Graphite

This e.book introduces the exhibition ‘Grey Matters: Graphite’ at the Fitzwilliam Museum held in November 2011 – March 2012. The book by Jane Munro provides an illustrated analysis of the many works featured in the show. It includes an historical overview of the material, it’s origins and many uses over four centuries. Graphite

How to Make Oil Pastels

“How To Make Oil Pastels” by Kenneth Leslie -exerpt from Oil Pastel: Materials and Technique for Today’s Artist What You Will Need: Pigment Turpentine Stand Oil Blended White Beeswax A large can that fits in an old pot, to serve as a double boiler Large palette knife Soft clay or homemade modeling dough (see recipe below) Plate glass or plexiglass on which to grind pigments Rubber gloves to protect hands from hot drips ——————- (Recipe for modeling dough) 1 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup salt 1 1/2 cups water 1 1/2 tablespoons cream of tartar 3 tablespoons vegetable oil Mix Read more

Egg tempera on MDF

Eun’s Painting 2011. Support – MDF. Ground – One layer of handmade gesso:  Gelatine and whitening, with titianium white pigment. Paint – Three layers of each coloured pigment, 10 pigments in total Each pigment is mixed with a little titainium white to lighten the tone, as mixing with egg yolk, as well as three layers can darken the colour slightly. Binder – egg yolk and water The images show 1 cm sections of the painting. Sanded paint surface.

Paper: Watercolour Paper

Watercolour Paper Machine-made watercolor papers come in three surfaces: Rough Hot-pressed or HP Cold-pressed (or NOT). Rough watercolor paper has a prominent tooth, or textured surface. This creates a grainy effect as pools of water collect in the indentations in the paper. Hot-pressed watercolor paper has a fine-grained, smooth surface, with almost no tooth. Paint dries very quickly on it. This makes it ideal for large, even washes of color. Cold-pressed watercolor paper has a slightly textured surface, somewhere in between rough and hot-pressed paper. Watercolor paper differs from manufacturer to manufacturer, so experiment not only with the different kinds Read more

Plywood

15mm section of Birch ply.

MDF

15mm section of MDF.

Sanded gesso ground

15mm section of acrylic gesso surface. This surface shows three layers of acrylic gesso. Each layer is sanded to achieve a very smooth even ground for painting. The surprise with this image is the apparently rough appearance of the surface close up. perhaps it needs more sanding..

Gels

Impasto gels are thick gels used to create heavy impasto textures and to give colours more body and volume. They may be used alone, mixed with, or painted over with acrylic colours to impart different sheens and textures to colours. Impasto Gels are flexible and will not crack even when applied in thick layers. They have excellent adhesive properties. painting_materials_lascaux_gels

Acrylic size

Sizing minimizes the penetration of the priming and paint layers to the back of the canvas -making the canvas impervious before applying primer Hydro Sealer is used for sizing or preparing substrates ranging from moderately porous concrete to highly absorbent sand plaster before applying acrylic colours. painting_materials_lascauxproduct_size

Acrylic Size

Lascaux  Acrylic Size Plextol D498 The above are two examples of synthetic materials that can be used in place of animal based sizes. Although they are intended for use in acrylic based systems they can be used in conjunction with commercially produced oil primers although it is advisable to use acrylic primers over acrylic sizes. PVA is prone to deterioration and should be avoided. Acrylic priming systems are easier to use; unlike traditional materials, their properties are predictable, strengths do not vary from batch to batch and the entire process is speeded up.  

Rabbit Skin Glue

Glue Size Rabbit skin glue granules Water Double boiler (or similar) Soak the granules in cold water for at least 2 hours. A guideline for proportions would be: Canvas sizing             1 : 30  (granules : water) Chalk ground              1 : 15 Half chalk ground Heat the soaked solution in the top chamber of the double boiler until the size has melted (no granules are visible). Take care not to overheat and cook the solution, the lower part of the boiler should only brought to a simmer. Apply to the support, hot for hardboard, plywood and MDF; blood temperature for canvas, Read more

Grounds

  Egg / linseed oil emulsion Ground for canvas and panels I Egg Raw linseed oil Water Titanium white (or other) pigment Rabbit skin glue solution (1:30, glue to water) Sized panel (1:15 solution) or sized linen (1:30 solution) Break the egg into a glass jar and shake. Mark the level on the side of the jar and double the existing level with the oil. Again mark the level and double the quantity with water and shake to form an emulsion. This will store for 1 week in the fridge. Put some Titanium white pigment onto a glass slab and Read more

Paper

John Purcell www.johnpurcell.net   Faulkners Fine art http://www.falkiners.com/  

Pigment specialists

A.P Fitzpatrick 142 Cambridge Heath Road City of London, Greater London E1 5QJ 020 7790 0884 http://www.apfitzpatrick.co.uk   Cornelissens & son www.cornelissen.com 105 Great Russell Street, WC1B 3RY   Kremer Pigments http://kremer-pigmente.de/en Kremer Pigmente GmbH & Co. KG
Hauptstr. 41 – 47
DE 88317 Aichstetten
Germany 0049 75 65 911 20  

Gesso ground for panels

Gesso ground for panels   Whiting Glue size (1: 15 water*) Prepare a small quantity of size by soaking the glue granules in water until swollen. Warm the glue in a double boiler or a Pyrex glass basin, until melted. Remove from the heat source. Add a small amount of whiting to the size and stir gently with a brush. Test the mixture by painting onto a piece of waste wood; it should coat it with a milky film. Allow to dry for 12 hours.   Prepare a fresh batch of size (but this time with larger quantities) and melt Read more

Surface Preparations

Chalk ground for panels   3 parts whiting 1 part Titanium white pigment (Optional) 3 parts glue size (1: 15 water)   Sized panel (1:15 solution)   On a glass slab form a well in the centre of the whiting and add the glue size, gradually folding in the powder and work with a palette knife until a firm but glossy paste is formed. If the mixture is too dry it can be adjusted with a small addition of 1:15 glue size, if too wet a small quantity of whiting can be added. The stiff paste can be stored in Read more