New Minneapolis painting started

I started a new painting for the Minneapolis series of works.  This is only the first thin layer of oil-color, as it will dramatically change over the next few months.  I would like to have this completed sometime in March.

Thanks for taking a quick look at my blog...

...many more new paintings to posted soon.

Minneapolis #7 "Milk Bubbles"

Slightly behind schedule, I finished another painting in the Minneapolis series.  The Minneapolis series of paintings is really just a chance for me to explore color-form ideas and relax.  There is no real artist statement other than I am testing out some of my ideas before I move on to my next major series.

I was not able to resolve the minimal composition of this piece; and for some time it sat in the corner of the studio waiting for me to understand it.

Minneapolis # 7 "MIlk Bubbles" 

oil on linen

12" x 24"

Thanks for checking in...

...I hope to complete another painting soon.

On the Paintbrush: Part III

On Paintbrush:  Part III

Some artists simply use a paintbrush, they don’t clean it, and the oil-color will harden and ruin the brush.  If you can afford to do that, bravo, you are a wasteful consumer and probably not a very good painter.  Taking care of paint brushes to keep them supple, resilient, and like-new is essential to increase their longevity and to extend their usefulness.  This is the single most important part of paintbrushes.  

It is unwise to leave a paint brush sitting bristle-side down in a solvent for days on end.  This will cause the brush to lose its original shape as the bristles will splay out from time spent soaking and softening, making them weaker and more susceptible to the weight of the handle.  Ideally the oil painter will want to clean paint and solvent residue off his brushes immediately after each use, however that is fairly unrealistic.  I have left my brushes in solvent for a few days if I am feeling lazy or really busy.  It has never destroyed my brushes.  

Most artists will simply use soap and water to get their brushes clean.  I prefer using liquid dish-soap.  I tried many brush cleaners, and found that simple is best.   I have used Dawn liquid dish soap to clean oil and pigment out of my paintbrushes for over ten years.  It’s true, Dawn does cut through grease, and it doesn't damage the bristles at all, where most brush cleaners can cause split ends in the bristles of your brush from the harsh chemical clean.    

It is important not to use the same paint brush for different mediums, or even different colors.  Different kinds of paint and the solvents used to clean them affect the bristles differently.  Using the same paint brush with different kinds of paint will rapidly destroy the brush.  An oil brush should never be used for acrylic or water based paints.  The bristles of a paintbrush become slightly coated with the medium and oddly accustomed to the original medium used.  Going back and forth between oil based and water based paints with the same brush will literally clog the ferrel with pigment and quickly destroy the brush.  

There have been many questions as to what kinds of brushes I use. 

I use a wide variety of brushes including: brights, flats, filberts, and selected rounds.  I own (and regularly use) 6 brushes of each size and type for the basic color wheel.  I can work with no less.  

I purchased a complete set of brushes in 1998 and now they are finally wearing out and will become unusable in the next year.  Those brushes lasted over 1000 paintings and twelve years only because I took care of them.  I intend to still use the set I have now in the future, but as first layer brushes, scrubbers and varnishers.  When my brushes wear from use, I simply find another use for them.  I keep my brushes in use until they fall apart.  They can still last another three to five years for those purposes. 

I have six classifications of each brush type and size, based on color usage because I am picky.  Separating brush use by violets, blues, greens, reds, oranges, yellows, whites and blacks (but I rarely use black, I substitute a very dark violet or blue for black) is important to me for many reasons.  Even though the painter will always mix and blend colors of different hues together, each brush should almost exclusively be used with one color hue.  There will always be a small amount of paint left inside the ferrel of the brush, and using a freshly cleaned brush that was first used with a different color causes unintentional mixing and color changes within a painting.  Even after the cleaned brush is dry, a trace of the previously used color can and will show its face when you use it again.  Sometimes the result is disastrous when the paint color turns to a grey green mud as a result of poor cleaning.  By keeping brushes separated by color use, the oil painter extends the lasting usefulness of his paint brushes.    

As brushes naturally degrade from use, they can be downgraded to other uses, again extending their life by years.  Turn scrubbers into old worn-out brushes, varnishers and glazers into old brushes with spring left to it, but the hairs have all split.  Under-painters become fairly good brushes, and over-painters become the best and newest brushes.  Other artists buy special brushes for each task; I just use what I have and keep a brush in use until the hairs have almost totally fallen out and are split beyond repair.  I also repair my brushes by trimming them with a scissors or a razor-blade.  Brushes are so expensive that I have never had the luxury of wasting them. 

I use Princeton Art Brush Company brand brushes.  They are not the best (according to other artists), but I feel they are of the highest quality, and last the longest.  I have used many different brush types.  I take great care of my brushes because of their expense. 

Well there you have it...

...some of my opinions about the paintbrush.

On the Paintbrush: Part II

On the Paintbrush:  Part II

In the hope that I won’t bore you to death, I am going to try and keep this interesting; as technical works always seem dry when we read them.  All paint brushes can be used for any purpose that you see fit.  Be it fine detail, soft transitions of color, or painterly brushstrokes, paintbrushes are the tool for you to decide what use they have.  Albeit, all brushes have an intended use, and when used with that intent in mind, the paintbrush can work magic.  

There are a number of paint brush types varying from size, shape, and body for many different purposes in working with oil paints.  The most common brush types are:  flat, bright, fan, filbert, egbert, liner, round, flat wash, mop, and the angular.  They are named for both their appearance and use with paints. 

The flat brush.  With its flat rectangular body and square chisel edge, the flat brush is perfect for applying large amounts of color both quickly and evenly.  Its width is typically half its length.  It holds plenty of paint for applying thick amounts, and it creates long straight brush strokes.  The flat brush is excellent for softly defining compositional elements that have a straight edge to them.  I find the flat brush most useful in applying the underpainting when clarity and precision are not too important, but applying a large amount of paint is.  

The bright brush has the same chisel edge as a flat brush, but with shorter bristle length, and comes to a fine chisel edge when loaded with paint.  Its width is typically the same distance as its length, giving it a relationship with the flat brush.  The short, square head of the bright brush makes it ideally suited for straight lines, applying broad strokes with a controlled edge, and well-defined brush strokes.  The bright brush is capable of finely detailing forms, making it perfect for overpainting and finial editing.  I use the bright brush for all geometric forms and the overpainting of large areas of negative space to redefine positive spaces. The bright brush is my personal favorite, my paintbrush of choice.  I tend to use it for most everything.  The bright brush gives me more control over oil-paint than any of the other brushes.  

The fan brush is shaped into a flat profile with a curved edge spread out like a hand-held fan.  The fan brush is designed for delicately blending color and softening edges, creating dusty-like strokes when painting objects such as clouds and distant foliage.  I consider the fan brush a gimmick, and believe it should not be used by the professional oil painter.  The professional can reproduce the brushstrokes the fan brush creates with a filbert brush.  I say do not buy a fan brush; save your money and buy filberts instead.  The filbert brush has some real purpose to it.

The filbert brush has the body of a flat brush with a slightly rounded edge point.  The filbert is extremely versatile and is used to create long painterly brush strokes.  Just as a flat brush can make broad strokes or more delicate and tapered strokes, the filbert excels in both of these purposes.  I use the filbert brush for softening the edges of forms and fading small areas of change in color value.  The filbert brush is the macro lens of oil painting with its dual ability to focus a finely detailed stroke and fade oil color, softly blurring its appearance. 

The egbert brush is similar to a filbert brush in that it has the same rounded edge, only with much longer bristles.  Its flat ferrule and long bristles can carry more color than a filbert brush.  It is as long as the liner brush and is most commonly used for thick, long tapered lines, and blending value changes.  I have no personal use for the egbert, and I find it lacking in self-control as a result of its unnecessary and excessive length.

The liner brush has a slender round head with very long bristles that comes to a thin tip that makes it ideal for working with tiny details.  The length of its body holds a lot of oil color allowing it to deliver color continuously in a single stroke when painting long lines.  The thin tip creates fine lines like no other brush type.  This brush is commonly called a "rigger" for its common use in painting the thin lines of rope rigging on ships.  I have used the liner brush previously with well worked oil color to achieve the immediate effects of small detail.  I simply do not like this brush type.  Although it has its uses, none of them coincide with what I do.  

The round brush has a thick round head with bristles that taper to a fine point at the end. It is used for precise strokes of fine detail work.  Like the liner brush, the round brush holds a good deal of paint and is best used with slightly thinned paints.  However, thinned oil paints fade away, crack, and slowly become transparent with time.  I have taken to beating down my oil paint on the pallet prior to use with the round brush, so as to make the paint more malleable.  I use the round brush for detailed lines.  It is better to simply work the oil color on the pallet until it is soft enough to achieve the desired consistency so it can flow from the bristles evenly.

The flat wash, flat shader, and stroke brush types are extra-large, extra soft, blending brushes intended for watercolors.  Even though they are primarily used for painting with watercolors, they are useful to the oil painter as a dry brush to remove all trace of brushstroke after the establishment of oil color has been finished.  I use the flat wash brush with oils as a dry-brush for soft surface color blending and smoothing.  The flat wash brush is ideal for blending surface area and applying a smooth transition between color and value changes without disturbing the wet underpainting.  

The mop brush has a large, flappy, fat body and is shaped into an oval or rounded thick edge.  The mop brush is used for delicately glazing, so as to not disturb the underpainting.  It is also useful as a dry-brush for blending large amounts of surface color.  I personally find the mop brush useless, albeit, I have used the mop brush for applying glazes over large surface areas.

The angular brush is similar to the build and body of the flat brush, but with the edge angled at a tapered slant.  The angular brush has a flat edge and a pointed tip, allowing for both wide and thin strokes.  The tip is its most valued feature, as it can easily reach areas within a painting that are between sections you do not wish to disturb.  The tight details the angular brush can reach are virtually impossible to work with a larger brush.  I use the angular brush for precise details in color forms where a mistake, or “coloring outside the lines,” would be nearly irreversible.  I also use the angular brush when I need the flat chisel edge of a bright brush but must fit into a tight compositional element.

Thanks for checking this out...

...part III on the paintbrush coming soon.

3.8.1_Improvisation

Since I have been working on improvisational oil paintings as late, I thought that I would post some of my older writing on the subject.  As I paint, I write.  I write about my thoughts on my own work and experiences.  So some of it might make sense, other parts you're just going to have to say "good lord whats wrong with him," and move on to the next section that makes sense to you.  As all of my writings on oil painting was written in the moment, some of it is going to change over time.

3.8.1  Improvisation

     The improvisational oil painting is completely honest work, in that it cannot lie, because it does not go through an editing process.  That is not to say the editing process is a lie, but to elaborate on the dependance of immediacy and reaction of the improvisational oil painting.  Improvisations of any kind are the first thought, line, brushstroke, or action, expressed by reacting to one’s environment and creative process.  The improvisation is honest because it is the first unedited reactions to both environment and the work itself.

     The improvisational works an artist completes exposes the work of his character, sense of being, and mastery of the relationship between himself and his chosen medium.  Improvisation is the finest means to tutor the student of oil paintings in their natural ability for composition as it's practice teaches him to be bold, balanced, and visually organized immediately.  Improvisational oil painting instills in the artist the foresight to see bold compositions as they are being revealed in the moment.  The oil painter's improvisation is an unconscious method toward a logical and complete understanding of one’s disposition, finally revealing to the artist the implications following his thoughts.  

     The improvisational oil painting should be completed in a short amount of time.  Timed improvisational study is a good starting point for the student of oil painting.  Timed study, a method of improvisation, is a necessary stage of development in teaching an artist to be immediately resolved.  Set a time limit to work within, such as five or ten minutes, then increase the amount of time allowed for each study  to one hour, as you progress.  During a timed study, the artist can't truly edit for lack of time, and must just simply react to the subject-matter.  This process should cover the course of a few months while increasing the complexity of the subject-matter.  

     The student of oil painting will start with representation, then progress gradually into abstraction of each subject. To be able to render realistic subject-matter improvisationally, is a necessity or prerequisite before beginning abstraction. The abstract improvisation becomes a personal experience when completed.  It is retrospective to the oil painter, as it was to me. 

     It is not just the act of painting an improvisational work of art, it is the acts of repetitive improvisational thoughts which allow the abstract oil painter to trust their own intuitive nature.  As time progresses the oil painter will transform with ease with his first thoughts, and strengthen those initial ideas learned from the practice of improvisational works.  The abstract improvisational oil painting ends up being about paint, and is considered an expressionist work.

     The abstract oil painter should study improvisation all his life.  However, he must not confuse his improvisational works for complete works of art.  Although each improvisational painting may be a great work of art, the improvisation is an incomplete idea that has yet to go through the discipline of editing, and should not be its own ends.  Although there are works intended for instilling control through immediacy, an improvisational oil painting finds its usefulness merely is in its act of doing, and leads one to new ideas, a deeper understanding of composition, and the resolution of the complicated relationship an artist has with his medium. 

3.5.1_On the study of the still-life and its use as an indirect associative narrative.

3.5.1  On the study of the still-life and its use as an indirect associative narrative.

 A still-life oil painting is a work of art depicting inanimate subject-matter.  Primarily it has developed into a decorative work of art with an implied yet obvious narrative.  The student of oil painting’s study of the still life involves the compositional arrangement of everyday objects as the subject-matter in a manner to study composition, perspective, and mostly light source for the decisions of a future work of art.  My attempt here is to address the still-life as such where the student of oil painting will learn how to work through a still-life from setup to finished work of art.  During this study the oil painter will see how the common objects we own, how we use and present them during our day to day activities, and how speak profoundly about ourselves and our world, is defining a portion of our lives.  The still-life is a philosophical work of art, even if it is not obviously so.  The aesthetic composition of these belongings, both the choice of what to use, and their placement within the still-life, reveals a part of the artist's mind.  In this I say these decisions tell us the secrets behind the artist’s motivation.  From casual observation, these subtleties will be missed entirely and will only be revealed through a deeper, quiet investigation of a work of art.

It is important to discuss the still-life’s being as a compositional study and decorative item while addressing the still-life’s ability to communicate on many levels at one time.  Let us first focuses on the rudimentary fundamentals of the still-life as a purely pictorial study of compositional elements toward abstraction, and not an end to itself.  The fundamental lessons of the still-life are compositional balance, the use of light-source, the three dimensional content of form, and with that conceptual foresight, a sculptural understanding of oil painting itself.  In the beginning of this study the student of oil painting works in monotone color toward rendering a work of art that looks realistic, as a pictorial representation of objects within the still life.  Although inanimate objects play a role in our lives, they have their own narrative.  One that not only tells us their function, but recites the dialogue of the human drama within their purpose.  With an understanding of that silent narrative, the oil painter is obliged to present the still-life as animated, alive, and full of purposeful action, born from the vivacity of the human drama and our shared relationship to the inanimate.  While communicating that there is life to that which we define as not alive, the oil painter exposes the recurring history of the human situation.

The act of designing a still-life teaches the oil painter the elements of spatial arrangement involved in composition, while focusing on balance and the three dimensional context of the objects within the still-life.  When designing a still-life, set up the composition just as you would a stage for a theater.  For the stage itself, use a wood or cardboard box with three sides, left, right, back, and a base.  Start with a simple forward view, so the oil painter can easily see the entire composition.  Keep in mind that the vantage point you chose is what the oil painting will mimic.  Traditionally the still-life has been painted in settings where the objects within it might belong together, such as a cloth covered table top with a bowl of fruit.  This being a study, we remove all aspects of setting and focus on its fundamentals of process in preparation to reintegrate setting later. 

For the purpose of this study we want the background to be simple and uniformed in its texture and colored appearance, so as to not distract from the objects of the still-life.  Paint the interior walls and floor of the stage with a basic middle grey, which is the standard in photography for calibrating light and adjusting exposer to capture true color.  This grey will be our reference point and our constant as it exhibits definable separations between the background, shadow and subject.  Middle grays’ stark neutral quality accents the objects individual characteristics of color and shape, while allowing those color-forms to be as true as possible.  Middle grey defines all the forms within the still-life itself, easily separating the positive and negative spaces for the artist's eye.  The use of middle grey as a background color for this study is essential.  After the oil painter has completed no less then five works with the simple grey painted walls, he may move on to the background as a form itself.  Use a sheet of fabric to lay over the stage so it covers all three walls and the base evenly.  Choose a fabric color that will not overpower and dilute the presence of the objects within the still-life.  Using a fabric color that is a complementary color to the objects will define the positive and negative spaces in the same manner as neutral grey does.  The fabric, how it lays in the stage, it's wrinkles and texture, becomes a part of the design elements and are as compositionally important as the objects themselves.  Hence, it becomes an object and its installation should be considered when choosing the items for the still-life.

At first select no more than three to five items, keeping them simple but different in their surface texture, color, and shape.  The oil painter must consider these objects as three dimensional color-forms or geometric shapes, and not as what they are, thereby removing the identity of an object so as to see it without a preconceived idea as to its true form.  Because of our experiences, our minds have preconceived ideas about the shape, texture, and purpose of objects.  Subsequently we will represent them pictorially as our mind sees them rather than what our eyes tell us.  Arrange the items so they feel balanced among the stage by following your instincts and placing the items together in as natural an arrangement as possible; maintaining the guidelines of composition. To avoid your works looking contrived, just place the objects where they feel like they belong and do not put too much thought into it.  If you cannot feel balance instinctually, you are not an artist and should stop now, lest you poison contemporary art with your desire to do something.  A deeper understanding of compositional balance will come with time, albeit, for the artist, composition is as natural and instinctual as breathing.  The oil painter need only learn to discipline his inherent talents so he may forget control, and let go to his mind’s voice.

There are two simple rules to guide the oil painter in the installation of the objects.  First, divide the painting surface into thirds.  Second, proper placement of the triangular color-form subject-matter.  Designing the overall composition with these guidelines, regardless of artistic individuality, will result in a work of art that is evenly balanced and pleasing to the eye both within content and composition.  The act of setting up a still-life involves all the fundamentals of design.  As a result of those design lessons, setting up the stage of a still-life teaches the oil painter to experience his work outside of the canvas.  With this insight, designing a still-life subconsciously instills a greater understanding of the three dimensional form and content of an object's complete being into the oil painter's mind, simply by arranging the items.  As the artist handles each item, he unconsciously catalogues their texture and shape, and with that inner sight paints the still-life silently remembering each object's total content.  In this way for the process of painting itself, the oil painter conceptually becomes a sculptor.  For oil painting is sculpting, in that the oil painter molds the oil and pigment by working the medium to develop a surface that represents form.

The use of light-source in the still-life should be considered as a detailed compartmentalized element to the overall composition.  Its use in this study is primarily to develop the three dimensional content of each object.  In the beginning of this study, the oil painter will use a single direct light-source, for it is more definable and dramatic than the soft quality of indirect light.  Use a small light fixed to the stage so as to make sure that it won’t move or change its position.  Once the artist has set up the light-source, it must remain in the same position until the painting is finished for the painting to be completed properly.  Light alters color as it reveals the depth and form of an object, as so, where the oil painter directs his light source determines the demeanor of an oil painting.  Albeit, the artist treats the effects of light without discrimination, and as a compositional element of the subject-matter itself.  Although restricted in part by the fundamental guidelines of composition, the oil painter will find that he has more freedom to play with the compositional arrangement of light than the other elements of the still-life.  The wide spectrum of human emotion can all be represented by the subtle use of light.  It is light's most powerful effect, dramatizing even the most mundane setting with its physical effect on man’s belief structure.

It is important that all the elements of the still-life are not disturbed so that when the oil painter returns to his work day by day, he sees the stage exactly the same every time until the painting is complete.  Changing any of the elements of the stage after the actual work of art has begun will cause the finished oil painting to end without resolution and have a poorly balanced and distorted composition, and as a result, appear contrived.  Along with altering the stage, the student of oil painting must not change the vantage point from which the still-life is observed; for it will also result in a contrived and disproportionate oil painting.  There must be a defined spot during this study of where to stand, look, and measure the subject-matter in the stage.  Mark a spot on the floor with tape for the desired vantage point of where to stand while looking at the still-life.  It is important that the oil painter only observe the stage from that marked position, separate from where he will view and work on the work of art on the easel.  Mark off a spot where to look and measure the work of art on the easel approximately the same distance as the mark to the stage.  Do not look at the stage while in front of the canvas and vice versa.  Doing so will distort the image in the oil painter's mind and upset his actual and inner view of its total composition.  This criteria of observation teaches the student of oil painting how to see, which we all believe we need no instructions on.  Observing the stage and work of art separately allow the oil painting to evolve on its own, distinctly separate from the still-life.  Although it will be a pictorial representation of your still-life, the work of art will become an image with a life-force all its own. 

A part of the arrangement of the still-life is the selection of its overall composition.  Most of this is decided by the boundaries of the stage itself, but if the student of oil painting wishes to use a different frame for his composition, he can bracket off the dimensions of the desired composition where ever he sees fit with a plumb-line.  A plumb-line is a weighted string that is suspended in front of the subject-matter for reference and to accurately measurement and compositionally segregate.  Use the plumb-line to mark the center of your stage, hanging it in front of the entire structure.  This method of study, cupeled with a defined vantage point takes the use of a plumb-line, a traditional way of observing the subject-matter, and introduces the sight size method of artistic study back to a dogmatic formula.  Dogma can kill an artist’s potential, but for the student of oil painting, he is required to work through these ideas used before him so that he may come to understand his own ideas.  This formula fast looses its right of passage and evolves into an unconscious instinctual way to see, thus becoming unnecessary to adhere to.

Now that the stage is set, the oil painter may begin his study of the still-life pictorially.  At this point the oil painter starts with a medium tailored for study such as charcoal, pencil, or pen on paper.  After completing several studies of the still-life and familiarizing himself with its visual content, the student of oil painting can then move on to his work in oil paints.  The oil painter should complete one oil painting for each study.   A minimum of five different studies of the still-life are necessary as a preparatory step for the artist to understand the lessons involved, and to grasp the conceptual work involved in the study of the still-life.

Every few years I take on the study of the still-life to its fullest.  It helps reground my mind so that I may continue my work in compositional abstraction.  Because I wish to not be associated with them; I do not sign my completed still-life works and give them away as presents to family and friends.  

3.2.1_On the learning curve of art materials for the student of oil painting

3.2.1  On the learning curve of art materials for the student of oil painting.

The student of oil painting, whether aspiring to become a professional or simply doubling as a hobbyist, will benefit from the instruction and experience of using artistic mediums related to the application of oil paint.  We can no longer ignore that the consumer is fast becoming the voice of modern art today.  As a result of the consumer's new strength within the arts, the idea of study and training for the trade needs to be reinforced.

The student of oil painting should not rely on oil paint alone to teach him to create works of art.  The student has not yet learned to control his hand to create what his mind already sees, and using oil paints is difficult to learn, let alone master.  The student of oil painting needs the training of simple mediums at first, mediums that are less complicated and involved than oil colors.  For this purpose, there is a learning curve that progresses through several mediums before arriving at oil paint.  Typically these mediums are designed to study artistic principles.  Albeit, as a result of artistic innovations, they have all found a place as mediums used as fine art.  As you will see, the student of oil painting treats each of these mediums as individual lessons, but with the techniques of applying oil paint at the foundation of each medium’s course.  By applying each medium as oil paint is applied, the student of oil painting prepares himself for oil, gaining a much better grasp of its nature.  So for that reason, we tailor these courses toward the technique of applying oil paint, where the medium is applied in layers to build a surface.

Starting with charcoal, the artist moves on to graphite and colored pencil, then soft and oil pastel sticks, then ink, and finally onto oil colors.  Through this process of study, the student of oil painting will arrive at oil colors with a firm understanding of basic artistic principles while discovering his own insight and artistic voice.

The artist’s progressive training of mediums begins with the delicacy of charcoal sticks.  Charcoal is the perfect study medium and is commonly used in timed studies where the student works quickly to create a work of art.  Charcoal is naturally precise for applying dark and light values.  Charcoal is not easy to work with accurately and takes a soft yet resolved hand to master how it lays dark and light marks on a surface.  Allow the medium itself to teach the student how to use it.  Charcoal is easily disturbed once applied to a surface and it can be altered for good or bad by the slightest of movements.  It marks the surface immediately and although not permanently, its bold characteristics are difficult to erase.  Traditionally the contemporary student of oil painting works with vine charcoal sticks on newsprint or paper.  Vine sticks are best used in study because their delicate structure forces the artist to build his surface over time with several applications.  Charcoal is similar to oil paints in that the artist builds a surface with the medium to produce a work of art.  The intended purpose of working with charcoal sticks is so the artist concentrates on the accuracy of form and value, training his hand to be light, but resolved.  Indeed the student is silently directed that way as a result of the nature of the medium itself.  There are a few simple tools to be used alongside charcoal sticks.  A sandpaper pad is used to sharpen the drawing point of the charcoal stick.  A gum eraser is the best choice to erase with, as gum erasers collects larger amounts of medium rather than rubbing it off as other erasers; thereby not scaring the drawing surface.

The next mediums for artistic development are the graphite and colored pencils.  Working in these different forms of pencil teaches the artist the basics of value, color, and tinting.  Pencils can easily scar the surface of a work of art if applied with too much pressure.  At times that pressure, when controlled, is exactly what the artist wants.  It is doubtless that the artist has used a pencil before.  Regardless of the artists experience, now is the time to start from the beginning with no working knowledge of the pencil.  Graphite pencil reintroduces the lessons of charcoal, but takes the study of form, line, and the diverse techniques of creating the tonality in shading and grades of depth for contour value and perspective, to a more precise form of expression.  Working in graphite pencil, the artist refines his talents with the lessons of charcoal.  Pencil is not as easily disturbed as charcoal but can be easily erased, and although the process of editing with the eraser is often an approach to the technique to creating a work of art, it is a technique that devalues the basic lessons gained by using a pencil.  At this point you will erase nothing.  If you are dissatisfied with your work, then start a new drawing with a fresh perspective.   

With a delicately resolved hand, the student uses the graphite to build a surface to create forms and values.  The artist needs to learn to control the application of graphite first, then add innovation when confident enough with the medium itself.  The first lesson is to attempt to have all marks go in the same direction.  That is not easy, all marks made includes what would be line, and line tends to go in opposition to the value of forms.  The commonly known methods of working realistic values such as blending, cross hatching, the use of stipple, and my own scribble style, all employ varying marks that are closer together to resemble darker value, and farther apart for lighter values.  Distance within marks, giving the appearance of different values, is easy when compared to a unified directional pencil stroke.  The difference is that the student is training his eye to see value immediately, instead of creating value spontaneously.  Start by drawing in the darkest values and then working in the lightest.  Focus on the dramatic differences in form values, then work towards the subtle discrepancies.  When the student of oil painting is comfortable with his ability to instinctually see the value of form, it is time to move on to colored pencils.  

Colored pencil is commonly overlooked, being considered as a business medium, most commonly used by the designer, architect, and illustrator.  I have even heard color pencil compared to the crayon.  Although they are both a wax-based medium, the comparison is prejudice.  The colored pencil is a world all to itself and indeed is a medium who’s purpose reaches fine art.  As a wax based pigment, the colored pencil has the ability to blend colors in refined layers of lightly applied color.  Wax builds up quickly and the student of oil painting will have to refrain from adding too much too fast.  The student’s hand will have the muscle memory now, after working in charcoal and then graphite pencil, and consequently has trained for the delicacy and pressure needed.  Working with color for the first time as a student will at first be more difficult than expected.  To grasp an understanding of how to work with colored pencil, the student will have to memorize the basic color wheel.  Knowing all the aspects of color mixing and how each color interacts with the other will come in time with practice of this colored wax-based medium.  

After the introduction of color, the student of oil painting moves on to both soft and oil pastel sticks.  Using pastels combines the lessons from all of the previous studies, while truly preparing the artist for the complications of oil painting.  The technique used within pastels integrates value and color together while foreshadowing the use of a brush.  Soft pastels are basically chalk, and similar to charcoal in their application.  I find them distasteful, and hopefully the student of oil painting will avoid them as he avoids the disease of acrylic paints.  Soft pastels mark a paper’s surface, but they do not hold onto paper and more times than not the pigments fall off unless the paper is treated with a fixative before and after your work.  Sandpaper is a perfect drawing surface to use for your soft pastel work of art.  Sandpaper, if quality glue was used in its construction, holds the soft pastel firmly between the grains.  Using sandpaper as a drawing surface solves the majority of your staying issues with soft pastels.  Do not spend too much time on the study of soft pastels.  They have little to give to the study of oil paintings, except the experience of a new and challenging medium.  

Oil pastels are the closest relative to oil painting.  Oil pastels are most commonly made with a non-drying oil and wax as vehicles to bind the pigment.  The technical accessibility of oil pastels combined with the lessons of the charcoal, graphite, colored pencil, and soft pastels, makes their use a true study material for the oil painter.  The pigments within oil paints are the same as those in oil pastels and you will notice instantly how when mixing color there is a bit of a grind to it until you work the stick until it is warm.  Oil stick are slightly cured oil paints.  Because they are oil-based, you can use oil based mediums such as linseed oil to create painting-like effects.  I have used WD40 for the effect of sharp textured painterly strokes of color by spraying the WD40 onto a sheet of folded wax paper, and then rolling the tip of oil stick in the medium until it mixes with the color.  The WD40 dissolved the oil pastel stick, yet bound the stick to the drawing surface.  Just as oil paint, apply the mixed medium and color to your work of art.  It cannot be erased but it can be covered over or scrapped off the drawing surface.  Oil pastels layer fast and blend easy.   They should be used to study throughout the course of an oil painters life.            

For the next stage in the learning curve of art materials, the student of oil painting works with ink.  Ink is irrevocably unforgiving and permanent, and like the improvisations, the first mark is the final mark.  As a result of the editing limitations of ink, the artist will find that the execution of applying ink is philosophically similar to the improvisation.  Using ink to create works of art teaches the student of oil painting to be comfortable with his intuition and to react to his subject-matter as he replicates it.  By that same limitation, the use of ink familiarizes the artist with the abstract idea of positive and negative space.  The artist will find himself prone to working with the negative space to complete forms of positive space.  Working this way is thinking like a painter.  In oil painting, the painter uses negative space to develop the positive.  The negative space is more important than positive space.  

The added benefit of studying ink last, is removal of color.  Removing color as the student of oil painting adds line and composition brings the mind back to the fundamentals of composition.   I work with ink as often as possible for studying composition for my works.  Oil painting is next.  As you start your first oil painting, work in monotone, simple white to black just as ink.  It will be more difficult than expected.

All of these artistic mediums are traditional for the student of oil painting and not to be set aside once the artist is working in oils, but to be used alongside oil painting.  For each work of art to be created, the student of oil painting usually starts with one or more of the lesser mediums as a study and sketch for the painting itself.  Eventually the student will develop his own method to study for oil painting.  The oil painter should explore different mediums and methods of creating works of art throughout his entire life.  

3.1_Intro to Chapter III

3.1  Intro to chapter III.

The world of abstract thought is as varied as the diversity of life on Earth.  Abstraction is limitless.  There cannot be, indeed there must not be, definitions and rules to the creation of an abstract work of art, and yet there must be defining points of accomplishment in the work of an abstract artist’s career.  All artists, regardless of their chosen medium, require a disciplined study of the elements involved within their chosen form of artistic communication. 

Purely as an artist, the abstract oil painter must become familiar with the different mediums and methods of creating works of art during his study toward abstract oil painting.  The abstract oil painter should be required to study pictorial representation, all of the mediums related to oil painting, and the iconic fundamentals of modern art; those being the still life, the landscape, the figurative, improvisation, the discipline of composition, and color-form theory to allow for the natural development of an artists individual voice within abstract painting.  After pictorial representation has been throughly studied, the oil painter can then investigate his personal ideas of abstraction one subject at a time.  As an artist the oil painter must know his subject matter intimately to have the insight in order to abstract it.  He must first know abstraction and his reason for it.  Albeit, the abstract oil painter intuitively knows his own methodology, and with that knowledge and capability of possibility, the abstract oil painter does not reject dogma but embraces its devices and makes them his own.  With that sense of ownership, the abstract oil painter takes responsibility for his study and the future direction of contemporary abstract art itself.

Western societies recent focus on the cultural marketability of individualism has fostered a generation of abstract artists that identify with nothing more than the vanity of style, the popularity of image, and immediate expression.  Anyone can express themselves using the term “abstraction” with the hasty ease of its common pictorial results and fabled simplicity of its technical grasp.  Many artists use abstraction as a classification of aesthetic choice, leading themselves to an established "Ism" to solidify their intent without understanding that creating works of art is more than a look or definition.   (These artists are not artists but charlatans, playing a part in a game of identity that they eventually lose.)  Ism.  Regrettable artists who mimic the pioneers of abstraction through a pictorial choice of ism that represents their short-term identity, poison themselves and the art world unknowingly.  Without an understanding or consideration of the general language of abstraction, the emotional fever of the consumer artist, hobbyist, and soul seeker skip the ideas of a disciplined study, and without purpose speechlessly imitate the masters.    

Although abstract art does not have a defined alphabet, it does call for an understanding of its pictorial fundamentals, those being the whole of the language of composition.  Abstraction grants a sense of liberty that is unavailable to any other form of aesthetic, simply because it is visually accessible, without rules of appearance or expectation, and seemingly easy to invent a theory of intent to sweet-talk past the ability of talent.  Truth is arduous to obtain in abstraction, and it is a discipline built on the traditional rules of technique more difficult to resolve than any of the arts, because these traditions are conceptual thoughts physically applied in practical application.  The fundamentals of abstract oil painting are philosophical.  Those traditions, while being on stable ground, are evolving, changing, and growing as the technology of the materials and tools an artist uses to oil paint do the same.  With the consumer in control of today’s art market we find those traditions abandoned and forgotten.  It is not unfitting for the artist to reject tradition, if at first these ideas in question are inspected throughly and exposed for their flaws, and not simply rejected because of their status as defined traditions.  To do so is to rebel and eventually self destructive.  Simply put, any yahoo with a paintbrush can call himself an abstract oil painter as a result of the confinements and unstable anarchy of the postmodern pop-cultural subjectivity as the cause.  Innovation first comes from discipline and exploration under the influence of control and not accidents of stylistically pleasing moments.

The work of the undisciplined abstract oil painter is simply the work of self-discovery.  In saying this, I am not belittling the immature abstract oil painter, nor am I using the word “immature” derogatorily.  I am simply disclosing that the young artist has not developed his mind and medium, but works off the immediacy of appearance.  I did, until I was taught a better way.  The artist I am speaking of works off emotion and is setting free the needs that a juvenile or a maniac subconsciously desires for a cathartic release and possible moment of self-discovery.  Confusion and intangible communication are not hidden genius.  There is more to the abstract oil painter than inner need.  Albeit, it is inner need that drives the truly ambitious oil painter toward mastering that, which satisfies his being. 

Since ideas are the nature of abstraction, abstract works of art consist of subjective moments, independent of representation other than cultural and generational metaphorical associations.  Abstract works of art cannot be defined, in that there are no rules or set standards to creating an abstract work of art.  Therefore there must be a set of credentials that can define abstract oil painting as a disciplined art form.  Intuitively the oil painter understands that which he wishes to express but needs the proper vocabulary to do so.  A disciplined study of the fine arts traditional fundamentals will grant the oil painter his dictionary.  The oil painter will possibly begin to abstract his subject matter when he has mastered its actual representation.  The truly ambitious and devoted (stoic) oil painter will see the need for understanding the representational forms of the world around him pictorially, by the means of a careful examination of his world as a prerequisite to abstraction.  Naturally, the oil painter becomes aware of the world and his position in it during his study, and as expected the oil painter progresses toward his own language and ideas on composition, color, intention, methodology and philosophy, toward creating works of art. 

The following chapter is simply an explanation of the path that I followed to become who I am.  It was both passed on to me, and initiated by me.  They are not rules for each artist to pursue, but guidelines from my experiences where I discovered them one event at a time.  They are the discipline that I created for myself.  The aesthetic and compositional choices in each work of art the oil painter creates reflect his identity and reveal his mastery over his medium.

Every work of art has its importance, even the industrial agesi mass produced posters can teach.  That is not to say that all works of art are equal.  Each of the arts also has its limits.  The discipline of oil painting has no equal in its variety of representation, simply because it has less limitation than the other forms of art.  Nevertheless, do not be fooled by undefined intolerance.  All art is important and relevant to its creator.

Oil paintings are not meant to be viewed in a museum where we teach and collect mans’ intellectual history.  Works of art are intended to be looked at, and to communicate.  Art that has to be in a gallery to be art, is not art.

2.6_The studio environment for the oil painter

2.6  The studio environment for the oil painter

My studio is sacred.  I have it set up exactly as I need it to create as I desire and as my concepts desire.  Everywhere I have lived since 1996 has been or has been converted into an artist's studio.  My studio set up is precise and evolves as my works are evolving.  I find that my surroundings where I create have a dramatic effect on how I paint.  We are all effected greatly by our environments.  The color of the walls, a sunny day, rainy day, or cold winter day, the placement of objets used and not, the type of light we have in use, and every portion of our daily environment alters each of us in one way or another.  A studio, an intended space to create works of art where you will be spending a great deal of time in, should reflect your conceptual goals and momentary philosophical direction as an artist.  I decided to use that to my advantage.   

I prefer to have the walls of my studio painted to be the bluest white possible.  I use cheap unnatural florescent lighting and have always needed to balance out the yellow quality of that lighting.  I like it bright, with spot lights and overhead lighting.  I typically have three or more working easels in play at once, along with a few drying easels, and one glazing easel.  My palette table is set up so it resembles the color wheel.  In that way, I can mix colors with ease and avoid accidental blending and bleeding of oil color.  More importantly, it unconsciously reminds me of the color wheel.  Everything in my studio has a double purpose, a practical use and a conceptual one, just as my palette table.  My studios change as my conceptual needs change.  I will repaint the studio a certain color to have that in my mind at all times.  I will use charts and printouts stapled to the walls as reminders of my conceptual goal, and I always allow myself to be 100% of my concept 100% of the time.

Studios are what they are, work spaces.  Each artist will know what they need.  What I use is vastly different than what another will.  Working with oils, I have tailored my studio around their use and storage.  The student of oil painting need only a few basics.  A good easel.  Owning a high quality easel is a necessity for the oil painter.  A table to use as a palette and stand for supplies that are being used during a session of painting.  Good lighting.  The most important item the student of oil painting must have in the studio is a purpose.  Why you are painting is the question the student of oil painting must ask, and then ask again.  Then set your studio environment to coincide with your answer.

2.5.1_On mediums

2.5.1  On mediums.

Solvents and Mediums are used to dilute and carry color, increase gloss and transparency, reduce drying time, and avoid over-thinning.  There are many mediums that the oil painter may use.  I have taken my notes from the past on the mediums that I have worked with, and given you a definition and my thoughts on each.  I found mediums useful to create many different appearances while exploring oil painting over the years.

Poppy oil:  Poppy oil is a little thicker than linseed oil, and is very pale in its color.  It's better than linseed oil because it has longer non-yellowing abilities, but poppy oil will crack and become brittle with age faster than linseed oil.  The abstract oil painter should just stay the hell away from poppy oil.  It’s delicate nature after it hardens has a tendency to crack easily and splinter into a multitude of cracks if used too heavily.  If you are looking for a cracked appearance in the long run, then use poppy oil.  

Rectified turpentine:  Rectified turpentine, along with Venetian turpentine, are two of the best thinners for oil paint.  Or so I was told by a traditional realist while I was taking classes in classical realism.  I personally do not like it, as it is expensive and I can get the same effects with Gamblin Gamsol, an odorless mineral spirit with a much lower price tag.  Rectified turpentine does have an ability to pull paint out of the bristles of a brush more effectively than other thinners.  

Walnut oil:  Walnut oil is very thin when compared to linseed oil, and will distort the consistency of oil paint.  It is one of the weaker mediums.  Think of a vanilla and chocolate swirl cake and that's what you end up with most of the time, even if you are very careful.  Walnut oil will slow the drying time, and because of that, I feel it has no place in the use of abstract art.

Linseed oil:  There are many forms to linseed oil and it is probably the most popular oil painting medium out there.  It is affordable, has may uses, and is mostly consistent in its application.  I like it, if I do chose to use a medium, then linseed oil is the one I prefer.  

Cold pressed linseed oil:  It increases the transparency and gloss of paint, and slows the drying time.  It is best to use it alone, or the drying time will drastically speed up.

Refined linseed oil:  It is the same as cold pressed, but heat and steam are added to the process to extrude more oil.  It is weaker than cold pressed oil.  The one quality that I love about refined linseed oil is that it magically removes brushstrokes.  It has the remarkable quality of reducing the marks of the tool you are using; a paint brush, palette knife, or whatever you chose that day.  

Sun thickened linseed oil:  This is simply raw linseed oil mixed with water and then set in the sun for a year or more.  It has an enamel-like ability, and dries faster than the other linseed oil processes.  It is best used in glazes because of its ability to resist cracking and yellowing with age.  It is very expensive and unless you really need it, just go with a stand oil turpentine mix.  As a professional, the use of sun thickened linseed oil is a part of the heavy costs of being an oil painter.  It is worth the price-tag.

Stand oil:  Stand oil is by far the most difficult and best medium an artist can learn to use.  Treating linseed oil with heat until a slight polymerization occurs, creates stand oil.  It has a very thick consistency like that of honey, and is a pale or transparent amber color.  Its intended use is for the artist to thin the stand oil with a solvent before he mixes it with oil paint.  Stand oil is the strongest painting medium and will resist yellowing or cracking with age better than other mediums.  Stand oil can also reduce and sometimes erase all traces that a tool was used to apply the paint.  Because of the ability to rid a painting of the signs of brush strokes, it is best used in transparent glazing.  It takes forever to dry, and I mean forever.  

My personal favorite is a mix of three mediums.  I found the use of 1/3 stand oil, 1/3 linseed oil, and 1/3 damar varnish with a tiny amount (approximately 1 tenth of the total mix) of unbleached titanium oil paint, mixed evenly, has the best overall effects in control in both the consistency of paint and the use of the brush.  Mix this in a blender until it becomes a froth, and then cover the medium and let is stand until the air bubbles are gone.  It will take about three days for the mix to settle.  When this mix is added to oil paint, it becomes like a creamy soup, and is always consistent.  If your end result doesn't look and act like gravy, then it's not mixed properly.  

As far as solvents go, just simply use whatever you can find that works.  I like Gamsol, but I have used many others.  Whatever is on sale is what I buy.  Solvents are mainly used to clean your tools with, so there is really no need to spend big money on something that you intend to pour down the drain.

I have experimented with non-painting intended solvents and oils for mediums.  I have used WD40 for the effect of sharp textured painterly strokes of color with oil sticks and oil pastels.  It was probably the best experiment so far, simply because it didn't fall off the canvas in a year.  I take that as a successful test.  

I do not use mediums at the moment.  I have found that if I work my oil-color on the palette, I end up with a consistency that I like to work with.  Working purely with oil paints has its limitations, but we can go over that later.  As it goes with all the arts, the use of mediums and solvents are a personal choice that only you can make.