Artist OIL PAINTING

Mixing Artist Oil Colors

Oil paints have been used for centuries and in the beginning were created individually by each artist. Earth pigments and minerals were ground and combined with thick oils (usually seed oils or sometimes animal fat). How fortunate we are to have at our fingertips a huge variety of brands and colors--mixed and ready to go. But if the tone you are seeking is not readily available, do not despair.

Mixing and blending colors is eventually necessary for most artists; and, although it can be challenging, mixing can be the easiest way to find that perfect tone. Individual color blending is also the most immediate way to achieve a personal palette. This group of created colors should coordinate with your style and genre and may even come to be associated synonymously with your work. Along with the benefits of personally created colors will come the opportunity to use these colors in unusual ways. Is it time to consider creating a special color or colors that will become your "signature"?

All manufacturers of oil paints offer a great selection of colors, from rich, pure pigment colors to slightly blended colors to heavily blended tones for special applications. The least "diluted" colors are referred to as primary colors and are those colors comprised of the purest pigments true to the tone they represent. Because primary colors are not altered with other color components, they are a great basis upon which to build your new colors. Secondary colors are colors blended by combining closely related pigment colors. Either of these groups is ready to be combined into possible new hues. Premixed, unusual tones are usually a combination of several hues and are difficult to use in color blending. This is especially true if repeat blending is desired because exact measurement of the tone base and additives is required.

Once an original tone is created, it is possible to soften the color by adding white. This broadens the usage possibilities and creates yet another "signature" color. The old school wouldn't suggest using black to deepen a color, but it often works very well. The new school suggests using the color complement (opposite color on the color wheel, e.g., red and green) to deepen a tone that is predominantly a primary color.

Keeping a log and record of your blended colors is a great idea. This log should be set up by manufacturer and should indicate color name, estimate of amounts of each tone used, medium used for softening/blending, a small sample of the finished color and any personal notes that you might need to replicate the color. Card files are great for recording this information; the cards are easily arranged by color (adding or subtracting colors over time) and can be removed for mixing/matching/comparing.

Certain colors are not only well suited to blending but can be used to create a basis for an entire genre of personal colors. Skin tones often become a stumbling block for artists. Nothing is sadder than a beautifully captured portrait diminished by skin tones that are not healthy and alive. This can be avoided by combining two simple colors, cadmium red light and cadmium green light, in equal amounts to create a rich dark brown that can be softened with white to achieve a dynamic skin basis. The degree of white and other subsidiary tones will create a glowing flesh tone and is easily repeatable. To this basic flesh tone mix, you can introduce a tiny bit more red for a ruddy coloration. Add a very small amount of cadmium yellow light or medium and you create a sallow skin tone. Add more green to the initial flesh tone and you create yet another useful skin tone. Many portrait artists keep on hand premixed colors in all of these families because any face has areas where the tone changes. One of the three mixes listed above might be just the ticket.

Combining black (lamp black or ivory black) with cadmium yellow is another hand-mixed color that is fun to create. The resulting tone of green is the picture of springtime and is very useful to landscape painters. If not for large areas, this bright, cheery tone makes an excellent highlight for any foliage.

The same is true for the combination of cobalt blue and cadmium yellow. The tone created is another bright green that leans to the blue and is again a wonderful tone for spring green landscape work.

Cadmium red, cadmium yellow and a tiny bit of blue yield a glorious orange just right for sunset or fall foliage paintings. Add a bit more blue and the tone dulls to a more pumpkin or sedate orange and is very useful in forest interior work, foregrounds and stones in open landscape scenes.

A covered palette allows mixed oil colors to stay soft and serviceable for several days or even weeks if the cover is tight. But for large-scale works or long-term use of specific colors, it is advisable to create a larger quantity of color. Storage can be in saved baby food jars (keep the lid and the jar threads clean for easy opening) or perhaps you might like to buy metal tubes in which to pack your "private label" colors. (Remember to name them and keep a record of how you mixed that special color). Open-ended tubes are available in most art material stores. Mailing labels are great for labeling your tubes. One tip is to roll the bottom of the tube tightly and do not trap air between the bottom of the tube and the store of paint.

Experimentation with the oils you might already have will get you started and give you a chance to explore many possibilities as well as be creative.

How to Stretch Artist Canvas

Stretching your own canvas is fairly easy once you know the procedure and have the proper tools and materials. Note that the canvas referred to below is pre-primed; but you could also use the following procedure with raw canvas and, after it has been stretched, prime it with two coats of acrylic gesso. Please read through all of the instructions first, since certain steps must be prepared for in advance.

First you will need to gather a few tools and materials: canvas pliers, stapler/staples or hammer and tacks, stretcher strips, and canvas. In addition, a T-square is convenient to help you insure that the stretchers are square. Then follow these steps to stretch your canvas:

1. Select the appropriate-sized stretchers for the canvas you want to build. Your art supply store has a variety of pre-cut wooden frame rails (or stretcher bars) that have interlocking mitered edges.
2. Once your stretcher frame is assembled on a flat surface, you should verify that it is square. Do this by taking a tape measure and checking that the diagonal distances from both opposing corners are equidistant. (They almost always will be.) If you encounter an offset, you can correct it by attaching a small metal right-angle brace on the inner frame corner. A small plywood right-angle triangle attached to the rear frame corner will also help correct any shift.
3. For frame rails longer than 36 inches, an interior brace should be inserted between these rails to support them from bowing inward after the canvas has been attached. This will also protect against frame distortion during periods of fluctuating humidity. If this type of support rail did not already come with your pre-cut frame, you should cut a piece of similar wood and attach it with the type of braces detailed in step 2.
4. Take the canvas and lay the primed side down on a clean, flat surface. Place the frame atop the canvas and then cut away any excess material so that there are two inches of excess canvas bordering the frame on all sides. It is important that you leave this border material because this is what you will use to grip, stretch, and attach the canvas to the frame.
5. Fold one side of the canvas over one of the shorter frame rails and then attach a canvas tack at the center of the outside edge of that rail.
6. At the opposite side, use canvas pliers (which are similar to regular pliers except they have a broader gripping area) to grip the canvas at mid-rail. It may be helpful for you to set the frame upright while doing this. With a firm grip, pull the canvas until a straight crease is formed to the tacked end. While keeping tension on the canvas, insert another tack at the center edge of the rail, just like the other side. Note that you may also use a staple gun/staples instead of tacks. (The Arrow JT-21 is easy to use.)
7. Move to the next frame rail (one of the longer ones) and repeat steps 5 and 6. As you do, you will notice a triangular canvas crease as you attach the third side and then a diamond-shaped crease when the fourth tack is attached on the remaining mid-rail.
8. Now, place temporary tacks at all four corners. Starting with the center of one of the long rails, grip the canvas tightly with the pliers and fasten tacks at 2" intervals. Repeat with several tacks in both directions (from center) and then switch to the opposite side and repeat this process. Continue working from the center until both long sides are completely tacked down to all but one inch from each corner, stretching the canvas evenly as you proceed.
9. Once both long sides are finished, remove the temporary tacks that you fastened in step 8. Now repeat the same fastening process for both of the short sides, working out from the centers. For smaller canvases, one entire short side can be fastened first, followed by the opposite side. Larger canvases should be rotated several times to evenly stretch the material over the frame. Note that a primed linen canvas (oil-primed linen, in particular) will normally require that the tacks be placed closer together, due to the limited stretch of this material.
10. Fold and pleat the corners of the canvas and then neatly wrap them around to the rear of the canvas frame. Keeping tension on the material, tack all of the excess cloth to the rear of the frame so that it is neatly secured. Then place tacks on all four outer corners. This excess material is important to have in case you ever need to restretch or remount the canvas.

Any remaining canvas indentations or ripples can be reduced by moistening the affected area with a damp sponge. Be careful not to saturate, and allow the canvas to dry completely in a well-ventilated area.

Keep in mind that it is easier to stretch primed cotton and Polyflax canvas than it is to mount a primed linen canvas, since linen fibers do not stretch as much. Oil-primed canvas requires the most attention when mounting on a frame because it has virtually no stretch. When working with this type of canvas, you may have to remove tacks in wrinkled sections and then restretch and retack.

By following the above steps and using proper materials and a few tools, you can easily build your own canvas. With a little practice, the process becomes much faster and easier, almost to the point of becoming routine.