Art Answers - Recent questions and answers

Answered: What is the min amount of equipment and supplies to set up a studio?

Sat, 12 Oct 2013 04:20:19 +0000

Surprisingly, it doesn't cost very much to set up your own little painting studio. You can get everything you need for under $200 but if you prefer more premium supplies and equipment then it will cost more of course. If your goal is oil painting, for example, then the one thing you don't want to skimp on is the quality of your brushes.

Easel:
For either oil or acrylic painting, you will want to get a reasonably good easel. Although you will be able to find plenty of affordable "A" type easels, "H" frame easels tend to be more stable and sturdy. Typical starter easels will range anywhere from $80-600.

Good lighting. This can be either a bright space if you paint during the day or a good set of interior lights (preferably daylight-balanced) if you work at night.

Paints:
Unless you don't care about the longevity of your paintings, try to get medium or "artist" grade paint rather than student grade. Buy large tubes for: Titanium White and Yellow. Also buy medium tubes of the primary and secondary colors. You can mix any colors you need from those as a base. Some colors will have different consistencies from others so depending on your painting need or style you may need to get additional variations of some of those bases. For example, in oil paints cadmium red will be more opage and alizarin crimson will be more translucent. They both have a strong red base (cadmium being brighter and more pure) but because of their different consitencies you will end up using them in different ways while painting.

Small table:
To hold your supplies while you work. Any flat & stable surface will work.

Canvases:
Most canvases will suit both acrylic and oil paint. Most canvases you can buy from an art store will also be pre-stretched and primed, ready to paint. Be aware, however, that pre-stretched canvas is often not going to be well-suited for future re-stretching and may be of lower quality not suited for archivability. In the case where you care a lot about that, you will want to buy your own unstretched canvas (unprimed with primed gesso) and stretch it yourself onto stretcher bars. This isn't the easiert thing to do, it takes patience and experience to do right, but you gain the most flexibility with your work doing things that way.

Gesso:
Gesso is very important for priming your canvas, whether you intend to paint with oil or acrylic. You can skip gesso if you always buy your canvases pre-primed.

Mediums:
Both oil and acrylic have a lot of mediums to choose from. Different mediums have different uses, some are for extending the paint or improving the paint flow, some are for assisting in creating a base for mxing, some are intended to assist in thinning or glazing, others for texture control (referred to as "impasto") and finally others might be to help in controlling the drying time (whether speeding up or slowing down). At the very minimin you will want a thinner, a mixing medium for glazing, an impasto and finally a varnish as your final coat.

Brushes:
There's a common misconception that painting requires sable or natural-bristle brushes, and they tend to be the most expensive. However, after years of experience I've found the best type of brushes tend to be white synthetic which are interchangeable between oil & acrylic. They are bouncy, last a long time (if you keep them clean), and hold paint really well. They also tend not to lose bristles and easier to clean. They also keep their shape better. The most basic types of brushes to get will depend on your painting style but you'll want to have at least 1 of each of the following: a large/wide brush with stiff bristle, a medium flat brush, a very small flat brush, a small & medium round brush, a small and large fan brush, a small and medium "filbert" brush (it's flat but rounded on the end). As you progress with your painting, you will begin to learn what works best for you.

Pallete knife:
Usually used for mixing paints, can also be used to paint with if that's your style.

Brush cleaner:
For oil paint this will usually be turpentine, for acrylic it will be just water (keep the brushes dipped in water while you're not using them if they're loaded with paint). After you finish your painting session, you'll want to thoroughly clean your brushes with the primary cleaner and then use a soap-based brush cleaner immediately after. Rinse with water and then re-shape the brushes with a way brush soap so that they dry in the proper shape. Before using those brushes again, just dip them in your preferred cleaner and wipe dry with a paper towel or cloth.

Pallete:
This would be a surface that you mix your paints on before brushing them onto your canvas. To keep your pallete re-usable without significant cleaning in-between, clip wax paper onto it first and squeeze out your paint onto the wax paper.

Containers:
You'll want a large container to hold all of your smaller supplies, like paint tubes and brushes, and small/round containers for holding cleaners and mediums for use while you paint. The best large containers look like a tackle box used for fishing. Containers intended for toxic liquids such as turpentine should be glass-based and be carried with care to avoid dropping. Containers for holdign your brushes upright are also useful, giving you easy access to brushes whether they're in use or still clean.

Clothing:
An artist apron is always a good idea, or wear clothes you don't mind accidentally getting paint onto.

Cleaning supplies:
Paper towels, rags and regular towels should always be available before you start painting. Brush soap and turpentine are also important.

Misc:
Pencils, sharpener, erasers

Answered: How can I photography my paintings for web sale, and preserve colors?

Sat, 12 Oct 2013 03:38:24 +0000

If you can afford it, the best option is to have such photos done by a professional. If you prefer to do it on your own, it depends on your budget.

If you have a large enough budget and available space, get yourself a lighting kit with 2 fill lights covered by diffusers and be sure to use daylight-balanced bulbs of 250 watts or greater. Position each light a few feet away from the painting at roughly a 45 degree angle, one on either side. If your painting has a shiny surface (for example, if it's been varnished) then you will want to take care of avoiding glare spots. If you do experience some glare then adjust the positioning of the lights to reduce the glare without creating an uneven balance of lighting on the painting.

As for the camera, mount it on a trip od and point it straight on to the painting. If the painting is on a slight tilt (for example, leaned slightly back on an easel), then be sure to position the camera on the tripod so that it is leaning slightly down enough properly to line it up to match the leaning of the painting. Also, if your camera is a digital SLR, it's best if it is 6 megapixels or greater resolution. Set the picture mode to RAW (if that's an option) since you will be able to adjust color tones and values in Photoshop very easily without losing detail.

Even with that lighting setup, it's also good if you shoot during the daytime to allow for natural daylight as an added abient lighting support.

If you can't affort that lighting setup then your best option is to shoot during the daytime but don't have sunlight directly on your painting - you will end up with unwanted glares and hotspots. Instead, position the painting so as to maximize the daylight as ambient light without it directly hitting the painting. If your goal is for web sale, such as for allowing people to create prints, it is of great importants to minimize glare or taxture shadows that emphasize the texture of the canvas.

If your painting is very thick and you end up with too many unwanted shadows, you will need additional fill lights in yoru setup to help diffuse these shadows.

Lastly, to ensure your photos have the best chance at having the colors preserved, beyond just the use of the RAW picture format if it's available, make sure your color balance options in your camera settings match the environment you are shooting in. Turn off all special effects and use a non-distoring "straight" (non-zoom) lens set with the widest aperature possible. A 35mm-50mm lens is optimal.

When saving the file out, minimize the amount of compression used, with no compression as the best choice if your printer or web sale service allows for that. Also ask the printing service whether including an sRGB color space profile would be necessary when sending the files to them or if you should not include any color space profiles within the image files. They might be necessary if, for example, you were to do photo editing on the images.

Answered: Why do children eat paint chips?

Fri, 11 Oct 2013 21:41:21 +0000

Lead paint, which used to be used before it was discovered to be toxic, has a sweet taste. To a young child or pet, it might taste like candy.

If you have lead paint in your house, don't just paint over it. First strip it completely and then re-paint.

Answered: I'm a beginner. How can I get others to display my paintings?

Fri, 11 Oct 2013 21:36:37 +0000

If you are a beginner that simply enjoys making and sharing paintings, you will readily find family and friends very willing to accept your paintings as gifts to hang up.

If you are a beginner trying to become better-known and mean that you would like galleries to show your work, it does take some time for that to happen and you need to put effort into the process. Galleries don't only look at an artist's style and skill but also like to put up artists that have traction with their work.

A good first step is to enter your work into art shows and competitions and visit lots of local galleries to get a sense of the kind of work they tend to put up. While visiting each gallery, collect the contact information of the gallery owner and research their gallery online as well. Call ahead and ask if it's OK to send in samples and when a good time would be to call. What you want to do is first give a gallery owner a chance to see your work samples and then a fee days later when you know they are not as busy, to speak with them on the phone briefly and and see if they're interested to have you come by for a visit.

It's also going to help if you know somebody who knows the gallery owner and have them recommend you first, before you make your own contact, as that will give you a better chance at a meeting. If you do manage to find a gallery that is interested to put your work up, keep in mind they will usually retain up to 60% commission on beginners for selling the work, 40-50% for artists that are starting to get known. When you begin to become well-known and your paintings easily sell, commissions can go as low as 20% but that's rare and depends on great negotiation skills.

A lot of restaurants are also a good opportunity for showcasing your work - you can speak to the restaurant manager or owner to offer them the opportunity to hang your work in exchange for a small decal next to the work with your name and other information, some even allow a price in case a customer would like to buy the painting. If that happens, expect to share a percentage of the sale amount with the restaurant.

Answered: Should I cover a wet painting at night or during long breaks?

Fri, 11 Oct 2013 21:25:50 +0000

No, never cover a wet painting. It's important to let paintings air dry regardless of the medium. Anything covering a wet painting will create a risk that it gets partially stuck to the paint surface as it dries and will damage the painting when you try to remove it. Simply make sure that where you leave your paintings to dry is dust-free and has good ventilation. Depending on the medium, indirect sunlight is also helpful. Direct sunlight usually is not recommended for long periods of time.

Are there any web sites that teach color theory?

Fri, 11 Oct 2013 15:29:04 +0000

How important is temperature to a studio? Starving artists and old masters painted in winter.

Fri, 11 Oct 2013 15:25:48 +0000

How important is dust control to a painting studio?

Fri, 11 Oct 2013 15:23:48 +0000

How long can you store paint and still have it usable?

Fri, 11 Oct 2013 15:23:00 +0000

I often paint at night. What kind of lighting options are available to help me brighten my work area?

Wed, 09 Oct 2013 00:37:29 +0000

I don't have a good lighting setup and I'm confused about the options. I don't want to spend a lot of money but I also don't want to have an inferior setup. Should I also try to use daylight-balanced lighting or would I spend a fortune replacing bulbs constantly?

Answered: Can I slow down the drying time of acrylic paint?

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 06:13:22 +0000

There are 3 ways to slow down acrylic paint from drying too quickly.

The first way is a studio approach, to always keep moisture on the surface of the paint on your pallette. For example, keep a misting spray bottle nearby filled with pure water and occasionally spray your pallete.

The second way is to mix more water into your oil paints. This will work to keep the painting surface itself from drying to quickly but also dilutes the paint. If you add too much water, the paint may become so diluted as to act more like a glaze for tinting.

The third way is mixing drying retardent mediums into your paint. There are many different brands, but specifically look for medums that specify they are a drying retarder made explicitly for acrylic paints. Depending on how much is added to the paint, it can extend the drying time anywhere from 30 minutes to 12 hours, allowing decent reworkability. However, too much retarder will thin the paint out too much or make it too runny and difficult to paint on an upright surface (like a canvas on an easel).

Answered: Is it safe to use oil paint on top of acrylic paint?

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 06:02:34 +0000

Yes, so long as the acrylic paint underneath has completely dried. Sometimes artists are surprised this is possible but acrylic is actually an excellent surface to use as a base for oil painting - many people who are surprised about this seem to overlook that most canvases and wood panels are primed with a gesso coating that is, essentially, an acrylic medium.

However, a very important point to consider when using oil paints over acrylic is whether the final painting will be varnished or left as-is with just the oil paint on top. If it is to be varnished, there are few (if any) options that would be available and safe to use that will be removable (for future cleaning purposes) and work safely with both oil and acrylic underneath. In that case, either don't varnish the painting on top of such oil embellishments or completely cover the painting in oil paint and allow it to completely dry before applying any coats of oil-friendly varnish.

Answered: What kind of surfaces can I use for oil painting?

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 05:54:50 +0000

So long as a surface is primed properly, oil paint can be used on just about any surface. However, for the sake of protecting the durabiity of the artwork and to avoid cracking or damage, the main kinds of surfaces artists have narrowed down to are panels of wood and stretched canvas. There are different types of wood and canvas to choose from but in all cases the surface has to be prepared primed, also called a "ground", and the most common type of ground is gesso.

The most common type of canvas cloth used for painting are linen and cotton, with linen having a finer texture which allows for finer details without the texture of the canvas affecting brush strokes. Most often when painting on canvas, the material is first stretched onto pieces of wood called "stretcher bars" and then given multiple coats of gesso as a primer. For added archiavility and durabiity, a glue-like medium is used in the initial coat before the gesso layers are added.

As for wood panels, common choices might be playwood, particleboard or fiberboard. You might as why not solid wood as an option? That's because when one side of a solid but thin piece of wood is prepared with a gesso ground, it keeps moisture from penetrating that side of the board, so in different humidity situations the other side of the board will stretch and shink unevenly from the front, causing warps and potential cracking. Pressed wood allows for moisture to "breath" through the wood more evenly and resists warping. There are, however, very specific kinds of solid wood board which can be used that resist warping - e.g. well-seasoned, quarter-sawn and air-dried woods, which also have matching grains front & back to help further minimize uneven warping, but their cost compared to pressed woods may be prohibitive.

Lastly, it is possible to use oil paint on metal surfaces such as copper or aluminum but much greater care needs to be taken when preparing those surfaces.

Answered: Can I speed up the drying time of oil paint?

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 05:31:59 +0000

For standard oil paints, the best way to ensure faster drying is to mix a touch of thinner (preferably mineral spirit which is similar to turpentine) and also painting in very thin layers. This would be a preferred way, for example, to do the very first underpainting layer. Also allow the painting to sit in a decently-lit space with good ventilation but don't put it in direct sublight as it may cause the oil in the paint to dry too quickly and crack the texture. Adding Liquin Impasto can also help with drying time without thinning the paint out very much, depending primarily on how much you add to the paint. Adding oil-based mediums adds to drying time so try to limit your use of such mediums if drying time is more important to you.

Normal oil paint drys within 3-12 days depending on the particular color, brand and thickness as well as how much and what type of medium is mixed with it. For the absolute fastest-drying oil paint, you can choose to use alkyd-based oils which dry very quickly (within 18-24 hours, with re-workability limited to the first 8 hours). To hasten the drying time even more, use Liquin Impasto as a medium to mix with alkyd-based oils. It's not uncommon to achieve dry-to-touch results with that kind of mixture within 12 hours so long as other conditions are optimal (sparing use of mineral spirits, minimal to no use of oil-based mixing mediums, a space with good ventilation and indirect sunlight).

Answered: What is alkyd oil paint?

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 05:21:06 +0000

Alkyd-based oils act like any other oil paints and can be mixed with typical oil mediums and thinned with typical thinners. The main difference is with drying time, accelerating the drying time of the paints dramatically, usually within 24 hours while still remaining workable within the initial 4-8 hours. They are also able to be safely varnished within 30 days rather than upwards of 6 months or longer with traditional oils.

Answered: How does additive and substrative color mixing work?

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 05:01:30 +0000

Colors are all part of the visible spectrum of light, but how you see those colors depends essentially on 2 things: Whether the color is being absorbed/reflected or whether it is observed directly.

In additive color, colors are formed when light of different wavelenghts are overlapped, with all colors overlapping resulting in "white" light.

In subtractive color, colors are formed when light bounces off a surface and you see the light that is reflected, which is what remains after other parts of the spectrum is absorbed. The mixing of all colors will result in the opposite of additive, that is you end up with black.

More information can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtractive_color
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Additive_color

Answered: What kind of paper is supposed to be used with oil pastels?

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 04:50:43 +0000

Although it's possible to just about any paper with oil pastels, it's best to choose one with a toothy texture as well as a thick paper such as 120lb (or heavier) cold pressed paper typically used for watercolor. Given that oil pastels do contain non-drying oil and wax as a binder, thicker paper will alleviate weakening of the paper structure caused by the oil.

Given the non-drying oil used in oil pastels, that is also why it is not a good idea to use them as drawing tools for oil paintings - they will just smear and make it difficult for the lower layer of paint to dry effectively.

Answered: Is it OK to use varnish as a medium in oil painting?

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 04:42:02 +0000

There are many ways to think about this and in the end it boils down to your intent for the painting or who you believe based on their own experience.

Technically, varnish (which is a form of resin) can be included with other mediums to help with specific painting goals - whether to assist in drying, thinning or glazing. However, for paintings intended for long-lasting presentation, it must be considered that including varnish as a medium will introduce an added risk of yellowing or discoloring as the painting ages in years as well as potentially making it more difficult to adequately clean a painting many years into the future - which usually involves removing the top layer varnish coats and re-vernishing. If too much varnish has been mixed into the paint layers below the top varnish layer then removal of that top layer for cleanign purposes introduces the risk of picking up and potentially destroying the paint underneath. Choice of the type of varnish also plays a role - it is better to use "soft" varnish as the top layer coat and reserve "hard" varnish for mixing into mediums sparingly.

If archivabiity and conservation are not of great concern for the painting, then using varnish as part of the medium mixtures is perfectly sound. The main concern for such a use in that case might be the drying sheen of the overall painting as paintings making use of a variety of mediums and paint dilution methods will end up with an inconsistent sheen on the final surface - some areas dull while other areas shiny. A final varnish coat is necessary to then even out the sheen across the whole paiting.

So, to conclude, if you paintings are intended for limited display (such as for commercial reproductions) and have little value for fine art display, art buyers, galleries, etc, then paint however you want with varnish as an added medium if you choose. If, however, the work must last many years and be put up for display and potentially need to be cleaned to maintain its conservation then be very sparing with your varnish usage and be sure to not use a medium mixture that only includes varnish. Always mix it with at least some drying oil so that when it binds with the oil as that paint layer dries, it will have little risk of being picked up during cleaning of any final/top varnish is removed many years later.

A common medium mixture that includes varnish is 2 parts varnish, 2 parts turpentine or mineral spirits and 3 parts stand oil. A small amount added to paint will assist in maintaining a smooth flow while a larger amount will help in creating a translucent glaze for color-tinting effects. An alternative to varnish which doesn't introduce as much tack (an also helps add bosy and texture to brush strokes) is Liquin Impasto, which also helps to aid in speeding up paint drying time as it is alkyd-based and helps create a similar glossy sheen to oil paints.

Answered: What does alla prima mean?

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 02:22:11 +0000

Alla Prima in Italian actually means "first attempt" and describes the process of finishing a painting while any lower layers are still wet. Usually this happens in a single sitting although it's possible to still be considered alla prima if the lower layers are still significantly "wet" before additional layers of paint are added. Although alla prima usually refers to oil painting, it can sometimes be in reference to fast painting methods in another medium like watercolor.

Answered: Is it safe to use acrylic paint on top of oil paint?

Sun, 06 Oct 2013 14:20:50 +0000

No, that's not possible. The acrylic will not bond properly to the oil paint underneath. It will also keep the oil paint underneath from drying properly. Oil takes a very long time to dry. Even old paintings that are many years old are technically still drying.

Answered: What's the best way to store oil paintings?

Sun, 06 Oct 2013 14:18:13 +0000

Always store in a dark dry & clean place.

Answered: What's the proper way to clean brushes after painting?

Sun, 06 Oct 2013 14:13:25 +0000

For oil paint, first clean with turpentine and then soap. For acrylic paint, always keep the brush wet while painting (if not in use, let it sit immersed in water) and immediately after use rise with water thoroughly. While your brushes are still wet after cleaning, be sure to shape them so they'll try to their normal shape rather than frayed.