I love the smell of turpentine in the mornings.

The characteristic piney licorice aroma always conjures up fond memories of my art school days. As soon as you got to the second floor the bouquet of turpentine, linseed oil and charcoal told your senses that you had arrived in the painting studio and something creative was happening.

Nostalgia aside the main reason I have turps in my studio is that I still feel it to be the best diluent for the type of oil painting I do and wish to pursue. I like the “open time” speed of evaporation and how it works with a painting medium of oil and varnish. Being a stronger solvent, I tend to use less in my medium mixtures.

So let’s talk a bit about solvents especially turpentine and why there is so much conversations about it's use. Solvents are used to thin or dilute oil color in the making of painting mediums, and the cleaning of brushes. No matter what type of solvent you use, it should be used with care and exposure should be kept to a minimal. There are some ordinary, common sense precautions that you can take to reduce your risks.

Solvent Protocols

1. Just because you do not smell it, do not assume it is safer.
2. Just put a lid on it. Keeping solvents covered will reduce the amount of harmful vapors in the air. Cover all containers, bush jars, medium cups, and cap the bottle. Even if it is for a short period of time.
3. While cleaning brushes use as little as possible, less solvent means less fumes. I use Odorless Mineral Spirits (OMS) to clean brushes and Distilled Turpentine in my painting mediums. Using a small metal brush washer with a lid or a small narrow mouth jar will work. Unless you’re painting with large brushes why have a coffee can of solvents open? I wipe the excess paint off my brushes before immersing and swishing them in my brush wash. Rinse, Repeat… If you can, use two small containers, one for “gunk” a dirty first rinse and a second cleaner rinse. You will be surprised how much cleaner your brushes stay. This keeps the solvent strength up longer because it is less diluted with paint residue.
4. While painting, again use as little as possible. Avoid large “washes” of pigment with solvents, too much solvent will cause a poorly binded paint film that may not adhere to its support or to additional layers of paint. Over thinning can be avoided by the use of mediums in addition to solvents.
5. Ventilation, set your studio up where you can open a window and get some type of cross draft going, if needed use a box fan to exchange the air in the room.
6. If you use OMS or Turps, buy art quality solvents, they are more refined and usually less odorous.
7. And finally do not bath in it, drink it or wear it like a cologne.

I had to add in number seven because I am just not sure what people are doing with solvents, especially turpentine that makes it a recurring topic of concern in art forums and blogs. I recognize that there are those individuals that are sensitive to turpentine, and there are manufacturers with alternative products that want to grab some part of the art materials market. But the truth I feel, that the issue is with protocol number four, the confusion of solvents with painting mediums.

Oil paint is essentially one or more pigments combined with a binder (the oil) and a diluent (such as turpentine). Using solvents alone to thin oil paint you run the risk of under binding your paint, leaving a dry matte finish that may not adhered to its support and additional layers of paint. You can paint using oil alone but it is a rather sticky surface to deal with in successive layers of paint. Even for the initial lay in of a painting, it best to use a combination of oil and solvent and use the smallest amount of medium at all stages of a paintings development. I think I will save the topic of mediums for later.

 "Don't be afraid to use pigment.  Avoid excessive

turpentine and varnish."                                                                                                             Aldro T. Hibbard

Solvents for Oil Paints

Turpentine – Pure Gum Spirit Turpentine is distilled from the sap of pine trees, used in the production of oil paintings, as a diluent for oil paint, as a ingredient in painting mediums and as a diluent in varnishes.  Notice the use of the word diluent as in “thinning” meaning to make more fluid and brush more readily. Anything we add to paint is about changing it's viscosity to change its flow and handling. While (most importantly) without over thinning the mixture so that we maintain a paint film when the pigment goes through its chemical changes that we refer to as “Drying”.

Evaporates completely, excellent solvent for resins such as dammar.

Mineral Spirits - Odorless Mineral Spirits (OMS), White Spirits, are all a petroleum based product, used as a cleaner for tools and brushes. They have a slight to no odor but still contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and should be used with adequate ventilation. Odorless mineral spirits does not dissolve dammar varnish, so it will not dilute dammar varnish mediums. It is suitable for thinning oil colors and cleaning brushes, can be used in making and thinning painting mediums that contain stand and sun-thickened oils. However I would recommend artist grade OMS for making oil mediums such as Turpenoid from Weber, Sansodor from Winsor & Newton and Gamsol from Gamblin Colors are quality low odor solvents that evaporate slowly and increases blending time. 

If you decide to go with the hardware store solvents just be aware that paint thinner and mineral spirits are not the same thing.  Paint thinner is mineral spirits, but in a less refined form. It is usually washed or reclaimed solvent that may contains other types of solvents and additives which makes it a lot smellier and more volatile. Back in my sign painting and billboard days we avoided painter thinner altogether because it caused enamels and oils to become gummy and drag when brushing. I don’t even use it to clean brushes because of my experiences with it as a paint reducer in lettering enamels. Truly the last thing anyone would want in the paint film of an object of art.

Oil of Spike Lavender - A colorless or yellowish aromatic oil extracted from the European broad-leaved lavender, or aspic (Lavendula Spica). It is used as a diluting in oil paints and in the making of painting mediums. It's use historically dates back to the 15^th century. I have had no experience with this solvent but have read about it many times and I'm curious.

Citrus Based Solvents – Are an alternative to mineral spirits and odorless mineral spirits.

They are listed as made from food-grade citrus peel oil and can used to clean brushes and dilutes oil paint. It is considered a non-toxic, non-flammable solvent. My experience with this product was brief, it's reaction as a solvent was very weak but mainly I disliked the orange smell so much I decided I'd much rather become a Turp Huffing Zombie.

Solvent Free - It is possible to eliminate turpentine and paint thinner from the studio all together. You can dilute and manipulate oil paints viscosity with oil alone as a medium, Linseed, Poppy or Walnut Oil work well. Oil paint can be used just as it is, no additives and depending on your painting style this may be the perfect solution.  I recommend if you’re a beginner with oils just keep it very simple and work with paints only and the bare minimum of solvents and mediums to start. After all, we are oil painter’s not medium painters?

Oiling Brushes - After art school, I happened into a career painting pictorials for the outdoor industry, mural sized images on billboards. We worked in oil colors (I loved the artist oils of Dana-colors, produced and developed by Charles Dana a scenic and mural artist) and bulletin colors, a high quality sign enamel.

 As I went through training in their studios I was surprised to learn the method of producing these images was with tradition artist oils and techniques, on large panels and later vinyl canvas of 14 feet tall by 48 feet long.  It was traditional painting and illustration at a industrial scale, portraits ten feet tall and landscapes forty eight feet long, where you often found yourself literally standing inside of a maze of abstract patterns, passages of colors and splashes of paint. We mixed oil colors by the quart and gallon and used high quality hogs hair brushes, I especially liked Scharff finches and Corona sign cutters. Many of more delicate lettering brushes, grey squirrel quills and sable flats would run up to a small fortune.

Bulletin Pictorial oil and enamel paint on metal panels 14x48 feet © Jim Serrett
Advertiser United Colors of Benetton USA 

I produced literally thousands of pieces of advertising art this way and never cleaned a single brush. The method was to give them a good rinse in OMS and then oil the brushes, lay them flat in trays or roller pans containing oil. We used several different oils, mineral oil, castor oil, olive oil, baby oil, just about any light-bodied oils would work as long as it would rinse out entirely with your solvent. I used non-detergent motor oil for years without any ill effect, these days there are so many strong detergents and other additives put in oil I have to hunt for one I can use. Traditionally sign-writers stored brushes in lard oil which had a tendency to attract pests. The idea is that once you rinsed out your dirty brush you would stoke it through the oil then shape and lay then down in the pan covering only the bristles with oil until next needed. It is still the best way I have found to preserve brushes, walnut or mineral oil are probably the best option today, and there are a few niche commercial products like Xcaliber and Sapphire Brush Oil which are actually formulated for this use.

Medicinal Elixir A brief History of Turpentine - Turpentine has been used by artist in oil painting for nearly 700 years. What most people do not know is that turpentine has been used medicinally since ancient times, as both topical and sometimes internal remedies. Some very fraudulent and others quite genuine such as Vicks Vapor Rub still contain turpentine in their formula. The majority of these products from the turn of the century fall into the category of “Snake Oil” concoctions, tonics, elixirs, liniments and salves all of which claim some restorative, rejuvenating power or cure-all often supported by pseudo-scientific evidence. Most were combinations of grain alcohol, turpentine, and kerosene with sugar, molasses or honey used to mask the taste. A product called “Turpo” sold as a cold remedy advertised, “ Snuff a little Turpo up the nostril several times a day and the flu germ will have little chance of getting a lodging and breeding place.”

One of my favorite is Hamlin's Wizard Oil Medical Elixir.

Hamlin's Wizard Oil was an American patent medicine sold as a cure-all under the slogan "There is no Sore it will Not Heal, No Pain it will not Subdue." Taken internally it was used as treatment for intestinal parasites because of its alleged antiseptic and diuretic properties, and a general cure-all. It was made of 50%-70% alcohol containing camphor, ammonia, chloroform, sassafras, cloves, and turpentine, and was said to be usable both internally and topically. So to run down the history of turpentine, it has been used as chest rub, inhaler for nasal and throat ailments, as a treatment for head and body lice, whooping cough, asthma, bronchitis, sore throat, dyspepsia, a topical for abrasions and wounds, taken internally in all forms and formulas professing all sorts of benefits. 

Oh, how times have changed.

Come on, who doesn't want Wizard Oil in the studio?

I will reiterate, all solvents have inherent risks, use reasonable precautions and avoid unreasonable fear. Studio safety is about good habits and methods.

 Explore - Question - Learn - Enjoy, Jim

I have several links for this topic, anyone interested in oil painting and its methods should spend some time looking at the resources at Winsor Newton, and  Gamblin. Artist Colors.

These are quick links to the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the major solvents we have been talking about.

Odorless Mineral Spirits MSDS

Gamsol MSDS

Distilled Turpentine MSDS

Turpenoid

Underpainting Techniques, Demonstration Three, Wood Poppy

The “wipe-out-method”, ( Bistre Method.) with the layered approach.


First Image: Click above image for larger view.

I start the image by covering the white canvas with an overall thinned mix of brown made from umbers, almost a sepia tone. I lift out areas to build lights, and add more brown for the darker tones. The lightest lights are the white of the canvas instead of white pigment. I begin simply stating the pattern of light and dark, and editing them by wiping out and adding pigment back in as I refine my underpainting. Once I have my basic structure and design stated, I can proceed with a number of methods. You can have underdrawings that range from summary sketches to highly finished compositions. I could continue refining the underpainting with more browns, or move to more opaque paints of white and grey (Grisaille) developing a full monochrome underpainting for later glazes. Or work directly on top of this with full color.
My intent is to incorporate a little of all these indirect painting methods in this image. But the majority of this image will be done in a layer method.


Second Image:

When working in the layered method, a great deal of alterations (color modification and redrawing) can be done throughout the painting, and uniquely, one can easily incorporate different effects with transparent, semi transparent (glazing and scumbling) as well as opaque paints.

I refine the background with more opaque paint, keeping the edges soft and atmospheric.
I will want to merge the bottle neck with the cast shadow on the wall, but need to state the areas around it, to give myself good references
I begin to thinly model the darkest areas of the bottle to help better judge the lighter translucent parts of the bottle. I restate the petals with flake white. I want them read as a solid surface and later to have some texture.


Third Image:

I concentrate on bringing as much finish to an area as I can, relating one area to another, working the image as a whole, looking for more accuracy in shapes and color notes.
In each layer I bring the image a little more into focus, reexamining and correcting problems as I zero in on the finish I want.
That may sound contradictory, but the goal is to accomplish as much as one can at each sitting and paint layer, yet bring the image together as a whole.
The Wood Poppy, I work-up with color and some thicker impasto strokes, the stem and leaves get a glaze of greens with some opaque highlights.

Finished Image: Wood Poppy - 8”x10” - Oil on panel.



I continue working the image with layers by bringing areas into fuller focus.
Keeping in mind lost and found edges, where do I want things to be a bit softer (blurred), and harder (sharper). The pedals get some heavy sculpted brush strokes, and the bottle receives some glazes to unify areas and soften others. I build up paint in the highlights with some impasto strokes.
I’m pretty happy with the piece at this point and I think I’ve answered most of the visual problems set before me and will probably consider it finish.
However I really like to set a work aside for several days and look at it with a fresh eye before it gets the finishing signature.

For a visual explanation of this process click the video below.




A couple of notes:

The layered method really requires the painting to dry between layers and sittings. So a fast dry medium works best, I used Maroger Painting Medium in this work. But there are many other medium choices, 1to-1to-5 of linseed, dammar and turps will work just fine. Just work thin to thick, lean to fat and when using mediums, less is more.

In all of these underpainting exercises I chose to use flowers in a small format. Keep in mind, if using perishable items such as these you will need a good drawing reference or a resource to replace the flower, lucky for me Linda’s passion for gardening is a endless resource. Also I am not attempting to produce floral for a botanist field guide, and I am just attempting color, shade and shape in the hopes of an illusion of reality with a spark of color.


Closing Thoughts, ... yes there is more … on technique, Titian and artist's today.


My original intent was to explore the technique of the Master Titian, his method of underpainting and building a painting. I have come to the realization that no single approach truly reflects this master, and that all the methods I have been exploring including this demonstration were employed and exploited to achieve his unique versatility. Titian certainly used the underpainting methods of the Flemish and Venetian schools, but also had approaches similar to that of the French Academic tradition.

He would work directly from life on the canvas, often described as attacking it with a brush. In his underpainting he would use tonal painting in warm earth tones, and use a scale of cool grays for flesh tones. Some areas such as the figure would be highly model into a grisaille, and others simply stated in umber. Painting on to it with a semi transparent paint “velatura” in a layered method, making revisions, with new layers and glazes, building textures and surface with “frottage”, sort of a dry brush of pigment over dried layers and finishing with high impasto for his highlights. Certainly very innovative in his painting approach, but keep in mind, Titian would live a long and productive life. Living to be nearly 90 years old, in some pretty inhospitable times, his life would span and compete with some of the greatest artists in world history. It must be comparable to being there when the first human invented the wheel. He was very inventive and fearless in his approach, seeming to have very little restrictions in his method, pulling from his tool box that which fit best to the problem and imagery at hand.

The artist Jose Parramon referred to Titian as the “founder of modern painting”. A statement I must agree with, for Titian certainly was testing the limits of his medium and thinking outside the box in some very revolutionary ways.
His mastery of techniques and procedures is definitely worth study, centuries of paintings and knowledge for us to copy and enjoy, the Master’s obvious gift to the world.
But it is not just the technical virtuosity we should emulate.
These artists were on a quest of discovery, to describe the mysteries and beauty of nature.
Through that inquisitive thinking, they made great contributions to our artistic vocabulary. They were not just practicing technical gymnastics, but deeply concentrating on the act of painting and the artistic dialogue with the principles of nature.
An Old Master such as Titian painted with intellect, curiosity, and passion.
.

This is what artists today need and must be imitating.

Explore – question – learn – enjoy
Jim

A quote by Titian, said while in his 70’s…………

“I think I am beginning to learn something about painting.” …. Titian

Underpainting Techniques - Demonstration Two -Woodland Phlox

This is the second in a series of explorations in underpainting techniques. In this demonstration I will produce a complete underpainting in monochrome, thus establishing a full tonal range and three dimensional form for later color glazes. The underpainting is done in a neutral grey, called a “Grisaille’, or a cool greenish grey, referred to as a “Verdaccio.”

But before we get into the demo, lets talk about dimension.
Truth is… without some research or a guide, I can not tell you what most of the Old Master’s works are about. What the narrative, myth or Biblical story they might be telling us is, nor do I actually care. What I do know is that in the sixteenth and seventh centuries a handful of artist where producing work that has not been match since. When I look at these works, it is not so much about “content” as it is about “form”.
These artists, in a way unmatched for centuries, took an object, canvas or panel, that only has two dimensions, width and height, and gave it a third, …depth.
Not just linear depth but a true glowing internal illusion of space.
This depth gave them a means to truly express, in a masterfully beautiful way, anything they wished to say.
Their methods are certainly an artistic tradition worth investigating.



The Venetian Method:

First Image: click above image for larger view.

I start with a dry panel that was toned with an imprimatura of umber. And begin to sketch the image directly and thinly in umber. Paying attention to the outline and shadow patterns of the image. My paint is about the consistency of ink, and I will mainly use a soft hair brush. But a steel nib pen can be used to literally draw with the paint some of the finer lines of the contours. I worked this stage in two layers of umber. Refining and correcting until I felt the light and shadow pattern made visual sense and distinguished the most obvious contrast.

Second Image:

I begin working on the umber drawing with a mixture of black, white and ochre. Sort of a cold olive grey called a Verdaccio. Describing the effect of light and shade. I am building in layers opaquely, modeling the form and values to explain in more detail the light family, (planes on the image turned towards the source of light), and shadow family, (planes on the image turned away from the source of light).

Third Image:

Several painting sessions later I have my completed underpainting. I try to keep everything cool, neutral and in a mid tone range, saving the lightest lights and darkest darks for the color glazing step. At this stage the light, middle-tones, shadows, reflected lights and cast shadows should all be well refined. The high-lights will be applied at the end stage. Outside of that, this is the completed painting in monochrome.


Fourth Image: - WIP – Woodland Phlox – 8”x10”



After allowing the underpainting to dry completely I begin the color layers. It always amazes me how little pigment it takes at this stage to start getting some of those deep effects of depth and form. When glazing I will use three brushes, one to apply some medium very thinly to the underpainting in the area I will be working,(called a Couch) and wiping off the excess. Another to apply the paint into the couch and push the glaze around and a third brush to wipe out portions of the glaze. The glazes should have different levels to them, taking full advantage of the values in the underpainting, not applied like a varnish over a piece of wood. I continue building the layers keeping the shadows thin and transparent and the light becoming more and more opaque with scumbling, scumbling lightens up the dried layer, making it more opaque, where glazing darkens the tone of the color on top. I apply the highlight in opaque impasto to finish the piece, hopefully creating the illusion of three dimensional space I was looking for.

At this point I will leave the painting to dry for several days, returning later with a fresh eye to decide if this work is complete.

Thanks for looking.
Enjoy Jim