Palettes and Techniques from the Old Masters: Leonardo da Vinci

Look at the colours the Old Master Leonardo da Vinci utilized in his paintings.

We may don't know who the Mona Lisa was or what she’s smiling about, but we will have some concept of how Leonardo da Vinci come up with sombre mood and smoky painting colors that increase her allure.

Leonardo would first create a detailed under painting in a neutral gray or brown, after which apply his colors in transparent glazes on top. Some of the under painting would show through the layers, subtly helping create form. On his palette were muted, earthy browns, greens, and blues within a narrow tonal range. This helped provide a sense of unity to the elements within the painting. No intense colors or contrasts for him, so no bright red for Mona’s lips nor blue on her eyes (although it doesn’t explain why she hasn’t got eyebrows!).

Soft, gentle lighting was essential to his paintings:“You should make your portrait at the hour from the fall from the evening when it is cloudy or misty, for the light then is perfect.” Facial features weren't strongly defined or outlined, but conveyed by soft, blended variations in tone and color. The further in the focus point of the painting, the darker and much more monochromatic the shadows become.

Leonardo’s old master technique of softening colors and edges with dark glazes is called sfumato, from the Italian fumo, meaning smoke. It’s as though all of the edges happen to be obscured by a haze of transparent shadows, or smoke. Creating colors by applying glazes gives a painting a depth you cannot manage applying a color mixed on the palette. Or in his own words: “When a transparent color lies over another color differing from this, a substance color is composed which differs from each of the simple colors”.

For any modern version of Leonardo’s palette, select a small range of transparent earthy colors whose midtones offer a similar experience, plus black and white. Some manufacturers create a range of neutral grays well suited for a tonal under painting.

Titian deal late by legal and financial information

Fundraising for Titian’s Diana and Actaeon continues to be successful, but concluding the £50m cope with the Duke of Sutherland is becoming bogged over legal and financial questions. The initial deadline for the National Gallery of Scotland (NGS) and the National Gallery (NG) in London to sign a firm resolve for buy was 31 December. Both the Duke and the galleries are becoming increasingly frustrated by the delay.

The Art Newspaper can reveal that there have been two difficult issues to resolve. The first concerns assurances within the continued loan from the remaining 26 Bridgewater painting techniques which have hung in the NGS since 1945. They were once owned through the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater and now belong to the 7th Duke of Sutherland.

The Bridgewater pictures in the NGS represent the best private collection of old masters techniques on loan to some museum all over the world. Valued through the Art Newspaper at over £1bn, they include masterpieces by Raphael, Poussin and Rembrandt.

Providing the NGS and NG bought the two Titians (Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto), it was expected how the Duke would guarantee that the rest would continue to be displayed in Edinburgh. It was reflected inside a joint statement he earned on 27 August 2008 using the NGS and NG, stating that “the remainder from the Bridgewater Collection will stay on long-term loan”. The two galleries stated that the period will be 21 years.

Two months later, inside a NG/NGS statement on 29 October, the wording had changed slightly: “we happen to be offered assurances which we hope [our emphasis] will secure the rest of the Bridgewater collection for the next 21 years.”

By now it was clear that the Duke wanted an escape clause, to permit further sales in case of exceptional circumstances. The galleries were concerned that this would negate the idea of a company assurance.

It also emerged that in 2003 the 7th Duke had given what have been interpreted at the time to become verbal assurances that he will make no further sales. This was once the NGS was purchasing Titian’s Venus Anadyomene, valued at £20m. However, there have been no written assurances on this occasion.

Following lengthy negotiations this winter, agreement has become close on the long-term loan from the remaining 26 pictures to the NGS. It's unlikely to be a binding guarantee, but is a strong assurance.
Another issue under discussion may be the second Titian, Diana and Callisto. Assuming Diana and Actaeon is successfully acquired, the second Titian will be offered to the NGS and NG in four years’ time, for “a similar amount” as the first one.

However, this future “option” might have tax implications, affecting the value of the deal towards the Duke. What this means is it has proved hard to finalize the structuring of payment arrangements for that second Titian. Without this agreement, the NGS and NG cannot proceed with the purchase of the first, since a package agreement must be finalized and signed.
Meanwhile the NG and NGS happen to be fundraising for that £50m needed for Diana and Actaeon. Only two grants happen to be announced: £1m from the Art Fund (14 October) and £10m from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (19 November).

The American Friends from the National Gallery, which administers the Getty Endowment, is expected to make a major contribution. Also may be the Scottish Government, that is awaiting the final agreement on purchase terms and loan assurances within the remaining Bridgewater collection; its grant may well be over £10m, possibly spread over a period. The Treasury in London seemed to be approached for a grant, with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, but this is believed to happen to be refused. A number of major private donors are supporting the acquisition.

By 31 December, the NG and NGS needed to be in a position to commit these phones buying Diana and Actaeon, although payments could be spread over four years. Even though only £11m from the £50m had been announced, with private commitments they believed able to proceed. Considering the general economic recession, which intensified soon after the fundraising drive premiered, this represents a major achievement.
Subsequent legal and procedural delays have been very difficult for the NGS and NG, since many from the funders are just prepared to make an absolutely firm commitment once all the questions happen to be resolved.

Neither side would discuss the issues under discussion. Both galleries said they hoped to make an announcement shortly. The spokesperson for the Duke of Sutherland told The Art Newspaper: “The legal negotiations are very complex. Both sides are working hard towards an earlier conclusion.”

Know How to Start in Oil Painting

One of the more frequently asked questions from beginners in oil painting is: How do I get started?

To get started in oil painting is relatively easy. There are some basic supplies that you will need and some basic guidelines to follow. This article will discuss how beginners can get started with oil painting techniques. This article will not teach you how to become a good painter however. In fact, no one can make you a good painter. You can only be taught certain things and it is up to you to take what you have learned and apply it.

Many beginners who are new to the oil painting medium, generally have the same questions. So let’s cover those questions now so that you can begin your painting journey right away.Oil Painting Supplies
The first thing you will need to do is purchase a few supplies. You need not spend a ton of money on expensive oil painting supplies. Start with the basics as you are only a beginner right now. The goal at this point is to get used to working with your support, brushes, paints and other materials. So expensive supplies will be wasted during this stage.

Supports

You are going to need a support to paint on. There are a number of different supports that can handle oil paint, but for now, start with canvas. Many beginners often ask if a canvas needs any special coating or priming for oil paint. The short answer is yes, but you need not worry about that either. Any local art supply store or online art supply store will have canvases that are already primed and ready to be used. Oil Paint
Next, you are going to need paint. You do not need an expensive brand of paint. That would again be a waste for beginners. There are less expensive, good quality paints on the market that will work beautifully for your painting needs.

Here are a few oil paint brands to test out: WINSOR & NEWTON Winton Oil Colours, GRUMBACHER Academy Oils and DALER-ROWNEY Georgian Oil Colours.

For those of you who may be concerned about the potential hazards associated with oil paints, have no fear. Introducing water miscible oil paints! These paints are fantastic. They can be thinned with water as opposed to using dangerous solvents like turpentine. Here are two brands to try out if you are interested: GRUMBACHER Max Water Miscible Oil Colors and WINSOR & NEWTON Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colours.

Oil Painting Brushes

Having good quality brushes is important. While a good quality brush will not make you a better painter, a cheap brush will only wind up frustrating you. When you use cheap brushes you will see why. Cheap brushes have a tendency to shed hairs that get stuck in the oil paint, which is extremely annoying. Good quality brushes should have stiff hairs and snap back into place when you run your fingers through them. They should be well crafted and sturdy.

You do not need that many brushes for oil painting. I personally only use two types of oil painting brushes: flats and filberts of various sizes. I do have a few rounds and a fan brush on hand, but I almost never use them. I would also recommend that you use hogs hair brushes as opposed to the softer synthetic hair brushes. The synthetic brushes are just too flimsy to handle the oil painting medium in my opinion.

Cleaning your brushes is important, so don’t be careless in this area, especially if you are working with high quality brushes. Many artists recommend turpentine for cleaning brushes, but I simply cannot bring myself to use this stuff. I use a much safer brush cleaning product called “The Masters” Brush Cleaner and Preserver.
I clean my brushes right after a painting session with this product and it works wonderfully. It may take some time to really get your brushes clean, but it is worth the effort. If the brush cleaner does not remove all of the paint, then I use a bit of odorless mineral spirits. I find this a much better alternative to turpentine. Oil Painting Mediums

What about mediums? Do you need to mix the oil paint with anything or can you use it straight out of the tube? This is another common question amongst beginners. The answer? You do not need mediums to oil paint with. They are not a requirement, but I find them to be quite helpful.

Most oil paints that I have worked with are simply too stiff right out of the tube for my particular style of painting. Mediums will help dilute the oil paint and make the paint flow better, which means you will be using less paint. Using less paint, means you will save money.

There are many different kinds of mediums that are used for different reasons, like speeding up the drying time of paint, improving gloss, etc. Do not be overly concerned with mediums right now.

I like to start my painting using thinned down acrylic paint. I first tone my entire canvas with a neutral color. I then draw in my composition using different values of the same color. I let this initial drawing dry over night. I then apply the oil paint using the fat over lean oil painting method.

Lighting

This is a very important part of oil painting. Without proper lighting, you will not be able to accurately see your colors. The best kind of lighting is natural sunlight, so if you have the opportunity to paint in a well lit room or outdoors, that would be ideal. Of course not everyone is blessed with this type of situation, so the next best thing is to use lighting that mimics natural sunlight.

This type of lighting is referred to as “full spectrum lighting”. There are number of different full spectrum lighting products available. Just do a search on google for “full spectrum lighting” and you will find a number of websites on the topic.

Safety

Oil painting for beginners can be hazardous if you are not careful, so it is important to take the necessary precautions. Make sure you work in an area that has good ventilation and airflow. Wear disposable latex gloves while painting. Read all manufacturer warning labels carefully.

Some Final Words

As you sit down to start your first painting, remember that you are just a beginner. Your main goal right now is to have fun and get used to working with your oil painting materials. Do not be overly judgmental about your own work. If you do so, you will only wind up getting frustrated. Your first, second, third or even tenth painting may not turn out the way you wanted it to. This is completely normal so do not get discouraged. Oil painting is a difficult medium to master. It takes perseverance so hang in there. I wish you all the best!

Palettes and Strategies of Claude Monet

Consider the colors and methods the Impressionist painter Monet used.

There's two common misnomers about Monet. The first is that, as an Impressionist, Monet’s paintings were done spontaneously. Actually, Monet studied his subjects intently, planned his painting techniques, and worked tough to achieve his results. He often painted a number of exactly the same subject to capture the changing effects of the light, swapping canvases as the day progressed.
The second is that of Monet’s his paintings were done on location. Actually, many were painted or finished back in his studio. Monet is quoted as saying: “Whether my cathedral views, my views of London and other canvases are painted from life or otherwise is nobody’s business as well as no importance whatsoever.”

Colors in Monet’s Palette

Monet used a significant limited palette, banishing browns and earth colors and, by 1886, black had also disappeared. Asked in 1905 what colors he used, Monet said: “The point would be to know how to make use of the colors, the choice of which is, when all’s said and done, a matter of habit. Anyway, I personally use flake white, cadmium yellow, vermilion, deep madder, cobalt blue, emerald green, and that’s all.”

According to James Heard in the book Paint Like Monet, analysis of Monet’s paintings show Monet used these nine painting colors:

• Lead white (modern equivalent = titanium white)
• Chrome yellow (modern equivalent = cadmium yellow light)
• Cadmium yellow
• Viridian green
• Emerald green
• French ultramarine
• Cobalt blue
• Madder red (modern equivalent = alizarin crimson)
• Vermilion
• Ivory black (but only if you’re copying a Monet from before 1886)

So, find out a white, an intense yellow and red, a bright blue and green, and obtain painting! (For more about the colors the Impressionists employed for shadows, see What Color Are Shadows?)Monet’s Utilization of a Light Ground
Monet painted on canvas that was a light color, for example white, very pale gray or very light yellow, and used opaque colors. A close-up study of one of Monet’s paintings will show that colors were often used completely from the tube or mixed about the canvas. But he also scumbled colors - using thin, broken layers of paint which allows the low layers of color to stand out.

Monet build up texture through his brushstrokes, which change from thick to thin, with tiny dabs of sunshine, adding contours for definition and color harmonies, working from dark to light.

Monet’s Series Paintings

Monet painted many subjects again and again, but all of his series paintings is different, whether it’s a painting of the water lily or a hay stack.

In October 1890 Monet wrote instructions towards the art critic Gustave Geffroy about the hay stacks series he was painting, saying: “I’m hard at it, working stubbornly on the number of different effects, but at this time of the year sunset so fast that it’s impossible to maintain it … the further I receive, the greater I see that a lot of work needs to be done in order to render what I’m searching for: ‘instantaneity’, the ‘envelope’ above al, exactly the same light spread over everything… I’m increasingly obsessed through the need to render things i experience, and I’m praying that I’ll have a few more good years left to me because I believe I may make some progress for the reason that direction…”

Enjoble Painting Guidelines

Oil painting is a wonderful medium by itself, but you will find modifiers that you could increase oil paint that can change its behavior.

This information will give you an introduction to a few of the more popular oil painting mediums open to today’s oil painters. Using oil painting mediums is really a matter of taste and not essential. Many artists don't use any mediums at all apart from a bit of oil to create the paint more workable, as some paints are quite thick completely from the tube. Other artists recommend certain mediums. It should be also noted that artists differ on opinion when it comes to the effectiveness and excellence of oil painting mediums, so you should try your personal and form your personal opinion. Make certain before using any oil painting medium that you simply read all warning labels and always work in a highly ventilated area. It is also recommended that you work with gloves to protect the skin.

LINSEED OIL

Linseed oil is made from the seed of the flax plant. During its early history, linseed oil had a different role it has today. Originally it was used as a final varnish for paintings which were created using the egg tempera medium. Linseed oil can be used as binder in today’s oil paints. Linseed oil dries thoroughly and forms a strong paint film. Because linseed oil dries slowly, the paint remains in a workable state, enabling the artist to continue focusing on the painting for some time. When linseed oil ages, it will often yellow unfortunately. Many painters stay away from linseed oil with lighter colors like whites and yellows. Below are a few types of linseed oils that are offered to today’s oil painters.

COLD PRESSED LINSEED OIL

Cold pressed linseed oil is made by extracting the oils from the raw flaxseed. The oil is extracted by using pressure and not heat, thereby developing a linseed oil in the purist form. Cold pressed linseed oil may be used as a binder in oil paints, but can also be used as a medium to thin oil paints, heighten gloss and transparency, and lower the visibility of brush strokes. Many painters and manufacturers alike feel cold pressed linseed oil is superior in quality to other linseed oils since there is no refinement made to the oil. Cold pressed linseed oil leads to a minimal yield, so this oil does carry a heftier price tag.

STEAM PRESSED OR REFINED LINSEED OIL

Once the flaxseed is steam heated after which pressed it yields more oil, thereby making refined linseed oil a more affordable medium for artists as well as for use like a binder in oil paints. The process of steam heating the flax seeds produces more waste, which means this waste needs to be removed via a refinement process. The oil is treated with an acid which removes the spend. The acid will be neutralized by having an alkali solution. Refined linseed oil may be used oil painting techniques and increase brilliance and transparency.

SUN THICKENED LINSEED OIL

Sun thickened linseed oil is really a thick bodied medium that is produced using the heat from the sun. An equal amount of both linseed oil and water are mixed together inside a container and left in sunlight for several weeks or longer. Water and linseed oil eventually separate leading to thicker oil with a honey like consistency. Sun thickened linseed oil isn't used like a binder in oil paints but as an independent medium that improves flow and increases gloss. Sun thickened linseed oil has less of a tendency to yellow and speeds drying.

STAND OIL

Stand oil is a thick bodied medium like sun thickened linseed oil. Linseed oil is heated in a high steady temperature, within an air tight container, which results in an exceedingly thick honey like consistency. Stand oil is advantageous as a glazing medium when mixed with turpentine and dammar varnish. Stand oil helps enhance the flow and it has good resistance to yellowing. Stand oil is really a slow drying medium that produces a strong enamel like paint film.

POPPY SEED OIL

Because linseed oil tends to yellow as it ages, other oils came onto the market. Amongst these oils are poppy seed and safflower oil. Poppy seed oil is extracted in the seeds from the opium poppy. Poppy seed oil is a pale slower drying oil and it is not as likely to yellow in comparison with linseed oil. It is often combined with whites, blues and pale painting colors.

SAFFLOWER OIL

Safflower oil is comparable to poppy seed oil in that they both are suitable for whites and lightweight colors. It has less of a propensity to yellow when compared to linseed oil.

WALNUT OIL

Walnut oil is pale oil that helps make paint more fluid and has good drying power. It's a smaller amount of a tendency to yellow in comparison with linseed oil. Walnut oil has to be stored properly or it can spoil.

LIQUIN

Liquin is a popular oil painting medium. Many artists swear by it which is definitely worth an attempt if you have never caused it before. Liquin improves the flow of oil and alkyd colors helping in subtle blending and depth. It speeds drying and serves as a great medium for glazing.

I hope these statements have served like a good overview on oil painting mediums. Remember that working with oil painting mediums isn't a requirement. If you are feeling adventurous then pick one medium at any given time, experiment enjoy yourself.

Enjoy Painting!