As 'homework' from our last session we are asked what other materials we could find at home to paint with, so I had a go... I tried painting a pickle with piccalilli, liquorice swirls and all sorts with liquorice, chocolate with hot chocolate, Worcestershire sauce with Worcestershire sauce and coffee beans with coffee. Some worked really well, some not so and became difficult to build up any depth and form.
The piccalilli I thought would be really strong and rich but it wasn't and I added some pure blue pigment to give it some strength and to try to create some form to the shape. This was the only one that I added another ingredient to.
I used pure liquorice with a small amount of water and then could thin that down to put some lighter tones to. It becomes a sepia piece, as did the chocolate, the Worcestershire sauce and the coffee one. They also all smelt! And left a taint in the studio, something that is lost in the visuals.
As with the previous week's session Craig demonstrated a variety of different ways to create paints, varnishes and mediums.
Demonstrations
Beeswax. The first was about using beeswax and how this mixed with pigment can give some real depth to the work. (impasto /ɪmˈpastəʊ/ noun ART - the process or technique of laying on paint or pigment thickly so that it stands out from a surface). The recipe for this as with all the other techniques can be found in Ralph Mayer's book 'The Artist's Handbook'.
Dammar Varnish medium. For this method you take one part Dammar varnish, one part stand oil (linseed, as it is self levelling and therefore doesn't leave brush marks) and six parts turpentine. This can be varied depending on the sort of finish you want. Shake it up in a sealed jar and it is ready to use. There are other ingredients you can add, such as honey or eggs... more beeswax makes it more matt, more Dammar it becomes more glossy.
Add pigment to create the colour
Egg Tempera. For this you need just the egg yolk, then you need to extract from the egg sack by piercing with a cocktail stick and then mix it with water. Again, add the pigment to create the colour. For this you need to mix them together on a hard surface - some tempered glass or a white ceramic tile, or even a white bowl (as the artist Sabine Tress does).
If you want to make your own Acrylic paint, don't use PVA glue, use and acrylic polymer from an art shop.
Brush care. Ideally keep the oil brushes separate to the water based ones but if cleaned properly they will be fine. Oil is better to clean brushes out as it doesn't dry the brush. White Spirit is still fine but then use soapy water to thoroughly clean afterwards.
While all this was going on everyone was working away and making the odd comment, it really felt like a small community of artists and almost... almost like we were in the same studio. I was continuing to work on the frozen candle painting I had started after after the first workshop and although this isn't part of my current line of enquiry it was more about understanding the process and getting used to the materials.
I had to work hard to get the detail and manage the layering to give the idea of the water under the frozen surface. The underpainting really helped this subject matter and then the flexibility of the oil paint and the vibrancy of the colours came together. I only used five colours to create this, all Windsor and Newton - White, Alizarin Crimson, Cerulean Blue, French Ultramarine and Cadmium Yellow. I avoided black to see if I could create enough depth of colours by just using the above colours and it worked, black seems like it is something I really only want to use when I really have to.
I shall look to find other subject matter to paint and either explore ideas within the area I am looking at or just keep creating paintings from abstract images I see around me. We shall see.
Sustainability
Having never used oils before I was also concerned about how to dispose of the medium once it becomes dirt and starts affecting the painting. I have collected a vast amount of jam jars to keep all the various substances in, this works well but you still get a residue. At Uni obviously there are facilities to dispose of the liquid but at home I wasn't so sure.
Looking at the CassArt website there are some very good hints and tips for not only being safe but also how to be environmentally friendly. (https://www.cassart.co.uk/customer/pages/protecting-health-and-enviroment-oil-painting)
PROTECTING YOUR HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
WHEN OIL PAINTING
Awareness is key when working with hazardous materials, your health and the environment should be taken into consideration. We have a few tips on how to take care around oil painting solvents and materials. Protecting your health
Avoid eating or drinking around solvents as most contain toxic chemicals
Evade prolonged access to skin with the materials as this may cause an adverse reaction
Clean up spillages as soon as possible
Always make sure there is good ventilation in the studio
Pour out only the necessary amount of medium to work with into small jar or tub
Don’t allow any of the solvents to evaporate to avoid any inhalation
Protecting the environment
Clean dried paint off a palette or palette knife by scraping this into some newspaper and sealing it in a bag before disposing of it.
Soak brushes in a paint thinner or low odour solvent. The pigment will sink to the bottom of the jar and syphoned off into a sealed container for disposal. The rest of the solvent can be resealed in most cases and be used again.
Don’t dispose of any materials down the drain as the solvents are toxic
Oil paints and solvents are considered hazardous waste and so cannot be disposed of with general waste. However, your local council will be able to advise the best way to dispose of these in your area.
Comments