problems with oil painting

[godfather]

I find when using oils either on faces or clothes that when I add other colours the mix becomes "muddy" E.g. If I add shadows of burnt umber I sometimes get the mix of flesh and umber to give me a muddy dirty look the dark is blending to much with the flesh, same with clothes. if I want to add shadows I find that the dark colour gets into the light base coat and creates a dirty look. What should I do to avoid this? Let paint dry more? Hope this all makes sense.

 

[Franco]

Hi Talino,

Sometimes what happens when painting in oils is exactly what you say in your message - overblending. If you overblend you can end up with one muddy colour.

A trick is to keep the colours 'away' from each other and only blend the border between colours i.e. blend base colour border with shadow 1 border. Blend shadow 1 border with shadow 2 etc. Likewise with your highlights.

Another issue of oils that can create a muddy effect is the mixes of colours you may be using. My advice is to purchase a book by Bob Knee JR Called 'Colour Theory' ????? Not sure on the exact name of the book as I am typing this message away from my studio and hence cannot give you the exact title. Perhaps some of the other members can help us with the title and where you can purchase this book.

I found this book to be an eye opener for oil painters. It helps by giving you the useful colour mixes etc. Hope this helps a little.

If you are still stuck post additional questions and I will see if I can help further.
Cheers Franco and Good Luck

 

[frank h]

Hi Franco
The book title is "Colour Theory and Application"
It is well worth having

Frank

 

[Robin]

Hi
I actually use em on dry on dry like acrylics, means when you have a blend you like leave to dry I actually bake my figure then add further highlights when dry.

Robin

 

[Guy]

Great Book to have as reference............A must have for painters!

 

[pkess]

A problem with blending oil paints can be caused by too much paint. Most painters, when they start in oils, apply too much paint. I use my oil paints straight out of the tube with no thinning. I use the brush to spread the paint as thin as posible. After this, I take a large dry brush and remove as much of the oil paint as possible. This serves two purposes: it ensures an even, thin coat and it removes any brush strokes. When you apply your shadow and highlight colors, use very small amounts. If you want a shadow to run from point A to point B, apply the paint short of those two points. When you blend you can extend the shadow color.
Color selection is also a key. I rarely use Burnt Umber and/or Burnt sienna in skin tones. A warmer, easier to blend shadow color is Brown Madder Alizarin. You can also add a little Purple Madder to keep it warm.

 

[KeithP]

Phil and Franco's comments were right on in my observation.

I only started to get smooth flesh when I would remove the excess flesh base mix with a soft and clean brush.

Use min amounts of paint and only blend on the border between shades.

Also, never use a brush that had recently been cleaned with thinner. For blending, use a clean dry brush, too.

Keith

 

[Edson]

here is the link to the online book ....

The oil color book, by winsor and newton

check it in library, then -publications-the oil color book, and then click NEXT in the below part on the left.
and you can download it in your own language

Cheers
Ed

 

[Guy]

Thanks Edson...........will bookmark that site.

guy

 

[JCOX]

Great resource, thanks for posting it Edson!

-jim cox

 

[megroot]

Thank You So Very Very Much.
I bookmarked this very usefull site.
Greetings Marc