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Practice -- The Art of Selecting Cave Walls
to Canvas
As an oil painting instructor I'm used to all sorts of questions
from students learning how to paint on the materials of our illustrious
craft. In fact, one of the all time biggies is about what painting
surfaces to use for practice and finished products?
As a new oil painting artist, I quickly discovered the great
need for alternative painting surfaces. I like using canvas, but
mind you, one canvas is not all that expensive, but feeding a
new insatiable habit with two, three or even four canvases a day
can add up. Man has been in the great search for practice painting
surfaces ever since he started doodling on cave walls. Unfortunately,
cave walls are in short supply and they're really, really expensive
these days.
So what's an artist to do? What are our alternatives? What can
I use for practice? What should I use for a final painting project?
So let's just take up with the cave walls and come forward a
few years. Oil is a soft and fatty substance. So the requirement
is that the painting surface must be harder than oil. The short
of it all, you can paint on anything so long as it is harder than
oil. You are limited only by your imagination. With that said,
you want to use a surface that won't change with the weather (warp)
or corrode from the use of oils, solvents and medium. What good
does it do, to paint grandma and grandpa and watch the work warp
in three months?
Seasoned wood, masonite, canvas board or illustration boards
just to name a few, are rigid and great to use as painting surfaces.
They used to be the primary painting surfaces until about 500
years ago when canvas was discovered. The most commonly used painting
surface today is canvas which must be correctly mounted on a set
of stretcher bars which ensures that the entire surface is taut.
A good canvas is equally tight and firm throughout. This gives
canvas its peculiar feel that's softer and bouncier than wood,
cave walls or other rigid surfaces.
As each of us develops our skills and craftsmanship, we get used
to the properties of our painting surfaces. We rely on it. We
may try many surfaces, but we settle down on what we generally
like and become comfortable.
Canvas is popular because its light, rigid, yet elastic at the
same time. Canvas can be made from sackcloth (burlap), cotton
(most popular), synthetic, a combination of materials or even
smooth linen. The texture of the surface of the canvas are rated
the their smoothness, known as "tooth." The coarser
the surface, the more 'tooth' it is said to have. Canvas are available
as economy (rough with lots of tooth), medium, fine (portrait
smooth) and smooth linen. Each cloth can be constructed to any
quality level. Linen is considered to be the best in quality and
therefore sports the heftier price.
A "primed" canvas is one that has been covered with
a solid layer of substance that protects the canvas cloth from
rotting away because of the acidity and harshness of oils and
mediums. In a nutshell, an unprimed canvas will dissolve over
the long term from the acidity inherent in oil paints. The next
time you're shopping, look at the canvas label. It should mention
whether or not the canvas is primed. If there's no mention, than
safely assume the canvas is not primed.
Canvases are typically primed with one of the following: 1. Thinned
glue that does not affect the color of the canvas. Canvas are
typically labeled as either single or double primed, meaning coats
of application. The canvas must dry before the next coat is applied.
Double primed application is best. 2. A compound of rabbit skin
glue and Spanish white or chalk. 3. Acrylic gesso.
It is normal practice for manufacturers to label their canvas
as primed, materials used, degree of material mix if any, texture
and quality.
As a guideline, think of it in these terms. 1. Economy is great
for practice and giving away. 2. Reserve fine for those prized
masterpieces. 3. If you're getting paid, go fine. You can do your
studies on rough, but for the final masterpiece, make sure its
fine.
Wood is an excellent painting surface, however solid wood surfaces
are seldom used anymore. Chipboard, made of wood chips and glue
pressed tightly is becoming popular. Masonite and plywood are
also ideal surfaces for painting since they resist warping and
climate changes.
One idea is to take a sheet of masonite rough it up with sandpaper,
and then coat with a thin layer of a primer. ( I typically use
acrylic or gesso). I'll take a 4'x8' sheet of masonite, prime
it, then saw it right down the 8' foot center. Each half would
then be sawed again at 18" intervals. This provides you eight
(8) 18" x 24" wooden painting boards to use.
The only problem with the above approach is the hard surface.
But if you like hard, this is an excellent tip for securing inexpensive
painting surfaces.
If you're a die hard canvas person, let me introduce you to canvasette
papers. This is canvas paper. In general, papers are unsuitable
surfaces for oil painting, because they just simply absorb the
oils. However, canvas paper is a very thick paper especially prepared
for oils. I therefore use it for practicing. It cuts costs to
well under a buck each. I buy a pad of 16"x20" canvas
paper and mount them onto a 16"x20" canvas with masking
tape or thumbtacks. I paint my heart out, toss or give away and
move right onto the next session. I love this approach as I retain
the look and feel of canvas throughout my practice session.
A third method is purchasing an economy 24" x 36" canvas
and a wallpaper scraper. Paint until you drop, scrape the paint
off with the wallpaper scraper, clean with thinner and you're
ready to go again. You can always divide your canvas into four
equally sized panels with masking tape on the 24" x 36"
canvas.
I love the thought of one day creating a masterpiece on cave
walls that'll be gazed upon for centuries. Until you're ready
for your very own cave wall, try one of these alternative painting
surfaces as you learn to paint and let me know how you fare.
About the Author
Darrell Crow is fast becoming one of America's favorite oil painting
instructor. With his step-by-step instructions, anyone can learn
to oil paint. Guaranteed. Get a free sample of his 2-hour comprehensive
Basic Technique of Oil Painting Water video at http://www.darrellcrow.com/videos.
Darrell's formal education was in Journalism with little emphasis
in art. He is a self-taught artist and studied most popular TV
artists.
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