Page 7 - Mediums
Painting mediums are used to modify the rate of drying, increase gloss, improve flow or add texture, mediums as an additive to color. Working with oils, solvents, mediums, and varnishes for painting requires an in-depth understanding of paint. The wide range of oils, mediums, and solvents to control color makes choices difficult.
Black oil is the classic drying oil made with lead. It improves the handling and drying of oils and can be used in recipes to make megilp, Maroger, and Roberson's mediums and traditional oil varnishes, such as copal. This is the classic drying oil made with litharge (lead oxide). Since the earliest times, litharge was cooked with vegetable oil, such as linseed or walnut oil, to clarify it while removing impurities and imparting faster drying characteristics. Cooking the oil for long periods and at high temperatures allows more significant amounts of litharge to be dissolved in the oil while at the same time darkening the oil. ...
Did watercolorists of the 18th and 19th centuries use mediums to brush and manipulate their watercolors? The evidence shows that they handled their colors differently from contemporary artists today. Here are some historical references on the use of watercolor mediums by British watercolorists of the 18th and 19th centuries...
No paint is known to keep its original color indefinitely. From the moment it is applied, it starts changing color. The only issue is, therefore, the degree to which this color change will take place. The oils and resins used by artists tend to yellow or discolor upon drying and aging. Since oxidation and polymerization are the main actions during this process, we can more or less assume that the oxidized and polymerized molecules are darker in color than the original molecules, and these give yellowing or poor color retention...
There’s a bewildering array of drying oils for oil painting. Where do all the different drying oils come from? How are they different? And how do you choose the right one for your painting...
Gel painting mediums come in a variety of thicknesses and properties, but their primary purpose is to change the consistency or appearance of paint. Think of gel medium as transparent paint so that when added to oil colors, it diminishes the opacity of the color while helping to maintain its consistency. Gel mediums increase the transparency of oil colors without making the paint more fluid, such as when adding drying oil to increase the transparency of a color. This is advantageous when you want a transparent layer of color without making the paint runny...
Formulas for varnishes and mediums call for measurements that are often confusing for artists. For example, in his formula for a glazing medium, Ralph Mayer calls for a “5-pound cut” of dammar (or damar) varnish. How do you know what is a 5-pound cut?
Formulas for varnishes and mediums call for measurements that are often confusing for artists. For example, in his formula for a glazing medium, Ralph Mayer calls for a “5-pound cut” of dammar (or damar) varnish. This measurement refers to the amount of dry dammar resin with spirits of gum turpentine in a ratio called a “cut,” which refers to the amount of resin in pounds dissolved in a gallon of turpentine. This measurement is simple enough to use when preparing your own varnish, but what if you want to use a commercially-prepared dammar varnish, such as Rublev Colours Dammar Varnish or...
