Painting in Oil - Sentiment

The picture of a country doctor keeping vigil beside the bed of a young patient in a coma, with the distraught parents standing helplessly by, has a direct appeal to sentiment. The drama that this picture portrays is a very poignant one that is experienced by many families at one time or another. It is very easy to identify oneself with the circumstances, and a feeling of sympathy is readily induced. One can furthermore admire the skill and craftsmanship with which this lifelike scene was painted. But is it art?

This picture is obviously trying to tell a story, and, as such, falls into the category of what we call "illustration." This kind of painting pre-empts the function of the writer, but starts out with one serious disadvantage. It cannot have a plot, such as the writer's story does. We are kept in the dark as to the outcome of the painter's story, and are destined never to know whether the child survives the crisis. Our interest in such a picture cannot be sustained for very long. Once we have finished admiring the painter's skill and exhausted our fund of sentimental curiosity, our attention wanders; and we may never notice the picture again, except in the idlest way.

Protecting Yourself From The Elements Out-of-Doors

When working out-of-doors it is naturally desirable to protect oneself from the heat and glare of the sun. Some seek the shade of a tree; others use an umbrella or wide-brimmed hat. But for some unaccountable reason, many beginners have a tendency to put their work in the shade as well. They turn their easels so that their canvases face far away from the light which makes it hard to see what they are doing. This appears to be an unconscious maneuver on the part of students, and I have never been able to discover why it is done.

While it is true that to turn the canvas into the full glare of the sun may prove difficult on the eyes, as well as cause the paint to soften and run, there is nothing to be gained by working in the dark. Adjust your easel in such a way as to permit the light to fall on your canvas, sort of midway between sun and shade.

What is remarkable about the Color Wheel

What is remarkable about this Color Wheel is the fact that all the colors shown here came out of just five tubes of paint, plus white. Nor is this all that can be accomplished with these few colors, for the range of hues possible from different combinations is almost infinite. The reason we stick to these tubes of paint (alizarin, ultramarine blue, viridian, cadmium yellow light, and cadmium red pale) and do not include such colors as black, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, umber, etc., is that the principle of the Color Wheel is based on that of "prismatic colors" (those which occur in the atmosphere)^ in which the heavier earth colors, such as ochre, sienna and umber, must naturally be excluded. This is obviously also true of black.

Yet, as you can see in the Color Wheel, it is possible to achieve hues strongly resembling the earth colors, while a combination of alizarin and ultramarine will combine to make a more intense black that is at the same.

Follow the rules as much as possible, but don't be rigid about it. Common sense and your own feeling for color are your best guide in resolving any discrepancy between what the rules say you should expect and the results you get. Consequently, when mixing two primaries to get your secondary color you have to take into account the fact that different tubes of paint don't all have the same tinting strength, so that more of one primary is sometimes necessary to produce a satisfactory secondary color. Here again I must remind you that tubes of paint include several other ingredients besides color, and (particularly in the more costly cadmiums) manufacturers will be more sparing in the use of certain pigments than in others.

Painting in Oil: The Palette

As for how to hold the palette, there seems to be some confusion about this. The thumbhole in the palette is a carryover from oldfashioned techniques of painting. It serves no real purpose in present-day work. The most convenient way of painting is to place the palette on some box or cabinet of about table height. Then the hands are free to occupy themselves with brushes, knife, and paint rag. And it generally makes for more comfortable work.

Some people, however, like the feel of holding the palette in the traditional way. If it will make the beginner feel better about his work, then there's no harm in it. The palette is balanced on the left forearm (assuming the painter is righthanded) with the thumb jutting through the hole from underneath. Brushes, knife, and cloth are clutched loosely together in the fist so that any of them can be withdrawn as needed.

Painting in Oil: The Brush

Brushes should never be held as one would a pen or a pencil. This only makes for tightness of work and brings the painter up too close to the canvas. It is best to hold the brush lightly between the finger tips, an inch or so below the ferrule. Balanced this way, the handle of the brush rests against the heel of the palm.

The idea is to treat the brush as though it were an instrument (which it is, but which a lot of people seem to forget) responsive to the most sensitive of impulses from the painter. There must be freedom in the stroking of the paint. When the motion comes from the shoulder it eliminates the possibility of niggling work.

Painting in Oil: How to Sit

If you're tired, or for any reason find it difficult to stand, then, of course, you must sit. But if you have to sit, try using a high stool if you can. There is a definite advantage in this. For one thing, when you're sitting too comfortable in a chair it's not so easy to get up often to move back for a better look at your canvas. It must be remembered that no one looks at a painting at close range unless he is terribly nearsighted. Most people stand off from a work of art in order to judge it in the totality of all its parts. Too much sublety in the painting, especially in the early stages of development, will be lost on the viewer.

Painting FLowers: Peonies

Peonies. Strength is added to this harmony of pale pink peonies by the deep wine red of the flowers in the foreground. The luminous delicacy of the petals is suggested with undefined shadows in an atmospheric violet-blue.

Detail is kept to a minimum. The cool pinks consist of alizarin crimson with a great deal of white. The warmer blossoms at the left were painted with white and vermilion. Alizarin crimson and ultramarine produced the deep red. There is a touch of Mars violet in the darkest shadows.

The background is kept evanescent, using chiefly white with some Prussian blue and umber. For the bowl, ultramarine is the principal color.

Primulas. In early spring, a pot of white primulas was set in a pale pink bowl. The graceful upward thrust of the long stems from their thick bed of large, green leaves formed a lovely natural design that cried out for paint.

The plant was painted just as it stood. It needed no changes to make an interesting composition. The blossoms are pure white with a little greenish shadow. Some strong white impasto was added with the small palette knife.

A soft pinkish background, made with burnt sienna and white, created a pleasant harmony. Stronger values in the foreground were produced by adding a little Prussian blue to the burnt sienna.