Knowledge List of Oil Painting

Simple Steps to Clean an Oil Painting

FROM:oilpaintingtechniquesonline

If you’ve just acquired an oil painting or all ready have several paintings in your art collection and would like to give them a cleaning here are a couple of ways that you can do this. The first method is a way to clean dirt from the surface of oil paintings.
1. Bread- Yes, Bread, one to two loaves unless you have a very large painting you made need more. Sourdough is good bread for this in case you’re wondering.
2. Weather- When the weather is good it’s an idea to take the painting outside or place it on a large drop cloth, be prepared, this method can be quite messy.
3. Scrub- Pull the dough from the inside of the loaf of bread and scrub the oil painting by applying a gentle pressure. As the dough becomes dirty or begins to disintegrate, replace it with a new piece of dough from the middle of the loaf. Continue this procedure until you have covered the entire surface of the canvas.
4. Brush- Take a soft bristle brush, a good quality house painting brush will do, and brush off the crumbs that are remaining on the picture. Be sure you get all the crumbs off or you may end up with an army of ants attached to your painting.
Another method is for cleaning a picture that is painted on an artist board with oil paints.
1. Dust- Use a very soft brush to dust the painting with a very light touch.
2. Soap- Make up a mild solution of liquid soap.
3. Clean- Using a clean, soft rag, gently blot the surface of the painting, removing the oil and grime build up. Work in a small area and do not saturate the painting with the soap solution. Do not at anytime rub.
4. Repeat- You may need to repeat the process again, so be sure to let the painting dry completely.
Painting that are older than 50 to 60 years old are usually protected with a layer of varnish, which requires a solution in order to be cleaned, such as alcohol with a cotton swab. This method however, does not work on oil paintings that are coated with veneer.
Before undertaking any oil painting cleaning project it is best to check the quality of the paint’s ability to adhere to the artist board. Be warned that if the paint layer is very thick and raised from the surface or is flaking on any part of the painting you should avoid cleaning the piece at all, just leave it alone. If the painting is comparatively flat and unimpaired, try using the method mentioned above.
Please do not submerge the entire painting under water. You will end up with a warped, ruined painting. In fact, less is better. The less water you have to use, the better.
There are no guarantees when attempting to clean an oil painting. Depending on the style and techniques the artist used on your painting can determine the end result of your cleaning. Good or Bad.

The Beauty of Black and White Oil Painting

from:oilpaintingtechniquesonline

Every artist that paints with oil paints needs black and white on their palette. These two colors when mixed with other colors create a wide range and variety of interesting and beautiful colors that may not be on your palette or you cannot buy.
When you mix the color white with other colors it reduces brightness while it makes the color lighter it also removes vibrancy. You will find with black that it creates a sort of murkiness instead of darkening. Although black is great when used with yellows in order to produce a wide range of greens.
By adding white to a color you can produce a lighter version of that color, cool a color, or make a color opaque (transparent). The color red is a perfect example of this, when you add white to red you create a shade of pink which is a cool color. When you add white to lighten any color you will notice that the color is not as vibrant anymore and may even look a bit washed out.
When you mix black you tend to get more of a dirty color than a color that is darker. The color Mars black is the blackest black you will find in oil paints and it is also really opaque. There is a lamp black that has blue undertones and ivory black has brown undertones. Using black with different undertones will give you different results when used mixed with different colors.
When using black and white as the only two colors of your oil painting you will find that finished look can be classy compared to paintings of color. The black and white paintings are more pleasant on the eye and the features and feeling are not lost in a hectic collection of colors.
The Chinese are known for painting in black and white. Painting designs of leaves and plants, floral motifs, and their most popular scroll writings.
Another method for black and white painting is done in the form of pencil as in sketches, and charcoal paintings, with the white canvas being the background.
A black and white painting that is well known was done by Pablo Picasso, called Guernica. The painting is a huge mural inspired by the Nazi bombing of Guernica in Spain during the Spanish Civil war and is done in oil.
You will also find folk paintings that are black and white from India. An author by the name of Warli paints tribal art work in black & white and painting of Orissa by Patachitra are also done in black & White.
When using black and white oil paints, depending on the look you are trying to achieve, you have to be careful or your painting can end up looking a bit grey. Creating a painting in black and white is truly a talent. Some of the images that have been created over the years are truly spectacular. Who says you need color to express yourself when painting with oil paints. Black and white says it all.

Antique Oil Painting Restoration can bring you Painting back to Life

from:oilpaintingtechniquesonline

When you think of restoring a valuable painting all of these difficult and entailed procedures may come to mind, but restoring an oil painting or priceless antique can be as easy as dusting it off or applying a new coat of varnish. If a painting is torn or missing pieces of paint, a little more extensive restoring may be in order. You can restore any type painting done from oil or acrylic, and that are on wood or canvas board. You can also restore antiques and furniture.
If you have an oil painting that is in need of repair you have the option of trying to restore it yourself, having it done at a local art store, or contacting an art dealer that specializes in oil painting restoration. Of course, if you’re painting is of extreme value or priceless, it would be wise to take it to an art dealer who specializes in the area of restoration.
A common method for restoring and oil painting is by cleaning. The accumulation of dirt and other debris can leave your painting a mess. Removing the dirt layer by layer can restore your picture to its original order. After it’s been cleaned, adding a coat of varnish will complete the finishing touches to make your painting look like new. The varnish also helps to keep your oil painting from fading and give it a new luster.
If your painting has tarnished, has a yellow cast which may be caused by nicotine tar are varnish, it may require a more extensive cleaning by someone who specializes in this area.
Another way to restore your oil painting is by have it re-stretched or tightened. Over the years paintings that are mounted on wood that are exposed to the elements have a tendency to move and wrinkle. For a somewhat wrinkled art piece you can have it tightened with the use of a stretcher bar. If your oil painting has lots of wrinkles you will need to have it re-stretched.
Oil paintings that are really old have a tendency to lose paint or have scrapes or scratches. Restoring the areas where there is paint loss can be done by filling in the areas of the canvas where the paint is missing as long as the canvas is all intact.
If your oil painting has a tear or a rip this can be a major restoration which involves sanding, patching, filling, and repainting any of the damaged areas to restore the painting to its original version.
You may find with some oil painting that they have been restored at an earlier time by someone who did not know what they were doing. This can create a problem all of its own. If you find this to be the case, take it to an art dealer that specializes in restoration.
There’s nothing like finding an old oil painting and bringing it back to life. If you don’t know what you’re doing, get the help of a professional.

Top 7 Tips for Painting Glazes

FROM:painting.about
AUTHOR:Marion Boddy-Evans

Tips for artists on painting glazes using oil paints, acrylics, or watercolors.
A glaze is simply a thin, transparent layer of paint and glazing is simply building up color by applying thin, transparent layers one of top of another, dry layer. Each glaze tints or modifies those beneath it. So why is glazing something that can trouble, and even threaten, artists so much? Well, while the theory may be simple, putting it into practice takes patience and persistence to master.
If you’re a painter who needs instant gratification, glazing is probably not for you. But if you’re a painter wanting to take your paintings up a notch, glazing will give you colors with a luminosity, richness, and depth you cannot get by mixing colors on a palette. Why is this? In very basic terms, it’s because light travels through all the transparent layers (glazes), bounces off the canvas, and reflects back at you.
Your eyes mix the layers of color to ‘see’ the final color, giving a luminosity you don’t get with a physically mixed color.
Painting Glazes Tip No. 1: Get to Know Your Transparent Colors
Take the time to learn which pigments are transparent, semi-transparent, or opaque. Some manufacturers state this on their paint tubes (see How to Read a Paint Tube Label), but you can also test for yourself.
Transparent colors work best for building up rich, subtle colors through layers of glazes, but this is not to say you shouldn’t experiment with opaque colors. But if you’re just starting to investigate glazing, stick to transparent colors for your glazes initially and keep opaque colors for the initial layers. (How to check if a color is transparent.)
Painting Glazes Tip No. 2: Be Extremely Patient
If you apply a glaze onto paint that isn’t totally dry, the layers of paint will mix together, which is just what you don’t want to happen. Be patient rather than sorry. If you’re working in acrylics, you can speed up things up by using a hair drier to dry a glaze. How soon an oil glaze will be dry depends on the climate you live in and your studio condition; do some sample glazes to find out. The paint must be dry to the touch, not sticky. Work on several paintings at once so you can move from one to another while you wait for a glaze to dry.

Painting Glazes Tip No. 3: Glazes Like Smooth Surfaces
A glaze is a thin layer of paint which should lie smoothly on top of the previous layers. You don’t want it to collect or puddle on any roughness on your support, or rather not when you first start glazing. (It’s something to experiment with once you’ve mastered the basics of glazing.) A smooth hardboard panel or fine-weave canvas is ideal to start with.
Painting Glazes Tip No. 4: Use a Light Ground
Use a light-colored or white ground, which helps reflect light, rather than a dark one, which helps absorb light. If you’re not convinced, do a test by painting exactly the same glazes on a white ground and a black or dark brown one.
Painting Glazes Tip No. 5: Glazing Mediums
Glazing mediums thin the paint you’re using to the right constituency for glazing and, if you buy a fast-drying formula, speed up the rate at which the paint dries. They also solve any possible adhesion problems arising from diluting the paint too much, particularly with acrylics (see How Much Medium Can You Add to Acrylic Paint?). Experiment with the ratio of medium to paint to get a feel for how much to add; too much and you sometimes get a glassy, excessively glossy effect.
Painting Glazes Tip No. 6: Use a Soft Brush
Glazes want to be painted smoothly, without visible brush marks. Use a soft brush with rounded edges, such as a filbert brush. You can glaze with a stiff, hog-hair brush, but it’s not ideal if you’re new to glazing. Flicking over the top of the paint with a dry fan or hake brush is useful way to eliminate visible brush marks.
Painting Glazes Tip No. 7: Unify a Painting With a Final Glaze
When the painting is finished, apply one final glaze over the whole painting. This helps unify all the parts of the painting. An alternative is to apply a final unifying glaze to just the elements in the focal point.