Take It To The Next Level

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Comment by Laurel Sternberg on November 13, 2011 at 3:53pm

I wouldn't use all that white ( Alan's 80/20 idea) in a glaze. It will make the color either icy cold or your painting chalky. You can either thin an acrylic with water or use a clear glaze medium, to which you've added your color. 

In oil, as I said before, I work wet into wet, so I'm not glazing. You can always glaze on top of work which has dried, but I recommend oiling down the dried area first. Then you can spread a thin, transparent color. If you haven't gessoed the canvas to a very smooth surface, a dark glaze may reveal the texture of your canvas.

I love working on a very smooth surface, except that then you see every dust mote, brush hair, and cat hair. It's not a perfect world.

Comment by Christine Rossi on November 13, 2011 at 11:15am

Glazing techniques vary depending upon your medium:

Acrlyic:

Creating fluid paints

Fluid paints can be used like watercolors, or for glazing and washes. To create a more fluid texture, water is added to the paint. The ratio of paint to water depends on how thick the glaze is expected to be. An opaque glaze or paint consists of more paint than water, and will give a more solid color. A translucent glaze or paint will be the opposite, consisting of slightly more water than the opaque version, and will have a smoother texture. Translucent glazes show more of the colors underneath the paint compared to opaque glazes. Artist Keri Ippolito advises that the paint should be watered no more than 50 percent or the paint will not stick to the canvas.^[3]After mixing the paints, allow time for the air bubbles to rise to the surface. This will be crucial in many techniques, especially in pouring paints.

[edit]Painting glazes

Acrylic paint glazes are often used to create more depth in an image. These types of paints are light enough when brushed onto canvas to show the layers underneath. This technique is commonly used to create more realistic images. Light colored glazes also have softening effects when painted over dark or bright images. Artists can mix glazes themselves, or can buy pre-mixed acrylic glazes.

It is best to wait for each layer to dry thoroughly before apply another coat. This will prevent the paint from smearing or leaving unwanted smudge marks. After the application of several layers, rubbing alcohol can be brushed or sprayed on to reveal colors from earlier layers.^[4]

Oils: 

In oil painting, the simplest form of a glaze is a thin, oily, transparent layer of paint spread over the top of an opaque passage that has been given some time to dry. Light travels through the glaze and is reflected back off of the opaque layer below. This can cause a glowing effect similar to looking at a brightly lit white wall behind a film of colored cellophane. The thin oily layers of a glaze can facilitate the rendering of details that would be more difficult with opaque paints -- e.g. the complexities of skin tones.

When multiple layers of glazes are used, the colors in all visible layers can appear combined. However, the pigments are not physically mixed, since the paint is left to dry before each successive glaze is applied. The artist may apply several layers of paint with increasing amounts of oil added to each successive layer. This process of applying the fat layers (more oil in the painter’s medium) over the lean layers (less oil) can minimize cracking; this is the "fat over lean" principle.

Many painters juxtapose glazes and opaque, thick or textured types of paint application (that appear to push forward) as a means to increase surface variety, which some painters feel increases a painting's drama, brightness and depth.^[1]

reference: Wikipedia

 

Comment by Anthony Clark on November 9, 2011 at 9:04pm

Thank you Laurel,

 

By the way I love your musician paintings and all of your portraits.  You capture your subject in a very relaxed body gesture.  Very different than the usual stoney look of a prortrait.

Comment by Laurel Sternberg on November 9, 2011 at 3:12pm

Hi Anthony, I'm self taught, so my answer may not be academically correct, but I do paint a lot. I call a transparent layer of color a glaze. It's the only way I can achieve a smooth blend in acrylic. If you look at the musician paintings on my page, they're all acrylic, maybe 40-50 layers. In oil I work wet into wet. I keep the paint wet with slow-drying oils, so I don't have to glaze. Oil has been berry berry good to me.

Comment by Anthony Clark on November 9, 2011 at 12:41pm

This may be a very basic question but I keep coming back to it.  What is "glazing?" Is it putting an art piece behind glass or adding a shiny layer to your artwork?  I think it has some entirely different meaning in pottery. Thanks for any help offered.

 

Comment by Chantelle Grenke on October 27, 2011 at 2:57am

Greetings, please consider me a diamond in the rough, yes coal, but I am very shy about my visuals especially to open up about the meanings behind my work as it is personal.  Ironically after many years of creating for my family and self, this past year has had me expressing a substantial body of work, digital and hand drawn illustration.  All this growth has me plateauing without the help of others viewing my stuff and sharing their experience and learned knowledge.   I have taken a big step and committed myself to public showcase of my visuals at a local library and will be hosting my own art filled afternoon.  Any suggestions on simple preparations for a first timer and maybe some things to keep in mind so I don't lose sight of the purpose of my out reach which is simply to share what is meaningful to me in life, and the joy and personal depths I've experienced through connecting through art.

Comment by Jacob Pinto on October 24, 2011 at 2:45pm

I found that the only way to know a medium is to test it over and over. I love the fact that you're moving from one to another it is a POSITIVE approach, don't limit yourself  - explore.

Comment by Laurel Sternberg on July 21, 2011 at 12:46am

I layered when I used acrylics, but now in oil I work ala prima, by which I mean I lay down a good layer of paint and add into it while it's still wet.

The master who taught me to use clove oil (lancerichlin.com) answered my dull darks question thus: Varnish the painting a year later. Even if it WAS the clove oil, it's not worth losing the benefits of clove just to have shiny darks for a year. You might try a better brand of paint. Cheap paint dries duller in the darks. The surface may be covered with gesso and charcoal dust before you start painting----rub it down first. You should oil out the surface as well before applying paint. But really nothing I do prevents dulling. I just have to varnish in a year. Soluvar is a great varnish, slow drying so it doesn't leave droplets ( it self levels).

Comment by Karleen Loughran on July 20, 2011 at 12:52pm

I use one third de natured turp, one third damar varnish and one third linseed oil.  I am pretty happy with the results!  I stretch my paints because I layer a lot and transparency is key to the work I am doing.  I used to use wax, but my paintings started to peel!!! Very embarrassing!  I liked the way it made my paints transparent but was still very thick!

Comment by Laurel Sternberg on July 19, 2011 at 11:45pm

Thanks so much for your input, Christine.

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