Painting with oils

[MacCoy]

I got back to this hobby after 15 years, luckily I kept all unpainted figures so I have plenty to paint for.
I would like to have some tips for oil painting, I have base coated figures with acrylics. I have W&N Artisan oil colors, these are water mixable, but still are like original oils, or they should be... I have understand that oils should be used straight from the tube, without any solvents, but how do you get rid of those brush marks?

 

[megroot]

Juha,
When you spot brushmarks you applied the paint to thick.
I put some paint on the figure, let it set for a half hour and then with a clean dry brush i get the paint off. After every stroke i whipe the brush clean.
I stop when i see no brush marks.
Then i let it dry, and the next day i do it all over again. Then i go to shade and highlight.

Sometimes i do the following. (specially with red and blue colors)
I let the oil soak out of the paint on a indexcard. Then i bring the paint on my pallet.
With a little white spirit (very little) i paint the figure very thin. Let it dry and do it again the next day.

I have no brushmarks with these two methods.

Marc

 

[MacCoy]

Thank you marc!

Do you let the base coat dry fully before applying shadows and lights?

 

[Einion]

I have W&N Artisan oil colors, these are water mixable, but still are like original oils, or they should be...

They are pretty much, basically just with the addition of a little surfactant to help them accept water (a bit). I would recommend you try to use them with as little water as you can, none if possible.

I have understand that oils should be used straight from the tube, without any solvents, but how do you get rid of those brush marks?

Not necessarily. More in this recent thread:
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36751&page=2

FWIW the Artisan paints aren't the best quality (as you might guess from the way they're priced) and you can do a lot better.

Einion

 

[megroot]

Thank you marc!

Do you let the base coat dry fully before applying shadows and lights?

Not always. When i use blue and red i let it dry overnight in a drybox (100 W bulb into a wooden box). Then i'm sure the sheen has gone.
With other colors i do the first shading and highlighting wet on wet. But i be always very carefull not to build up the paint to much.
Its always one time layering into the shade and high's. Then letting it dry and the other day doing it again. The next day the final.

I've always find that you can build and build and build your shades and high's with oilpaint. It looks like they disappear after they dryed.

Maybe Einion can give a explanation about this phenomenan.

 

[Einion]

I've always find that you can build and build and build your shades and high's with oilpaint. It looks like they disappear after they dryed.

Maybe Einion can give a explanation about this phenomenan.

It might be because paint that is more matt has less contrast (darks appear lighter). If you wipe a damp brush over the surface and it looks more like it did when you were painting then this is the cause.

Einion

 

[megroot]

It might be because paint that is more matt has less contrast (darks appear lighter). If you wipe a damp brush over the surface and it looks more like it did when you were painting then this is the cause.
Einion

Most at the time this is happening. How can we tackle this problem??

 

[MacCoy]

Thank you all for answering.
Going through my garage today, I found W&N oils that i bought some 20 years ago, and they still are usable! Must start practising then.
Thanks again to you all!

 

[Einion]

Most at the time this is happening. How can we tackle this problem??

Well if it is just down to the contrast diminishing because the paint is now matt then that's perfectly normal - black becomes charcoal grey etc. It is inherent to matt paint that this occurs.

We can't stop it from happening, other than accepting a finish that isn't very matt. You can though paint with slightly exaggerated contrast to begin with, knowing it will lessen once the paint dries. Or, paint as you normally do and wait for the first layer to dry, then re-establishing the highlights (and shadows if necessary) with one or more subsequent coats. For high-end results I don't think there has to be any expectation that only one application of paint is all it'll take.

Going through my garage today, I found W&N oils that i bought some 20 years ago, and they still are usable!

That's great, oil paints can have nearly an unlimited shelf life if you're lucky.

Einion

 

[megroot]

Thanks Einion.
Got to do something with this.

Marc

 

[thegoodsgt]

Best tip I ever got was from Shep Paine in one of his books: With regard to oil paint..."Spread it out, don't thin it out."

Meaning, don't use any thinner in the paint at all as it diminishes the ability of the paint to cover the surface of the figure. Apply the paint directly to the figure and start spreading it out. Keep spreading it out. When you think it's covered all it can, keep spreading it out. Oils have incredible coverage ability.

 

[Einion]

Best tip I ever got was from Shep Paine in one of his books: With regard to oil paint..."Spread it out, don't thin it out."

Meaning, don't use any thinner in the paint at all as it diminishes the ability of the paint to cover the surface of the figure. Apply the paint directly to the figure and start spreading it out. Keep spreading it out. When you think it's covered all it can, keep spreading it out. Oils have incredible coverage ability.

Like I said in the thread I linked to above Steven, reduced coverage isn't really at issue - a thin film of paint is a thin film of paint. Between spread-out thick paint and a layer of oils diluted with turps or spirits they will have the same opacity once dry if they end up the same thickness, regardless of which way this was done. And you can get the same effect with less effort by letting the paint down (even if only slightly) with spirits, along with other benefits.

Einion

 

[debrito]

Best tip I ever got was from Shep Paine in one of his books: With regard to oil paint..."Spread it out, don't thin it out."

Meaning, don't use any thinner in the paint at all as it diminishes the ability of the paint to cover the surface of the figure. Apply the paint directly to the figure and start spreading it out. Keep spreading it out. When you think it's covered all it can, keep spreading it out. Oils have incredible coverage ability.

This is the way I do no dilution at all, I even spread out the oil on top of a cardboard to dry it out a little bit the painting.

Ciau

 

[Range Rat]

Best tip I ever got was from Shep Paine in one of his books: With regard to oil paint..."Spread it out, don't thin it out."

Meaning, don't use any thinner in the paint at all as it diminishes the ability of the paint to cover the surface of the figure. Apply the paint directly to the figure and start spreading it out. Keep spreading it out. When you think it's covered all it can, keep spreading it out. Oils have incredible coverage ability.

Shep Paine does say in his book he uses white spirit to thin his oils out, his reference is don't over load the paint.