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Questions or Comments?

I'm not saying I know much, of course, but the things I know I learned the hard way and they work well for me. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to get in touch. I'm always open to answering questions, if I can, and would love to hear from you. Sometimes I'm jamming to finish paintings, getting ready for a show, or working on my new studio. If you don't hear from me in a few days give me another try, if you wanna.

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FAQ

Got questions? I have opinions.

What are the best oil paints for beginners?

The easiest thing to do is to buy introductory sets, which often contain colors of great use: Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red Light, Yellow Ochre Deep, Burnt Umber and Titanium White. While not allowing a painter to reach the full color gamut, you can get some color mixing practice.

What colors do portrait painters need?

If you are a serious portrait painter, or want to be, I recommend getting Lead White, Cadmium Orange and Yellow, Perylene Crimson, Burnt Umber and Transparent Red Oxide. My preferred brands are RGH Paints, Williamsburg and Vasari.

Why is there more than one white paint?

Whites are available in three types: titanium, zinc, or lead. Titanium White is by far the most popular white. Zinc White has been known to create brittle paint films since Birge Harrison wrote about it cracking in his 1905 book on painting landscapes. Lead Whites are my preferred because they mix beautifully and create very strong paint films.

Are there benefits to single-pigment paints?

Many people experience unexpected drops in chroma, often described as "mixing mud". This happens because multi-pigment colors can react oddly with other multi-pigment colors due to chromatic aberrations that are impossible to anticipate between the many pigments, as well as the inclusion of fillers that can interfere with light waves and dilute the pigments themselves. This is not a concern for painters who use Munsell to premix their colors.

How are organic pigments and inorganic pigments different?

Organic pigments are transparent and and often have more oil. The term “organic” is a classification of the chemical industry. Organic pigments come from carbon, hydrogen, plant or animal matter. Inorganic pigments come from metals and minerals such as cadmium, lead or titanium.

Why do oil painters use linseed oil?

Linseed oil comes from flax plants. Other great things that come from flax is linen canvas and flaxseed oil. Modern linseeds are not the same as the oils used by great painters of the past. They had methods for refining the raw linseed that result in a super light oil that dries rapidly; actis like it has amber resin in it; and changes the working qualities of paint. The only company I know making it is RGH Paints.

Should I use GamVar to varnish my paintings?

Avoid GamVar at all cost. It was once a great product but Gamblin changed the amount of resin, and did a few other things that make it very unreliable. There are much better alternatives available at no additional expense. In fact, I avoid using any Gamblin product whenever possible.

Is it safe to use Zinc White?

Zinc has been creating crack-prone paint films since it was introduced as an oil paint pigment in 1860. I never use it as a stand-alone white, and avoid it as much as possible as a blend. Sometimes it's used by manufacturers without being listed as an ingredient.

Are Cadmium colors safe to use?

Cadmiums are one of the best, most stable and lightfast pigments one can use. The only precaution is to avoid ingesting them or getting them into an open wound.

The best palette for oil painting?

This is a matter of personal preference. Some artists prefer palettes that are the same color as the ground they are painting on to help the eye judge color, which is unnecessary if you use Munsell to mix your colors — which I strongly recommend. Many use a wooden palette but I premix all my colors each day on a glass palette.

Best way to prime painting surface?

There are two core concerns in surface prep: How archival are the materials and methods of preparation?; How will they affect my painting style? I strongly prefer a very smooth surface, and for my bird paintings a surface prepared with 10+ layers of highest quality acrylic gesso give me a super-smooth surface that allows for the fine detail work I want to produce.

Is lightfastness a concern?

Yes, lightfastness is a concern for any serious painter. From Old Masters to modern masters, whether our paintings hang in a national gallery for hundreds of years or in homes for decades, we want our paint to be just as they were the day the painting was created. Paintings are meant to convey emotion and create a conversation whether in your own head or with others. One of the best ways to express our feelings and thoughts are through color, and color must be lightfast. Generally, the more pigment, the more lightfastness. This is why I refuse to extend my paints. It also means the artist has a greater experience as the colors are more vivid.

Should an oil painting be varnished? When?

Oil paintings should be varnished. The best varnishes available now are from Natural Pigments and Conservator's Products. Both varnishes are formulated to the original specifications Rene de la Rees created for the National Gallery in Washington, DC. They create smooth films, dry quickly and are easily removed. You must wait until the oil paint has fully cured. The test to determine this is to wait until the thickest paint cannot be dented by your thumbnail. This might take six months or more. Painters like myself rarely wait that long because we're always shipping work to galleries.

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