnt plate oil(BPO) and triple boiled oil (TBO) – and can lead to a slow lowering oftone over time. For indirect painting, it is important to observe the fatover lean principle, increasing saturation in small increments as the layersproceed. How small is a function of the number of layers. Using increasedresin to make fine saturated layers is not recommended as these layers areprone to both long-term darkening and delamination. A traditionalglossy surface is made most reliably by a final layer whose saturation isoil-based. There is then no potential for the varnish to alter the valuescale, and the varnish will be on, not in, the paint.

FROM METHODSSECTION :

. ANIMATION AND ORGANIZATIONBeyond professional portraiture and urban murals, relatively fewpaintings are any longer commissioned, or requested: most work is madebecause the painter wants or needs to make it. Given this relativelyprimal impetus – the physical generation of a personal myth – it ishelpful if creative questions are balanced by a logical method. This issimilar to packing carefully before venturing into the wilderness. Thecreative unknown presents sufficient challenges; further gaming withfortune is unnecessary. The intuitive aspect of painting functions in thepresent moment, often altering the best-laid plans. Barring a pixel bypixel approach, little danger exists of the process becoming over-organized. A consistent method encourages the process to evolve withinit. When the process has certainty, more can be ventured withconfidence, paving the way for an intuitive and creative finish. Variations in method are endless, but are derived from two basicapproaches, direct and indirect. The direct or alla prima approachtypically places animation first, adding just enough organization tobalance it again. The indirect or layered approach places organization first,adding meaning and intuition as the painting progresses. Both have been

used to produce great painting, but both are more functional when theirpotential limitations are recognized, and factored into the system. Thetypical drawback of the direct approach is that the painting may notachieve enough functional balance in the allotted time frame. Usuallythis is about organization being fractured by the energy of the approach:the painting is charismatic, but unresolved; sound and fury exist withoutsignificance. Conversely, the detachment of the indirect approach maysimply exclude liveliness, ever. In this case, organization overwhelmsvivacity. Great prowess may be demonstrated, but the viewer is beinglectured, rather than engaged. The earliest systems were indirect, and this approach has two basicapproaches. The precise method of early painting used panoptical detailthroughout the picture plane, resulting in a tension between deep spaceand the way the democratic detail tends to flatten spatial depth, as wellas a tension between the stillness of the figures and the relative busynessof the composition. The later essential method flowered in the th

century and featured less formality, more selectivity, atmosphericemphasis, and the introduction of various types of psychological mood. Following the procedure of egg tempera, the early method used aseries of exacting operations designed to produce a formally perfectobject. All compositional elements were established first through adetailed drawing, followed by a complete, often full-value, monochromeunderpainting, then by thin, discrete paint layers that conform to thepattern of the drawing. Broadly, this is the method of most oil paintingof the th and th century, the major technical exception being Bosch(..). Later, executed in different pigments, and often more broadly,it is also the approach of the various European Academies, of Ingres,Leighton, Alma-Tadema, and of much recent neo-academic realism. The essential method may have evolved because the precise methodwas so time consuming, perhaps also because it tended to produceimages that, though intensely rendered, were relatively static. The‘snapshot’ approach seen in so much th century painting seems casual,but was highly engineered, based on both visual logic and workingefficiency. Painting evolved out of a timeless or frozen perfection, intoa livelier finish that emphasized the present moment: both within thepainting, and for the viewer. Painters realized that it was only necessaryto make the detail once – at the end – and developed methods ofworking from larger compositional shapes to smaller ones. Sometimesthis was done in increments, at other times as much as possible wasaccomplished in one sitting before beginning again. This led to acondensed procedure that finished the work in a single sitting: the direct,or alla prima style. This type of painting embraces experience,assurance, and physical engagement to create art, rather than amethodical campaign organized in stages. Both the alla prima and indirect methods involve personaladjustments to the paint, and how it is applied. In this situation, dailyinvolvement with the materials informs and enriches the work.

Planning and theory have a place, but above all, execution must benatural. The system creates itself intuitively via experience, but what thismeans often evolves, or even changes considerably, over time.

. ALLA PRIMA PAINTINGThe focus on spontaneous creative freedom in th century painting ledto a growing interest in the alla prima approach. In this method, thepainting is made in one sitting. The length of this sitting, and the defin-ition of completion, are flexible. There are many sub-systems of allaprima technique, some emphasize speed, others proceed methodicallyover several days. On the surface, the alla prima combination of uncon-scious force with incremental organization presents an effortless way todevelop creatively. By condensing the process, even turning it into arace, alla prima can arrive at relatively evolved pictoral results quickly.

However, as in life, there are no guarantees or panaceas in painting,and the ideological promotion of alla prima as an enchanted threshold ismisleading. This is something Matisse took pains to illustrate bydocumenting the twenty-two stages of Large Reclining Nude or The PinkNude () before he considered it complete. In life, the painting looksspontaneous, but its process was not: the painting was scraped back aftertwenty-one of the photographs were taken. Using the alla prima methodreliably requires a well-developed understanding of drawing, compo-sition, and colour for the work to evolve, both in a given painting andas an overall process. Even so, alla prima can be a double-edged swordin practice. Certain paintings end up better than others, and theintensity of the technique may make it difficult to understand why. Acharismatic alla prima painting can also arrive in a zugzwang situationwhere it cannot evolve without a significant amount of deconstructionfirst. Yet, if procedural hurdles begin to curtail exploration, or definefinished, it is difficult for the work to grow, resulting in energeticrepetition. More fundamentally, like a piano that is only played fortissimo,force applied consistently can diminish its effectiveness, or translate intoa subtext of prolonged emergency for the viewer. It is difficult for theprocess to develop when its conclusion is arbitrary or predefined. Thecreative process may well have rules, but millennia of art historydemonstrate that these exist in the present moment only, making theirsecret safely beyond method or theory. Certainty is a necessary andattractive aspect of finishing, but it is more genuine, or lifelike, whentempered by doubt. In the context of the race, alla prima tends toacknowledge the speed of the hare, but not the diligence or persistenceof the tortoise. This aligns with the modern emphasis on production,the studio as factory, but can also produce formulaic panache. Accomplished alla prima practitioners are aware of these issues, andintroduce various balancing elements into the equation. Alla prima canincorporate bolder medium options than working in layers, and thesecan be further varied by the type and quality of the ground. However,though done is a single layer, alla prima work may still be subject to

drying down if too much paint is applied, or too fat a medium is used,see Wet-in-Wet Paint, section .... Small alla prima paintings, or allaprima paintings by skilled practitioners such as Avigdor Arikha, orJoaquín Sorolla, can contain significant detail, but more often this typeof work distills a situation to its essence in an hour or two. At its best,the alla prima approach conveys a response with energy and bravura, butthese qualities still require an element of self-examination to developcreative consistency. This has led to a variety of alla prima methods:gets tacky or sticky relatively quickly. This can be a conditioningmedium with a thicker oil-in-solvent medium, or a very thin layer ofchalk putty applied with a knife. A coat of absorbent acrylic gesso isalso helpful. Warm weather thins oil and any resin varnish, freezingweather makes varnish thicker and oil gel. Gelled oil is fine if thepainting is placed flat once indoors. Wax may slide in hot weather evenin small amounts. The putty medium works well outside if it is thickerin warmer weather, thinner in cooler weather. A small container ofchalk or marble dust can also be kept on the palette and used to tightenthe paint. The paint can be conditioned for more movement in thebeginning, then tightened progressively with chalk. Any ConditioningMedium (section .) can be used for this at medium to - paint,giving a variety of technically straightforward options to explore.

. MIXING COLOURWe see the colours, but not how they were made, making mixingtechnique a notable ‘lost secret,’ yet one about which little has ever beenwritten. Systematic mixing makes more options, therefore more colours,available. With intuitive mixing, the results are less precise, but can haveunusual force. These opposites inform one another: experience withintuitive mixing creates more personal systematic mixing; experiencewith systematic mixing leads to more reliable intuitive mixing.

. . INTUITIVE MIXINGThis is the standard modern method, often based on an extensiveselection of colours. These are mixed to order on the typically largepalette and then applied to the painting. The aim is to either put downthe right colour, once, or to cycle once from dark to light towards theright colour. In either case the goal is typically the vivacious, casuallyelegant surface originally popularized by Hals, and recast in many th

century variations from Hopper to Matisse.With intuitive mixing, the key of the colour must be perceived, or

chosen, early on, because each colour decision alters the context of theentire painting. This can be difficult to manage at first, but the methodallows adjustment, and practice develops facility. Mixing spontaneouslyhas a powerful directness, but needs its own form of restraint to makesure the colour is not clogged by over-application, or tortured by over-correction. In current alla prima practice, this method is often usedwith minimal actual mixing, allowing evidence of the original, brightest

colour to remain beneath somewhat more refined colour on top. If thecontext begins to get muddy, titanium white and vivid modernprimaries come to the rescue. Areas that are more worked create contrastof labor with areas that remain fresh. Experienced alla prima paintersoften use a more rococo medium to generate charming accidents thatoffset or soften the rigorousness of the system. The potential downsidesof this approach are: colour that is raw or fragmented to the point ofdisharmony, the difficulty of replicating spontaneity, an arbitrarydefinition of finished, and the exhaustion of chromatic guesswork.These issues are reduced by a limited palette – usually recommended byalla prima practitioners – and working from dark to light, warm to cool,transparent to opaque, large to small. See The Axioms (section .).

. . . MUDPopular texts often give various prescriptions for how to avoid the evilsof ‘mud.’ Colour should be applied fresh, not overmixed, and no more thanthree colours should ever be mixed together. These rules, or taboos, emphasizesimple colour mixtures, which in turn emphasize brighter midtonecolour. As a generic shortcut this works to some extent, and, using vividprimaries, produces the scholastic plus of happy colour. But the governingassumption is that mixing colour itself is dangerous. Which it is whencolour is defined as a language of the creative unconscious. The tabooapproach tends to make work dominated by midtone colour without aunifying envelope. Unless the spatial convention is specifically flat andthe colour itself well-chosen – i.e., the Matisse cut-outs, notably madewith the low saturation of gouache – this approach easily leads to achromatic beauty contest, a situation that is inherently fatiguing to theeye. Emphasis on vivid colour can be self-defeating unless space iscompressed, and form is simplified to accommodate it. Lyricalcolourists who worked with somewhat dimensional space – Monet,Bonnard or Vuillard – tend to feature an accompanying subduedenvelope in which brighter colours nest, becoming brighter by contrast.Bonnard’s later work often tests the limits of this in terms of how muchbrighter colour and fragmentation can be woven together, resulting inthe paradox of compositions that are geometrically solid, but float orvibrate as well. Colour is always experienced relative to its context. As such, thereis actually no such thing as a muddy colour. The issue is an unclear, ormuddy, context for that colour. Every low chroma colour has a comple-ment that makes it appear more vivid in context. When colour ismapped to form for both value and temperature, mud is minimized.When colour is premixed according to The Predimensional Palette (section..), muddy context is avoided via intuitive chromatic organization,the logical pattern of the colour types in the topography of the pictureplane. Working wet-in-wet, another aid to keeping context clean is tochange brushes often, or use a warm-cool brush system to help keeptemperature shifts clean.

. . SYSTEMATIC MIXINGIn this method, the palette is broken down into a range of related coloursbefore painting. The breakdown can be general, such as the secondariesand tertiaries of the primaries, or specific, such as colours designed fordawn, sunset, snow, a rainy day, and so on. The branching of the colourscan be simple, as in a triad of three primaries turned first into six, thentwelve colours. It can also be more complex, as in those twelve coloursmixed incrementally with white and black into a set of colours for eachof three values. This makes a total of eighty-four colours: thirty-six withwhite, thirty-six with black, and the twelve originals. This begins toapproach the detailed logic of the French academic method, subject ofmuch celebrated rebellion, but notably by painters who had been trainedin it, and knew its principles well enough to alter them. This methodremains an excellent teaching tool, and an organized way to create arefined value structure. A simplified approach to premixing reorganizes the palette from justcolours, into the all the colour types that make up form, see ThePredimensional Palette, below. Chromatic opportunity is built into thisapproach, setting the stage for a spontaneous yet subtle execution. Thisallows finely tuned colour, heightened recession, and aids in workingwith elements in white: white clothing, white flowers, clouds, etcetera. Premixing was advocated by Whistler as a teacher and allows accessto what he called tone: augmented natural colour expressed through anenhanced atmospheric envelope. Colour can be slightly altered, orexaggerated to the point of Tonalism. Many Whistler paintings featurelyrical colour attenuated wet-in-wet with expressive paint. Gwen Johnwas Whistler’s student, and used this concept later in her career to createaustere, poetic colour relationships that hover inscrutably between twoand three dimensions. Gwen John used an absorbent ground in her laterwork so that the premixed colours remained in less formal ‘blobs’ onceapplied. This technique can be varied many ways based on the densityof the paint and the absorbency of the ground, and is for panels only.Note also that absorbency in a ground is diminished quickly by mediumingredients such as thicker oil, resin, and beeswax. Experience develops a feeling for the type and degree of premixingthat makes sense to help unlock a given situation. Colour can achieveinfinite subtlety, but executive perfection can be oppressively impressiveif it becomes an end, rather than a means. The larger point of premixingis to develop an awareness of what feels helpful, or creates a fresh avenueof inquiry, rather than working with, or enthroning, control for its ownsake. With control on the throne, inspiration tends to go into exile.

. . THE MIXING PRINCIPLESModern colour mixing tends to follow the intuitive model. In thisapproach, there are two obvious mixing options. First, colours are mixedwith one another to make either bright midtone colours or, if the coloursare opposites, neutrals. Second, colours are mixed with white, making

lighter values and ultimately highlights. This is in contrast to the th

century approach of painters such as Murillo, Rembrandt, Rubens, andVelázquez, who mixed colour using all six of the systematic optionsbelow. The older approach is not necessarily ‘better’ in terms of makingart, but, as a tool, it does utilize the potential of colour completely,creating more apparent chroma and space in the value structure using aminimum number of pigments that assures unity. Understanding howcolour is mapped to form by type also allows attenuation – loweredchroma – without the context becoming muddy, a useful tool in anystyle. Six types of premixes can be made:

Highlights: Technically called tints, these are single colours mixed withwhite. Premixed light blue, light yellow, and pink easily create increaseddimension in higher values. A specific colour can also be mixed for thelight and an opposite shadow colour. Highlights are all relatively cool.

Translights: These are highlight area colours made with the puttymedium instead of white. They are translucent and warmer thanhighlights, creating a combined optical and physical temperature shift inlighter values

Transparent neutrals: Daylight is a frame of reference we tend to takefor granted, but which contains more neutrality than is often apparent.Neutral tints can be used as reflections, or emphasized to affect theoverall mood. A premixed neutral can be made using opposite colourssuch as ultramarine and burnt sienna, a triad of transparent red, yellow,and blue, or black. Warm and cool versions of a neutral can be premixed.A progressive neutral is cooler for lighter values, warmer and for darkerones, or vice versa. In context with colours made with white, any colourmade without white is relatively warm.

Chromatic grays: Technically called tones, these are made with thetransparent neutral and white, or the shadow colours (below) mixedwith white. Chromatic grays, along with translights, increase the senseof realism and dimension in higher values and in darker value reflections.

Midtones: Technically called hues, the bright colours on or near theedge of the colour wheel are used most in middle values, and are verywarm compared to colours containing white. Mixes between adjacentmidtones on the palette have a positive or major feeling; as the twocolours verge on opposites these become more neutral. Even lightermidtone values, made with the medium and no white, are relativelywarm, and contrast well with highlight values containing white.

Shadows: Technically called shades, these are made from the midtonecolours of the palette, each mixed with ten to fifteen percent black orwith a mixed neutral tint. Shadow colours are warm, but not as warmas midtone colours. They give a range of chromatic shadow possibilitiesfor any value when mixed into a lighter colour or with a little white.

APPENDIX II – THE HAND-REFINED LINSEED OILS

This family of oils demonstrates options that were available to older painters usinghand refined linseed oil. This oil has the most potential character of the traditionaloils, and also has the most potential to yellow, see section .... The causes ofthis are logical, see section .... To prevent darkening, see section ....

HURRYING SLOWLYIt is understandable to want to complete a procedure quickly, but research suggests,and experience confirms, that allowing more time for the water to act on the oil atany given phase of the refining process results in a cleaner and faster-drying (morepreoxygenated) oil.

ORGANIC FLAX OILThe starting point of the system, available reasonably online in quarts and gallons.Quality varies! Branded nutritional oils and ‘green’ housepainting Swedish oilwork, but avoid budget ‘personal care’ oils or those with anti-oxidants. See section...

WATER, SAND, AND SALT REFINING (F )This oil dries three times faster than commercial oil and has a noticeable snap inworking. See section ...

WATER REFININGThere are several traditional variations on water-refining, all of which produce fast-drying oil. See section .., .., and ..

ALCOHOL REFININGA quick process that produces a clean, relatively non-yellowing and mobileoil, but without much increase in drying speed. See section ...

EMULSION REFININGVarious colloidal ingredients create emulsions whose processing generates relativelyclean and fast-drying oils. Chlorophyllin refining gives the most reliably non-yellowing oil before further processing. See section ...

AGED OILProcessed oil is placed in full glass jars in a windowsill, with an addition of chalk.The oil is slowly oxidized by sunlight without polymerizing, and evolving acid issomewhat neutralized. Aging several years makes the oil more reliably non-yellowing, often gelatinous, and more ductile or mobile in use. Given that resins arefound so seldom in older paint films, and never globally, aged oil is arguably thesingle most basic ‘lost secret’ of older practice. See section ...

HEATED OILSPreheating increases flow and minimizes yellowing; oils are always refined beforeheating. Oil can be preheated (lower heat) to change its rheology in handmade paint(-:), or prepolymerized (higher heat) to make it more glossy and leveling (:).Temperatures above ° C are best avoided as these begin to breakdown the oil.See section ...

STUDIO OILWhen water-refined linseed oil is autoxidized in an open tray for several weeks, itloses all color, has more drag and viscosity when used as a medium with soft brushes,

and dries to a gloss even mixed with a moderate amount of chalk. This oil is useful in small amounts in alla prima work or final layers for saturation. Thick water-refined studio oil can be thinned with solvent for a fine medium with great control. An unaged oil slated for strong autoxidation or more than minimal use in a given layer is best preheated first (: or :) to help minimize future darkening potential. See sections .. and ....

: STUDIO OILHeating studio oil to °C for four hours diminishes its pull or grab, making it thinner working as a couch or in an emulsion medium. See section ....

AERATED OILThis variation of studio oil is made by aerating the oil with an aquarium pump. This approach makes a moderately thick oil quickly. Again, preheated oil is recommended to minimize future darkening potential. See section ...

SUN OILQuicker to make than studio oil in summer or a warm location, and slightly more adhesive. Stir it regularly as it thickens to avoid skinning or thick spots. Water-refined sun oil is extremely fast drying when thicker, and can also thinned with solvent to make a very fine working medium with great control. See section ....

ELASTIC OILThis is ultra-dense studio oil seeded with less dense studio oil to keep it from becoming a solid. Very small amounts cause handmade paint to seize, enhancing saturation and making thixotropy possible without a hard resin varnish. This is a way to reconstitute thicker studio oil, but, as it re-thickens, it generates even more grab in use. See section ....

LEADED OILSA small amount of lead carbonate, lead oxide, or both is added to any preheated water-refined linseed oil as it ages in the light to produce a faster drying oil. This oil can be heated for - hours in a waterbath to enhance the effect slightly. This procedure does not introduce discernible yellowing to the oil on drying. While historic, even intrinsic, to older painting, the process involved in making this material is toxic and generates toxic by-products. See section .. and its subsections.

UNSUN OILPreheated linseed oil is thickened in a lead tray, producing a syrupy glide. Small amounts add saturation and gloss to alla prima or final layers. Very thick unsun oil – ecks – makes handmade paint seize. Thick linseed unsun oil thinned with solvent works finely with great movement. See section ....

A NOTE ON HAND-PRESSED OILResearch (..) and limited experience both suggest that hand-pressed oil is higher quality than the same type of seeds pressed by another method. This difference is not massive compared to the highest quality branded nutritional oils pressed at low temperatures, but is worth experiencing to compare the behavior of older hand-refined oil – the basis of older paint – as closely as possible with that of contemporary MAS oil – the basis of contemporary paint.

APPENDIX V – CORE TECHNIQUE REFERENCE

SUBSTRATEFabric-covered panels are more reliable over time than stretched canvas if the process can be adapted to their limitations. With stretched canvas, use heavy weight fabric, and protect the back from moisture if possible. The larger the canvas, the more flexible all the materials in the paint film need to be to avoid longer-term cracking.

GROUNDAn oil-based primer can be used over any size, but otherwise, the size and the ground need to agree: acrylic gesso goes over acrylic size, glue gesso goes over glue size, etcetera. The ground has the best balance of brilliance and adhesion if white, slightly toothy and slightly absorbent. More absorbent grounds, or grounds with texture, can be used for painterly techniques on panels. Grounds containing stand oil or egg yolk are sometimes used to enhance facility, this is a basic fat over lean error that can lead to delamination, and is not recommended. Grounds for fabric-covered panels can be based on glue gesso, sizes and grounds for larger work on stretched canvas need to be as flexible as possible; always keep oil grounds lean.

SOLVENT Solvent is not necessary to make an oil painting. If no soft resin varnish is in the system, brushes can be kept in, and cleaned in, oil. Solvent is useful in certain techniques but must be used with ventilation. Protect any plant-derived solvent from oxygen and light: the residue of oxidized solvent – historically, usually turpentine – can create significant darkening. Small amounts of solvent can be helpful in the underpainting stage of an indirect system, but this can also be done in a water medium or tempera. Petroleum solvents do not oxidize: slow drying lamp oil (odorless, purified kerosene) can be effective in minute amounts.

DRIERS It is safest to avoid concentrated modern driers. Small amounts of mild traditional driers such as bone ash, or calcium carbonate, are safe. Leaded oil can be used in moderation following the protocols to avoid yellowing. Iron oxide pigments dry much faster than modern organic pigments.

PIGMENT CHOICE & METAL SOAP FORMATIONRecent research has shown that, while metal soaps are to some extent inevitable, in large quantities they can lead to the deterioration of the paint film over very long periods of time. Metals most likely to generate soaps are: aluminum, manganese, copper, lead, and zinc, the most active of all. Metals least likely to generate soaps are: calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, and cobalt. The behavior of modern pigments has yet to be studied in relation to metal soaps.

WATER MEDIUMS AND TEMPERAThin layers of these are helpful in the opening stages of an indirect system to develop the image quickly, and alter it reliably. These paints also help keep the structure of the colour organized, and, because they are leaner than oil paint, brighter over time.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF OIL In general, the stronger the film, the greater the tendency to yellow, and vice versa. Linseed oil makes the strongest film, but is also most subject to yellowing from darkness, humidity, and lower quality oil or processing. The expense of hemp oil makes it prohibitive for commercial paint, but hand-refined hemp oil yellows less

than linseed oil and still dries reasonably quickly. Walnut oil yellows less than hemp or linseed, but does not have as much personality. Hand-refined artisanal walnut oil does have somewhat more working character. Poppy or grapeseed oil yellow least, and dry most slowly. When autoxidized or heat-polymerized, these oils are helpful additions in small amounts to autoxidized hand refined linseed oil to minimize yellowing, or to a saturating final medium to extend its open time.

COMMERCIAL OILIt is always best to test commercial oil for yellowing – linseed oil especially, at least six months – as some are better than others. MAS cold-pressed linseed oil is typically not refined; this causes yellowing even though the oil is cold-pressed. Refined linseed oils typically dry with less yellowing, but all raw commercial oils take a long time to dry because of the way they have been processed. The notable exception is triple boiled oil, (TBO) but this needs to be used in very small amounts.

HAND REFINED OILBeginning with cold-pressed unrefined oil, then refining it by hand, creates a more adhesive or elastic rheology naturally in the oil. The oil that responds the most to this is linseed oil, but the effect on other oils is also noticeable.

AGED OIL FOR HANDMADE PAINTWhen oil is aged in glass in the light it accepts far more pigment while making paint, and makes a far more elastic paint, and far more stable paint, than oil which is new.

PREHEATED OIL FOR HANDMADE PAINT Oil that is preheated for one hour at °C makes paint that is both short and dense compared to raw oil.

PREHEATED OIL FOR MEDIUMS Oil that is preheated for four hours at °C is a stable, but not thick or ‘fat’ medium base in general because the hydroperoxides in the oil have been both created and then eliminated by the heat. See section ... Preheating also removes oxidation byproducts in autoxidized oil, see the Olio d’Graves procedure, section ....

HEAT-POLYMERIZED OIL This process begins at -°C and makes the oil less yellowing, more saturating, quicker drying, and leveling. This type of oil aids in blending, cohesion, and drawing long flowing lines in the paint, and is a good stand oil replacement. Still, it is relatively fat and is best used judiciously in brighter colour schemes, or with sequestering agents.

AUTOXIDIZED OIL (STUDIO OIL)This process thickens the oil through exposure to oxygen. Commercial oils are somewhat leveling, though less than a heat polymerized oil. Hand-refined water-refined linseed oil becomes tight and resinous as it thickens, and dries very quickly. This type of oil tends towards a more broken surface, with the potential for various types of impasto. Oxidation byproducts can make this oil more prone to yellowing the thicker it becomes, but specific processing and handling methods help avoid this, see Minimizing Yellowing in Autoxidized Oil, section ....

SUN OILSun oil made from refined cold-pressed oil is an excellent handmade alternative to stand oil, and is also more reliably non-yellowing than autoxidized oils.

LEADED OIL While not necessary, lead salts provide a variety of gelatinous and syrupy densities to the oil and were intrinsic to certain older techniques. Always leave any precipitate in these oils undisturbed, and treat it as a toxic waste. The least toxic approach uses a tray made from lead itself. A simple alternative to leaded oil is a silica gel made with a slightly thicker oil mix.

CONDITIONINGMixing a specific ratio of medium to each colour before beginning creates even film tension and saturation. Indirect work is easier to view as the layers progress, and all work is more stable over time. Exact medium to paint proportions vary with use. Lean mediums can be used in larger proportions in thin opening layers, a rich saturating medium is best used in smaller proportions for alla prima or finishing.

CHALK, CALCITE, AND MARBLE DUSTThe natural calcium carbonates are stable general purpose tighteners of the paint in small amounts. Avoid manmade, precipitated chalk unless tested for yellowing in oil.

PUTTY MEDIUMSStable and adaptable medium for lively or broken surfaces based on oil and stone dust. These mediums benefit from sequestering for brighter modern colour schemes.

FUSED DAMAR, BEESWAX, AND OIL MEDIUMSReliable, sequestering and solvent-free medium approach that is highly adaptable for a variety of smooth or broken surfaces.

SILICA GEL Fumed silica and oil create a reliable gel medium approach in terms of long-term stability. Amounts must be monitored, or used in conjunction with chalk, to avoid yellowing, especially using linseed oil.

HIGH OIL-PHASE EMULSIONSSmall amounts of ingredients such as hide glue, egg white, starch, or methyl cellulose, can be used in a medium on to tighten the paint for thin opening layers on canvas or panel . Larger amounts, including egg yolk, can be used on panels for tempera grassa. An expressive, solvent-free, stable, and adaptable medium approach.

SEQUESTERING AGENTSThese ingredients help a layer of oil paint dry ‘up,’ and remain bright over time. Egg yolk is highly reliable, but must be used on panels. All resins are sequestering, but darken over time and need to be used in small amounts, avoiding or minimizing solvent. Beeswax is sequestering, and is used at -% of the paint film generally. Starch and methyl cellulose are moderately sequestering, and can be used in small amounts – less than % – on stretched canvas, slightly more on panels.

THIXOTROPIC SEIZUREThixotropy is created by all water-based additions in minute amounts, highly autoxidized leaded oil (ecks), highly autoxidized S&S linseed oil, and minute amounts of concentrated spirit copal or sandarac added to any thicker oil. A thick silica gel, putty, or combination adds thixotropy in a more mobile or moderate way.

COUCHESA very thin layer of oil or medium can be applied to a panel to modify the behaviorof the paint to come. Typically used to increase movement and expressiveness, atighter couch can also make a broken surface. Couch formulas must be related tothe medium in the paint itself, and used as thinly, and as leanly, as possible. In asystem based on hand-refined oil, repeated indirect couches do not crack, but maywell dry down over time due to excessive richness in the paint film. The pointwhere this occurs will vary, but, in an indirect system, it is safest to reserve couchuse for the last layer.

REMOVAL & GRINDING BACKIndirect work can benefit from removing paint to keep early layers thin and graphic.Removal in alla prima work can add spontaneity, or lighten a middle layer in indirectwork. On panels, paint can be ground back after it has dried, but it is simpler topaint thin and lean as long as necessary.

MATCHING CHROMA, COLOUR CONVENTION, & TECHNIQUEIt is important to match the medium to the palette, the colour convention, and thetechnique. Work done in oil alone in a lower chroma palette in the white light-brown shadow convention – a system common to many well-known older painters– is far more forgiving in terms of masking any darkening of the medium over timethan work done in bright modern pigments used the same way. Similarly, thefigurative style of Lucien Freud emphasizes cool colour and a lighter value structure.While a reverse of the th century approach, this is also a style that minimizes theperception of any yellowing in the medium. At the other end of the chromaspectrum, work done in bright modern pigments may benefit from a sequesteringagent in the medium, to use walnut or poppy oil unless the linseed oil is aged andtested, and typically needs to be more cautious both with the saturation of an allaprima medium, and in terms of the fat over lean progression of indirect layers.

MINIMUM FUNCTIONAL SATURATIONThe tendency of the oil medium to dry down over time, especially if linseed oil isused in an uncontrolled climate, can be addressed many ways, see sections ...-. All of these approaches are beneficial, but they can accidentally be short-circuitedby oversaturation from too much polymerized oil, either in a single alla prima layer,or in indirect layers that are too fat to begin with, or end up too fat at the end. Assuch, it is important to think in terms of designing any system with minimumfunctional saturation to keep the work at its brightest over time. There are no specificrules here, because of the many other factors involved. The sequestering agents,hand-refined aged oil, small additions of autoxidized poppy or walnut oil, handmadeheat polymerized oil instead of stand oil, etcetera, all add up to a situation withmore latitude. Still, it is always wisest in oil not to confuse latitude with license.

OIL AS A TEMPORARY FINAL COATHand-refined linseed oil becomes less yellowing with age, and with additions ofwalnut oil (-%) or poppy oil (-%). This type of oil, pre-heated, as in the: procedure or slightly heat-polymerized, as in the :, procedure, thenpossibly slightly autoxidized, is thinned with Shellsol T or other quality mineralspirits to saturate a matte alla prima or indirect painting reliably as a final layer. Theoil appears to be in the paint, not on top of it, giving this technique a different lookthan a varnish. Tests are recommended to make sure the oil is non-yellowing. Seethe details in section ...