Badger brush set

Badger hair is traditional for making brushes used for blending oil paint, so I broke down and bought this set from Natural Pigments. There is a fan, a round, and two sizes of flats. So far, I’ve just tried the round, but for blending it is just lovely. I had been doing most blending with a synthetic round, and wow! The badger beats that by a mile. Highly recommended if you paint in a style that involves rendering. I wish I’d bought these a long time ago.

#2 Bristle flat brushes

These were cheap, so I bought a few. The handles are nicely laquered in a natural wood color. The ferules are firmly set and double crimped. The brush hairs are well set (flags facing inward), with the annoyance of a few stray hairs that needed trimming. The brushes hold their shape under heavy use and have the right level of resistance when moving paint. These are an excellent value for inexpensive brushes.

Velazquez medium

This is calcite ground with a blend of bodied and refined linseed oils. I’ve made basically the same stuff myself, but it’s convenient to have some already made up in a jar. It’s light gray and the consistency of oil paint. Mixed with paint it adds no color, but makes it more transparent. This is a good medium for velaturas and for making strongly tinting pigments less strong without losing body. I haven’t noticed that it has much effect on the brushing properties of the paint. They have a similar medium that’s specifically for impasto, but that’s not how I paint. This stuff won’t magically let you paint like Velazquez, but it is useful and inexpensive.

What would you recommend as a good source for purchasing canada balsam / stand oil / spike?

First let me note that these are natural materials. Any supplier can get a bad batch. That I got quality stuff five years ago does not guarantee that you will get high quality materials from the same company now. That’s the nature of the market.

That being said, if you want to get Canada balsam, spike, and stand oil, these are suppliers I’d recommend taking a look at:

• Studio Products. I’ve purchased all three of these ingredients from these guys and the quality has been excellent.
• Sinopia. Great pigments and other supplies. They are now the sole distributor for the European art supply company Kremer.
• Natural Pigments. They sell some stuff made by Studio Products and many other art supplies, including a line of oil paints made with some very old-school pigments. They also sell heat-bodied oil in various viscosities. Stand oil is one grade of heat-bodied oil. That would allow you to experiment, if you liked.
• Kama Pigments. They have Canada balsam (at a very good price) as well as oil of spike (which they call lavender oil). I have never ordered from them, but have heard good things from others, despite the truly awful design of their web site.
• Robert Doak and Associates. They have various pre-made mediums, as well as balsam, spike, and stand oil. Don’t let Robert tell you what you have to buy from him.

Note that you should not have to buy a lot of medium supplies, because you should not add much medium to your paint. Unless you are making a lot of paintings, which would be excellent.

Please share any experiences you might have with these suppliers or other places to get these materials.

Some people are specifically sensitive to spirits of turpentine, but are able to use alternate solvents such as oil of spike. Others are very sensitive to aromatic solvents, but are able to tolerate modified substances such as odorless mineral spirits. (I don’t like using OMS with oil paints because I don’t like the way they interact with paint. I also have a slight skin sensitivity to mineral spirits.) Note that not all spirits of turpentine are the same. Most modern gum turpentines are made from boiled tree stumps, which makes a nasty-smelling product. Look for stuff that doesn’t have a foul odor.

But there are some individuals who just can’t be around any of the solvents that are useful for oil painting. And even people with no sensitivity may find themselves taking a class or in some other situation in which solvents are not allowed. I think it’s useful, therefore, to discuss strategies for working with oil paint without solvents.

I’d first like to note that, for the first 100 years of oil painting, there is scant evidence of solvent use. Paintings from that period often exhibit very fine detail, demonstrating that just about any sort of painting in oil is possible without solvents. Since those paintings have often lasted very well (without excessive cracking or yellowing), it also demonstrates that multi-layered solvent-free painting can be done without having to dilute the paint with excessive oil or by egregiously violating the principle of fat over lean.

Water miscible oil paints

I’ve written about these convenience paints before. They are made with oils that have been chemically modified so that they are mixable with water. I don’t use them for three reasons. First, while it is possible to dilute them with water, it’s not a good idea to paint with a lot of water added because that can disrupt the binding strength of the paint. Second, since adding water makes an emulsion, dark-colored paints with water added become a bit lighter, then darken as the water evaporates. Third, because water miscible paints are mostly marketed to amateurs, the paints are mostly not of the same quality as artist-grade oil paints. For these reasons, I personally don’t find water miscible oil paints to be a good strategy for oil painting without solvents.

M. Graham paints

There is one company that has achieved some success by promoting a solvent-free strategy with their products. M. Graham is the only manufacturer, so far as I know, that makes all of their oil paints with walnut oil. They suggest the avoidance of solvents in favor of diluting the paint with walnut oil or with their faster-drying walnut oil alkyd medium. They tend to promote the idea that using their paints, with their special solvent-free methods, is safer. I’ve head of demonstrations they do in which company representatives use their walnut medium to cook with. It’s true that walnut oil is safe, but their marketing is also a bit misleading. All of the other oils used by their competitors are also safe, and you can cook with any of them. While their paints are well-made, there is nothing about them that is particularly more suited to solvent-free painting than any other oil paint. Any of the solvent-free painting methods described in their product literature will work just as well with other brands of paint and with plain linseed oil.

Using regular oil paints without solvents

There isn’t any one approach to solvent-free painting. The most appropriate methods will depend to some degree on your style of painting and which materials you feel comfortable working with. Here are some ideas:

• Use paints that are smooth and creamy, not thick and pasty. Avoid brands like Old Holland and Williamsburg which, while of high quality, are often difficult to work with without dilution. Instead, use paint brands like Doak, Studio Products, and (notwithstanding what I said above) M. Graham. These paints are more like fresh-mulled paint and are far easier to work with without additives.

• For the initial layers of a painting, use lean mediums that contain no solvents. Emulsions using egg yolk, hide glue, and small amounts of oil are very lean and can be effective, fast-drying dilutents for oil paints if you prefer initial layers to be loose and easy to apply. I sometimes make a medium consisting of 3 parts egg yolk to 1 part black oil or linseed oil, for example. It can be slightly diluted with water and, mixed with oil paints, allows free application of a lean underpainting layer. Tad Spurgeon provides this recipe:

If you want to use your regular oils without solvent you can create an emulsion using 1 part egg yolk and 2 parts warm glue solution (3T glue to 2c water, above) and paint with that on panels. The emulsion will set as it cools but still be workable: you can add a bit more water if this feels too thick: warm slightly and shake it well to re-emulsify. You can also add a bit of oil to this (first, before the water) and/or a small proportion of one of the water soluble wax products sold for tempera. You can also emulsify Canada Balsam or Strasbourg Turpentine into this but I developed this for students who paint in community places where solvents are forbidden and felt that might cause problems. I’ve actually ended up like the simplicity of the egg yolk and glue: it sets up very quickly, holding the pigment although the oil is still wet. If you feel like you’re working too tightly you might enjoy a few sketches in this stuff.

• For upper layers of a painting, add very small amounts of oil (I prefer linseed oil or black oil) to the paint in order to get it to flow more freely. It doesn’t take much, especially when using one of the paint brands recommended above.

• Do initial layers of a painting on panel in egg tempera or tempera grassa. You can then glaze over the initial very lean layers with oil paint (to which you can add a small amount of oil when necessary).

• Paint with a wax-based medium such as this one from Studio Products.

• While painting, clean your brushes with linseed oil. Dip the brush in oil, wipe with a paper towel, repeating until the brush is sufficiently clean. At the end of a session, clean your palette with a paper towel dipped in oil and your brushes with soap and water.

• Keep your paint warm. I’m not kidding. Warm oil paint flows a lot more smoothly than cold oil paint. You can keep paint on a glass palette on top of an electric hot plate. Just be careful never to use an open flame or an exposed heating element near oil paint or any solvents.

• You can thin your paint with an alkyd-based medium such as Liquin or Galkyd. I don’t like alkyd mediums for multi-layer painting. I also hate the way they smell, so I don’t use them.

There is no reason why you can’t paint effectively with oils without solvents, although you will have to adjust your materials and methods. You will have some limitations, but they are not so severe that you will need to give up painting in oil.

Mr. Doak says that the primary ingredients in cristallo are leaded glass powder and sun-thickened walnut oil. It also contains small amounts of cold-pressed walnut oil, beeswax, and lead drier. It is based on recent research indicating that 16th century Venetian painters added more powdered glass to their paint than was previously thought, although he makes no claim that this is the “rediscovered” medium of Titian, Giorgione, and Tintoretto. He suggests that it is best used by spreading it thinly onto the surface and painting into it. He also suggests that it is a good replacement for varnish on a dried painting, but I am dubious about that application and have not tried it.

I’ve now painted with it, off and on, for a few months. It is a sort of thick, colorless fluid, about the consistency of ketchup. It is not sticky the way mediums containing resins, balsams, or stand oil tend to be. It is easy to spread very thinly onto the painting surface with a finger (you can feel a slight granularity from the glass powder, but it is barely perceptible) and it becomes more fluid as you move it around (i.e., it is somewhat thixotropic). It is nice to paint on, providing a pleasant, slippery quality to the painting surface. Mixed into paint, it dilutes it slightly and gives it extra brushability. It doesn’t hold brush marks. It does not seem to markedly increase or decrease the drying time of oil paint. So far, I like it. It does not make the paint magically transparent or luminous, but I didn’t expect it to.

If you do use cristallo or any other painting medium, add only very small amounts to your paint—never more than 20% of paint volume and preferably much less than that.

He said that he almost never gets this complaint. He wanted me to know that, when it happens, it does so because he uses very little stearate, which is a clear, inexpensive pigment that paint manufacturers use to prevent separation. It also reduces pigment load and (when used in excess) makes paints more thick and difficult to work with. Cheaper brands of oil paint use a lot of stearate, to improve shelf life and reduce the percentage of expensive pigments in their paint (that’s part of why student grade paint is usually very stiff). I have never been concerned about separation with Doak’s paint, because I know it happens because he emphasizes pigment load and smooth handling over shelf life.

In the original post I said that the way to deal with separation was to squeeze your paint out onto absorbent paper, wait a couple of minutes, then transfer the paint to your palette with a knife. Mr. Doak said doing that over and over might tend to leech the oil out of the paint tube and cause the paint in the tube to harden (I haven’t had that happen). He recommended instead storing any tube of paint with separation issues cap downward, so the oil moves back up through the pigment in the tube. I told him I’d try that and pass on the tip.

I still strongly recommend his paint.

Here are a few of the products from their catalog that I’ve tried.

Lead primer in black oil: this is a perfect lead white primer. It doesn’t dry to a brilliant white, but rather to a pleasant warm tone.

Black oil: This is linseed oil cooked with lead. Black oil is slippery and dries very quickly; it is an excellent component in painting mediums.

Glazing medium: Use this by spreading a thin layer onto the dried surface of your painting, then applying paint thinly into it. Thick and slippery.

Special aged oil: This is a particular grade of linseed oil, excellent for grinding your own paint and for making egg-oil emulsions.

Oil paint: as I said, I have not encountered anything better. It has the kind of consistency you get with freshly ground, homemade oil paint. It is expensive, but note that their standard tube is 50 ml while most of their competitors use 40 ml tubes, so it’s not quite as costly as it looks.

Oil of spike: This is a solvent, similar to spirits of turpentine. Compared to turps, it evaporates more slowly and is more slippery. It has a strong, pleasant smell.

Maroger’s medium: This is black oil and thick mastic varnish. You can buy a pre-made version or one that you mix up yourself (it takes 20 minutes to gel). Added in very small quantities to paint, Maroger’s noticeably improves the handling quality of oil paint.

The company also hosts the Cennini Forum, a place where painting topics are discussed with a knowledgeable and lively group of artists. The moderator is Rob Howard, whose sometimes acerbic style of forum management does not agree with everyone. If you stick around, you’ll learn lots about painting and painting materials.

Actual gesso has been used since the Middle Ages as a ground for painting. It’s made from hide glue and an inert white pigment such as chalk or gypsum (it may also have a stronger white pigment such as titanium white added for brightness). Traditional gesso is a good alternative to acrylic primer if you are painting on panels (it’s too brittle for use on canvas). You can make it yourself, but if you’d rather not go through the trouble, the best commercial gesso panels I know of are made by these guys:

http://www.realgesso.com

Their panels are excellent for oil, egg tempera, or tempera grassa. They are made with 1/4” tempered hardboard spray-coated with gesso made from hide glue, powdered chalk, and titanium white. A 16 × 20” panel currently costs $20.80 USD, which is quite reasonable. They sell a variety of sizes and will custom cut for no additional fee. Smaller “plein air” panels on thinner hardboard are also available, as well as oil-primed linen glued to hardboard.

They will send you a sample for free if you ask. If you’ve been painting on generic primed canvas or making your own supports with acrylic primer, this is a real step up.

In a later post, I’ll provide instructions for making your own gesso panels.

He makes oil paint. It is, unlike any other brand that I am aware of, ground in a blend of linseed and walnut oil. The paint is really good stuff, highly pigmented and very fluid. No one makes better blues than Robert Doak. It is amazingly inexpensive for top of the line paint. The paints are made to maximize quality rather than shelf life, so they often separate in the tube. That’s OK; just squeeze the paint out onto absorbent paper, wait a minute or so for the extra oil to settle out, and transfer to your palette with a knife. It’s worth the trouble.

Robert has no web site; he only recently began accepting credit cards (before that, mail order was done by check, and if he’d done business with you before, he’d mail out your order on the strength of your promise). Robert Doak & Associates, Inc., can be reached at 89 Bridge St., Brooklyn, NY 11201, or by phone at (718) 237‑1210. Call before stopping in, as he’s not there every day. If you are a painter in oil, watercolor, tempera, pastel, or any other traditional medium, you owe it to yourself to get in touch with him. When he goes, there won’t be any more.

Updated information on Robert Doak’s paint here.