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(brian baade)
Hi
I am going to answer both of you questions in the same post.
You mention the experimentation with “oil
butter” and sand as texturizers. That is certainly valid, but it seems
to me putting the cart before the horse in terms of learning to paint. This is
not to say that such experimentation is useful, it is and please learn as much
as you can. Store that info away for when you want to express something that
requires those effects.
My response below is how I would answer one of my students
at the university if they asked about learning to paint in oil. There are many
who would think that my answer is overly traditional or restricting. However, I
am responding about how to begin learning to paint in oils, not how to become
an artist. These are not mutually exclusive in any way , but they are different
questions.
While this may seem strange for me to write since my forte
is on technical issues in painting, I believe that people who are just beginning
to paint should just focus on painting as many works as possible, without getting
bogged down with technical issues. I mean quality practice, striving to achieve
the best work possible but not obsessing on the same work over a long period of
time and certainly not trying to use some rarified paint additive or super
expensive substrate. You will eventually realize that these early works are
just steppingstones to developing a skill. Don’t treat them as precious at the beginning.
They are more like a young pianist practicing scales, not the rudiments of
creating a symphony.
If you are interested in representational art, even if you
have no interest in realism, I suggest that you try to paint from life at least
for the short term. It will never hurt your art in the long run.
Also, either use paint as it comes from the tube or with a
minimal addition of solvent. Try to accomplish the work in as few layers as
possible. Make additional versions of the same composition if necessary. It is
preferable to make many, many paintings when you start rather than trying to perfect
a few. It takes a lot of experience to become adept at painting. Do not waste
your time trying to perfect your works at the beginning. As you develop, you
will see those early works as what they are, initial attempts. It is better to
move on and see gradual improvement. If, as you improve, you find that you absolutely
“need” some additional paint medium on later layers, use a commonly available
alkyd oil mediums or some stand oil or linseed oil thinned with an appropriate
solvent. When you have developed an understanding of the possibilities of oil paint
handling you can experiment with the addition of small amounts of other mediums
for special effects. That is in the future, so please ignore this subject for now.
At first you probably do not need the highest quality paint
although you should transition to better lines as soon as you develop some
control of the medium. You should use good quality brushes; they do not need to
be very expensive, but they should hold their shape. You mention taking a
painting class. Get some experience there and come back with more technical
questions after you learn how the medium moves and develop some skill in color
matching and paint manipulation.
Please take the above in the manner in which it was meant, as
my honest advice. I have seen so many neophyte painters get bogged down trying
to get the best oil primed linen, the “perfect”
painting medium, and a collection of kolinsky sable brushes, that they became to paralyzed
to actually learn how to paint.
Finally, I do love the subtle and sometimes not so subtle
differences that quality paints, different additives/amendments, etc. can add
to paintings. Let’s talk about these in the future.
