Painting Demonstration

Painting with Tone

An "Old Master" approach to painting in oils or acrylics


The array of styles available to a painter using oils is dazzling. How often have you gazed on a beautiful piece in a museum and wondered “how did they paint that? Just how did they make it so real, so translucent and alive?” The answer is not immediately available even by scrutinising the final paint layer that we can see.
The approach that I take in this quick painting course is a simplified version of that used by Vermeer and his contemporaries, although layered painting is the basis of all traditional oil painting from the Renaissance until the Impressionists. The emphasis is on learning to control the medium and to be observant about what is happening in the painting—not just the appearance of the model or reference you are working from.
I use modern materials and revel in their benefits, but it is equally possible to follow this method using pigments ground in pure linseed oil, ready made oils in tube form, water soluble oils or acrylics. The only difference will be the medium you add to the paint.
In addition to this kit you will need primary colours, at least 3 brushes of different sizes (remember, the small one is for eyelashes and signing ONLY!)
I use :	Brights Permanent Rose (you can use Alizarin Crimson) Indian Yellow (you can use cadmium yellow) French Ultramarine Blue (dark)	Earths Burnt Umber Yellow Ochre	Monochromes Ivory Black (hue - this colour is not made from ivory) Titanium White (Deckweiss)
The Basics Oil paint is ground pigment suspended in linseed oil and sometimes wax and other things like resins. The suspension is quite thick and therefore quite controllable (it goes where you put it and doesn’t run everywhere!). The paint dries chemically, unlike watercolour which dries by evaporation. The surface will always dry first but beware….. The paint underneath may still be “alive”, painting over a layer which is only partially dry will result in the top layer crinkling and could drag the paint underneath all over the place. Only ever put more paint on a completely wet or completely dry picture. I very rarely use oil paint without any medium at all in it, the reason being it is quite stiff, does not spread very far and is very difficult to place into the little indentations of a canvas. As with every attribute of paint this behaviour can be used to an advantage sometimes but usually it makes our task harder. The easiest medium to use is Liquin; it flows, it dries relatively fast but doesn’t go sticky while you are working the paint and it dries fairly neutrally (just a little shinier than paint with no medium in it which tends to dry quite dull and flat). Don’t mix thinners with the paint, you will get a very dull paint surface as a result.
Be generous when you set out you palette and always put 2-3 times as much white as the other colours. When you finish you can cover what is left with cling film and the deeper blobs will still be useable for several days—just scrape them on to the next disposable palette with a knife.
There are no hard and fast rules about applying the paint, but here are some tips or “rules of thumb”. Never use a small brush when a big one will do. Test a small patch and get the tone and colour right before filling an area. Use your brush in different directions unless you want the viewer’s eye to follow your brushstrokes. If it is wrong scrape it out and try again—don’t be afraid to get a rag on your picture, it is just another tool. Thin layers are better than thick ones in this technique. Dark paint over light looks warm so use less pigment, light paint over dark looks cold so use more pigment (ie. Put more colour in the white).
		Stage 1 Only use black and white paint Make a simple pencil drawing (you will paint the detail). Don’t press hard, pressure trace if you need to, graphite will show through the paint. Place the darkest tone in first—where is the darkest shadow tone? Next put in the lightest tone as pure white (this looks odd on a white canvas but is very useful). All other tones will be in between. Place the paint in patches and overlap areas to make soft edges and transitions. This monochrome stage will take almost as long as the colour stage. Let this layer dry completely
Stage 2 Palette should now be all colours except black. Render the background with brown tones, use plenty of medium and a big brush. Near the edges of the subject take a smaller, softer brush and blend the paint just a little onto the subject—I mean a little!!! That was the easy bit :-)
		Stage 3 Start with the darkest blue tones, Make a mixture with no white in it and simply use more medium when you want it to be paler. Keep using a big brush to cover the areas, if you have a good sized filbert you can use it on edge to paint down the dark creases of the fabric. Remember the eye follows brush direction so move your brush with the form.
Stage 4 Once the darkest blues are in then add a little white and cover the next darkest patches translucently covering all of the grey. Finally, mix an “almost white” blue and paint the highlights on the satin over the top of the lightest sections—you hardly need any medium at all in this white mixture. Approach the flesh tones the same way—don’t add much white, use medium to lighten them, mix more than you will need and keep some for the next 2 stages. Cover the darkest greys first and paint beyond the edges of them, use a thin layer so you can see through to the grey.
		Stage 5 Using more of your flesh tone with white and a little blue added, cover the mid tones, blending back towards the darker tones. At this point you still won’t have placed any paint on the lightest tones in the picture except a bit of overlap. Approach the hair the same way. Hair reflects lots of colours around it so don’t expect it to be yellow or brown! Look very carefully, harmonise it with the flesh tones. Don’t put any white in unless there is a highlight or reflected light. Put that little brush away! Use a big one for hair!
Stage 6 Finally, using the last of your flesh tone mix in lots of white and no medium. Put the lightest tone in first (almost white) and work back towards the next flesh tone down. Where the palest tone meets the background (where you overlapped earlier) place a thin line of deep orange/pinkish flesh tone—OK you can use that little brush now! Remember that one tone/colour affects the one next to it so don’t be afraid to adjust the tones as you get near the end if they don’t come together. This is just one technique and the best way is the way that works for you. Happy painting!