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Various methods oil painting

Oil paints adhere well to the appropriate primer and make it easy to model, shade and achieve subtle, imperceptible transitions from tone to tone, since they remain wet for a long time, and do not change their original tone when drying.

All the best oil painting techniques were developed during the Renaissance. Knowledge of the properties of the material enabled the old masters to create a style of oil painting that was never surpassed later. In the entire history of oil painting, this style is unique in its harmony between the material and artistic achievements.

Knowledge of painting techniques was preserved in the workshops of painters until the 18th century, but then, with the separation of painting as an art from a craft, under the influence of the emergence of new ideas in it, it was gradually lost.

Already at the first Carracci Academy, the previous technical and artistic education of the painter was replaced by philosophical and artistic education. From this time on, technical knowledge, which in the past was always a support for the painter, seems to be a constraint on artistic freedom.

A particular decline in the technique of oil painting was observed in the era of the French impressionists, who laid the foundation for unsystematic work with oil paints, which was brought to grandiose proportions by their followers (neo-impressionists).

Pointillism has an undoubted meaning from an artistic point of view, but it does not follow from the properties and nature of oil painting; new ideas in art must seek other material for their implementation if they run counter to the old. Thus, from a scientific point of view, impressionism gave birth to a false style of oil painting, which, unfortunately, still has adherents among painters.

Work in the field of painting technique, both by representatives of art and science, at first consisted mainly in the disclosure and revival of lost ancient techniques of oil painting, ignorance of which made it felt so bad in later painting. Much of what was lost was found and revealed, but painting itself at that time went too far from the tasks and principles of ancient painting. Of course, in our time it is not possible to harmonize the techniques of ancient oil painting techniques with modern understanding painting, but the technique of oil painting, whatever its objectives, which claims to create durable works, must follow from the properties and nature of the materials of oil painting.

All normal methods of oil painting come down to two characteristic techniques.

1) Painting in one step " alla prima"(alia prima) - a method in which painting is carried out in such a way that, given the artist’s artistic knowledge of the matter and favorable conditions, the work can be completed in one or several sessions, but before the paints have time to dry. In this case, the color resources of painting are reduced only to those tones that are obtained from the direct mixing of paints on the palette and their illumination on the ground used in the work.

2) Painting in several techniques - a method in which the painter divides his painting task into several techniques, of which each is assigned a special meaning, intentionally with a certain calculation or due to the large size of the work, etc. In this case, the work is divided into the first registration – underpainting, in which the painter’s task is reduced to firmly establishing the drawing, general forms and chiaroscuro. Coloring is either given secondary importance, or it is carried out in such tones that only in further prescriptions with overlying colors give the desired tone or effect - on the second, third, etc. registrations, in which the task is reduced to resolving the subtleties of form and color. This second method makes it possible to use all the resources of oil painting.

Painting "alla prima" (alla prima). In technical terms, this painting method is the best, since with it the entire painting consists of one layer, the drying of which, with a moderate thickness, proceeds unhindered and quite normally, which is why, with the appropriate soil, it is protected from cracks, just as the paints themselves retain their original freshness. But this method cannot always be implemented in practice and, moreover, it is not always part of the painter’s task.

The primer for painting “alla prima” should not be too sticky, nor too impermeable and slippery, therefore, when using adhesive primer, all necessary measures are taken to prevent too noticeable changes in the color of the paint due to loss of oil. Oily soil, especially one that has dried thoroughly and is therefore impenetrable, is given some permeability, which is achieved by rubbing it with alcohol or pumice; In addition, choose soil with a rough surface. As for the color of the soil, the most suitable in this case are light soils with various shades, in accordance with the pictorial task, as well as pure white soil. Pinkish, yellowish and other shades of primer are obtained by painting the white primer with transparent paint.

The painting method described often does not require conventional drawing, and the artist can directly proceed to paint and writing, depending on the painting task and the experience of the artist.

If a drawing is necessary, then it can be limited to a light charcoal sketch. Black charcoal drawing with its fixer should be avoided, since any sharp black contours will subsequently show through a thin layer of paint and thus spoil the painting. The composition of the fixative is also not indifferent to its strength.

To be able to finish the painting “raw”, i.e. Before the oil paints begin to dry, all sorts of measures are taken, but harmless to painting, starting with the selection of paints. Slow-drying paints are preferred here.

In order to delay the drying of paints as long as possible, the painting being executed is placed in the cold, in the dark, in the intervals between work, and, if possible, free access to air is blocked. The implementation of these last measures, unfortunately, cannot always be used, especially with large sizes painting However, these measures are very effective.

Essential oils are used for the same purpose.

Painting with this method is carried out differently and depends largely on the individuality of the artist; That is why, when presenting this method, we can limit ourselves to only the most essential and important instructions.

By painting “alla prima”, in the literal sense of these words, one must mean one of the methods in which the artist sets himself the task of immediately reproducing in paint everything that he sees in nature, i.e. color, shape, light and shade, etc., without resorting to the division of this complex task for certain moments of work. The difficulty of solving this problem is, of course, great, and becomes even greater if the artist strives to finish his work “raw,” i.e. before the paints dry.

Painting is done in different ways. It can be started with strokes of semi-thick paints, applied freely, tone by tone, without stirring them for a long time on the palette, until the entire canvas is revealed.

Painting should be done with tube paints.

When applying a layer of paint that is too thick, making further work difficult, you should remove the excess using a palette knife, spatula and knife, as well as placing clean paper on the layer of paint, which is pressed with the palm of your hand against it and then, after removal, takes on all the excess paint .

When painting “alla prima”, you can start rubbing it, thinning the paints with skippy and applying them liquidly, like watercolors. This laying is carried out planarly, without modeling forms, with the goal only of a broad overall effect. For it, it is better to use body paints, introducing white into them. Then, in further work, impasto paints are introduced, and real painting begins.

When working “alla prima” on too tacky ground, oil paints produce a matte painting, which in terms of color is inferior to tempera and, in addition, if the paints are de-oiled too much, they lack strength.

Painting performed “alla prima” has a unique beauty; it is pleasant in its freshness and spontaneity, revealing the author’s “brushstroke” and his temperament. Examples of this type of painting can serve as I. Repin’s sketches for his painting “The State Council”.

Painting in several stages. This kind of painting is called multi-layered.

Techniques multilayer painting are different. It can be carried out from beginning to end with oil or oil-varnish paints, as well as a mixed method of painting, the beginning of which is given with water paints, and the end with oil and oil-varnish.

Depending on the painting method chosen by the artist, the canvas primer used is also selected.

The drawing from which the work begins is made with different materials, depending on the color of the primer, its composition and methods of pictorial underpainting. As stated above, it is best to do it separately on paper and then transfer it to canvas, where it is outlined over an adhesive or emulsion primer with watercolor and tempera and thinly diluted oil paint, which dries quickly on the oil primer.

With this approach to the matter, the soil retains the purity of its color, in addition, its surface, which may suffer when corrections and changes are made in the drawing with charcoal, pencils, etc.

Then comes the underpainting, the technical side of which should perhaps better suit its purpose.

Underpainting. Since the underpainting in a painting is the first layer of painting, which must then take over subsequent layers, then, in the interests of the strength of the painting, it should be done in such a way that it makes it possible, with full guarantee of the strength of the work, to proceed with further registrations in a short time .

The most appropriate technique for this task will be water paints: watercolor and tempera.

Underpainting with water paints is done only on emulsion primer, on which both watercolor and tempera paint work quite well. This primer should contain a significantly smaller amount of oil than an emulsion primer for oil painting.

Watercolor, however, is only suitable for small works; In addition, the tone of watercolor paints under varnish is not similar to the tone of oil paints. This is why watercolor underpainting requires a full coverage of it with oil paints.

Tempera painting should be considered the most suitable for underpainting. It is especially appropriate when performing large-sized works. Here, of course, only tempera can be used highest qualities, i.e. casein or egg tempera.

Tempera underpainting gives greater strength to paints, which become so intense under varnish that the oil paint that finishes the painting can give up in terms of color intensity in front of them. This circumstance must be taken into account when performing underpainting. The best material In this case, for underpainting, oil-varnish paints will be used.

Tempera underpainting is done with body and transparent liquid paints, but always in a thin layer without any paste.

Underpainting with oil paints, both technically and pictorially, is done in different ways.

Carrying out painting using this method on adhesive and semi-adhesive primers is the most appropriate, since with the use of the latter the number of oil layers decreases, which has a very favorable effect on the strength of the painting, but impeccably prepared oil primers can also be used.

One of the frequently used and quite productive ways painting in underpainting means doing it “in a rub” with oil paints, liquefied essential oils, turpentine, oil, etc., which is somehow practiced in “alla prima” painting.

A thin, as if watercolor layer of paints establishes the forms, the general coloring of the picture and its entire ensemble.

Drying of the underpainting made by this method is very fast if the paints are fast-drying, and, moreover, through, due to the thinness of the paint layer, which, of course, is of great importance for further work on the painting.

But you can also do underpainting with impasto painting, and the technique will depend entirely on the properties of the soil used.

Paints are applied to the adhesive pulling primer in the form in which they come from tubes, without any thinners.

The positive properties of this underpainting are that its paints dry quickly and bind firmly to the ground. The disadvantage is the change in the tone of the paints during the painting process, as well as when wiping the underpainting with varnish before further registration.

The old masters, especially those more distant from us, looked at their work in the underpainting as a preparatory rough work, where all the attention of the master was absorbed in the setting of the drawing, modeling of forms, and details of the composition; As for the coloring, only the necessary base was prepared for it in the underpainting, based on which the color of the picture was subsequently created, the freshness of which is largely explained by the method of work described above.

Modern painting adheres to general outline, the same system in work, but the “alla prima” painting method received very great importance in it. Each era, as we see, creates own system painting, which, of course, cannot be ignored.

Underpainting in a pictorial sense should be carried out in such a way as to simplify, if possible, all further registrations. A correctly executed underpainting is therefore easy to finish with a small load of paints during the second registration.

An underpainting made with tempera will be ready for registration earlier than other underpaintings. Then, in order of readiness, come oil underpaintings on adhesive primers and, finally, impasto oil paints on emulsion and oil primers. A well-dried painting can be recognized by the following characteristics: it does not stick; when scraped with a fingernail and a knife, it turns into powder, but not into shavings; It doesn't fog up when you breathe.

If necessary, the underpainting can be well scraped and smoothed with a knife, special scraper, etc., before re-painting.

Scraping, pumice and smoothing layers of oil painting is especially appropriate when underpainting with impasto (greasy) layers of paint, since here excess roughness is cut off and, what is especially important, the top crust of dried oil is removed, which, when the oil paint dries strongly, prevents the attachment of the layers applied on top of it oil paints. After this operation, the underpainting is washed clean water and dried.

If the underpainting is not impasto, there is no need to scrape it. In order for the dried layer of oil paint to regain the ability to accept paint, if it has not been scraped and sanded, it is wiped with bleached oil, which is rubbed into it with the palm of the hand. The oil is applied in the smallest amount, just to moisten the surface that is supposed to be painted again.

Instead of oil, the underpainting can be coated with a warm liquid solution of Venetian turpentine (balsam) in turpentine, as was practiced in the old days, or with a liquid solution of turpentine varnish, since essential oils easily moisten dried oil paint. The same goal is achieved by adding painting varnishes containing essential oils to paints.

If the rules for handling the underpainting are not followed, the upper layers of the painting become prone to crumbling, and the more so, the longer the underpainting is left in place; There are many examples of this in the works of painting of a later era.

When further painting the underpainting, glazes can be introduced if they were part of the painting execution plan, or secondary painting is carried out in the so-called “half-letter”, i.e. with a thin layer of body paint, and the painting ends with this technique. It must be borne in mind, however, that too much build-up of colors in oil painting is considered unacceptable; Each newly applied layer must be dried, and only then can further work begin.

Basic Rules:

1) do not apply oil paints in thick layers in general, and especially paints rich in oil;

2) always use a moderately adhesive (oil) primer in painting, as well as the underpainting and, in general, the underlying layers of painting, saturating them with oil if its content in the latter is insufficient.

The best painting technique for the second registration is “alla prima” painting, which gives freshness to the pictorial execution.

The second registration is carried out with more liquid paints than underpainting. Painting varnishes and condensed oils are applicable here. The latter are introduced into paints in a mixture with turpentine varnishes. The second registration, in terms of the content of binders in its paints, thus exceeds the underpainting. The ancient principle of layering oil paints - “fat on skinny” - is fully observed.

If the underpainting was carried out in conventional tones, then to make the work easier, it is useful to start the second registration in local tones of nature with glaze or semi-glaze, on top of which body painting follows.

Glazing. Glazes are thin, transparent and translucent layers of oil and other paints applied to other well-dried similar paints to give the latter the desired intense and transparent tone.

Almost all paints are suitable for glazing: some are transparent, others are semi-transparent. Less suitable ones include cadmium, cinnabar, Neapolitan yellow, English red, kaput-mortuum, black cork and peach and some others.

Transparent glazes only change the tone of the underlying preparation into a thicker and more transparent one, without affecting the detail of the modeling and the main light and shade. Translucent ones can significantly change, depending on the degree of their transparency, the detail of the underpainting modeling.

Glazing can be used to complement or complete almost any painting that has been started in one way or another, but even better results are achieved with underpainting specially prepared for this purpose. In this case, the underpainting is done in such a way that the painting is lighter and colder than it is supposed to be in its finished form; the proper tone and chiaroscuro give it glazing in combination with the tones of the underpainting.

Glazes were of great importance to the old masters. Titian, Rembrandt, Velasquez, their contemporaries and other masters of earlier times made excellent use of them in their painting. The popularity of glazes in past eras indicates that they perfectly met the pictorial needs of the artists who used them.

Glazes, due to their physical structure, strongly absorb light, and therefore a picture executed by them requires significant lighting for its lighting. more light than painting done in body paints, which reflect light more than absorb it.

For the same reason, painting done with glazes is devoid of airiness, which is best achieved in painting with paints with a matte surface that strongly reflects and scatters light.

The tones produced by glazing come forward rather than receding back. Therefore, the sky in the painting is not painted with glazes.

Of great interest to the artist of our time are semi-glazes applied in translucent tones.

Semi-glaze is paint applied in a thin translucent layer. From an optical point of view, such a layer of paint is one of the types of so-called “turbid media”, which are responsible for some of the visible colors of nature. The tones obtained in painting using semi-glazes have a unique beauty. They do not shine with strength and brightness, but it is not possible to obtain them by physically mixing colors on a palette. The old masters of the later era made extensive use of the described painting method; Contemporary artists also use it, often accidentally or unconsciously.

Corrections. Oil paints become more and more transparent over time. This increase in transparency is also observed in body paints, and some of them, like lead white, become translucent due to their loss of hiding power, as well as the thinning of the layer upon drying. Taking into account this feature of oil painting, it is necessary to be very careful about all kinds of correspondence and radical alterations in oil painting, which the painter sometimes needs, since all corrections and notes made with a thin layer of body paints, after a long period of time, become again visible.

Thus, in the equestrian portrait of Philip IV by Velasquez, eight legs are visible (Madrid gallery), of which four protrude from under the tone of the ground, which the author covered them with, apparently being dissatisfied with the position of the legs.

In the portrait of the artist Litovchenko by I. Kramskoy ( Tretyakov Gallery) through the black hat placed on the artist’s head, Litovchenko’s forehead can be seen quite clearly, on which the hat was placed, apparently, later, when the head was already painted. In Rembrandt's portrait of Jan Sobieski, the stick that Sobieski holds in his hand was initially large in size and then shortened. There can be many such examples.

The above examples clearly show that corrections made in a thin layer, even of opaque paints, in oil painting do not achieve their goal. Here, thorough repeated layers of paint are needed, which alone can make forever invisible those parts of the painting that they want to destroy. It is even better in this case to completely clear the areas intended for alteration from painting and then write them down again on clean ground. Using chloroform, acetone and benzene, you can easily and quickly remove even very old oil-based paint.

When making small corrections on important places (for example, the head, hands of a portrait, etc.), you need to take into account the possible swelling and the usual darkening under the varnish of the corrected places. And therefore, when starting to correct, the areas to be altered are thoroughly dried, covered with liquid varnish and corrected with paints and painting varnish in order to avoid the appearance of dryness. In the same case, if a fade has formed, it should not be covered with retouching varnish, but the lost shine and tone should be restored to it only by oiling.

16. Oil painting. Basic information about technology.

IN art school New Art Intention closer to the end of the basic painting courses and drawing courses, beginning artists begin to use oil painting. Due to the complexity of the new technology, many questions arise, and, bearing in mind that the new is the well-forgotten old, we decided to publish an article “Initial information about oil painting techniques”. This article was written by the artist F.I. Rerberg (1865-1938), and published in the magazine " Young artist» No. 9, 1937. It contains somewhat outdated methods and techniques for contemporary artists, but fully effective if you are “in the field”, where before the store with art materials and you can’t get supplies. And it's priceless! Because few artists now fill their own brushes, prepare paints and varnishes, and prime their canvases. But maybe it's worth a try?

The article is completely reprinted, “as is,” with explanations from the 1961 editors (in italics). Our comments will be below.

All hard work Katya Razumnaya took upon herself the typing and editing of this article (and several lessons), for which we express our deep gratitude to her.

Basic information about oil painting techniques.

Before starting to paint with oil paints, a novice artist needs to know what oil paints are and how to handle them. While working with water paints (watercolors), you have probably noticed that a fine powder settles at the bottom of the glass in which you rinse your brush. It is this powder that imparts color to the paint. The coloring substance is called pigment. If the powder (pigment) is mixed not with glue, which is used to make all water-based paints, but with oil, the result is oil paint. For this purpose, flaxseed oil is most often used, less often nut, poppy and sunflower oil. When exposed to air, these oils do not evaporate like water, but, like glue, turn into a solid mass. There are oils, such as olive oil, that always remain liquid, and paint mixed with them never dries. Other liquid oils evaporate like water. The paint prepared on them quickly becomes a dry powder. Paint powder is not simply mixed with oil, but ground with oil. Small amounts of paint are ground with a chime (the so-called pear-shaped stone body with a flat base). Paint mixed with oil is rubbed with a chime on a stone slab. The movement of the chime is either circular and progressive, or rectilinear in different directions and rubbed until all the paint turns into a homogeneous mass, in which the powder is not felt at all to the touch. The chime and slab must be made of very hard stone (porphyry, granite). The stone slab can be replaced with thick mirror glass. At art paint factories, paints are rubbed using special machines called paint grinders.

The finished grated paint is stuffed into tin tubes (tubes) closed with screwed heads. The paint is made of such thickness that it can be freely taken with a brush and painted on without diluting anything. The paints are sold in this form. If the paint we bought turns out to be too thick, we will have to add a drop or two of oil. It happens, on the contrary, that the paint squeezed out of the tube flows and blurs and does not hold its shape, which indicates that there is excess oil in it. Before you write with this paint, you need to smear it on the paper for several minutes. Excess oil is absorbed into the paper, the paint thickens and becomes usable.

To work, oil paints are placed on the palette. The palette is made of light wood. It is shaped in such a way that it can be comfortably held with the left hand along with several hands. Nowadays, palettes are usually made from plywood glued together in three layers. These palettes are very durable, but heavy. It is better if the palette is cut from one piece of wood and has a large thickness near the hole for thumb, to the left and top edge it should be strongly planed. This palette is easy to hold on your hand and doesn't cut your thumb.

A palette made from plywood must be pre-soaked in oil and dried well. An unoiled palette draws oil from the paints placed on it, causing the paints to thicken.

The paints are placed on the upper left edge of the palette. The middle remains for making mixtures. It is necessary to establish a certain order in the arrangement of paints on the palette, so that each paint always falls in its designated place. Most often, white paint (whitewash) is placed at the right end of the palette. I. E. Repin placed white in the middle of the upper edge of the palette, to the right of them he placed warm colors - yellow and red, to the left he placed cold colors - green and blue, then black and brown.

Upon completion of work, the palette must be cleaned immediately. Leaving piles of unused paints on the edge of the palette, the entire remaining surface of the palette should be freed from the paint mass and wiped dry with a piece of cotton wool or a rag, but by no means wash the palette with turpentine or soap and water.

Brushes for oil painting are mostly bristle and, more often, flat.

Oil paints cannot be painted with one brush, like water paints. Brushes cannot be washed while working in oil, so you cannot apply light and dark tones, red and green, etc. to the picture with one brush.

Buy bristle brushes No. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 for the first time. Then, undoubtedly, you will want to have more brushes.

To display small details in the picture, you will have to use one or two small brushes made of soft hair. The best of them are core ones. The brush is made from the tip of the kolinus tail. Since kolinsky brushes are expensive and are not always available for sale, you can get by with squirrel or ferret brushes. Buy #5 and #8.

Brushes must be kept very clean. If not washed in time, a dried brush will soon become unusable. After work, dirty brushes can be placed in kerosene*, in which they can stand for one or two days without much harm (*holes are cut in a piece of cardboard or plywood in accordance with the diameters of the brushes. The brushes are inserted into the holes so that they do not fall through, but are suspended).

Before work, brushes removed from kerosene are wiped dry with paper. Wash the brushes with soapy foam and rinse with water until the foam stops completely staining and no traces of paint remain on the brush.

In addition to the listed accessories, without which one cannot paint with oil paints, some other items are less necessary, but useful to the painter: a palette knife (spatula) - a horn or steel knife that is used to clean the palette, mix paints, remove excess paint from a painting, etc.

The artist-painter usually keeps paints and all the accessories necessary for his work in a sketch box, which is convenient to carry with him to sketches. Its purpose is to serve both as a machine for writing sketches and, at the same time, as a repository for raw sketches. There are a lot of sketchbook systems.

What colors should a beginning painter have on his palette? What material can you paint on with oil paints? Do I need to dilute or add anything to the finished oil paints?

In oil painting, first of all, you need white paint - whitewash, which we completely do without when working with watercolors. Until the 19th century, all oil painting was done on white lead. Nowadays, most of our artists paint with zinc white. A beginning painter can, of course, paint with both. But it is better if he remembers that lead white dries faster and, upon drying, forms a very strong layer, but it tends to turn black from bad air (from hydrogen sulfide gas), especially in a dark room. In addition, they are very poisonous. Zinc white does not turn black, but it takes a long time to dry, and the dried layer cracks more easily. Now it is recommended to make a mixture of 2/3 zinc and 1/3 lead white.

Of the red paints, you need kraplak, or garance, a transparent paint of a thick crimson-red color. The bright orange-red dye is called cinnabar. IN Lately We are beginning to replace cinnabar with an equally bright but more durable paint - cadmium red. The brightest of our yellow paints is cadmium yellow. It comes in a range of shades: orange, dark, medium, light, lemon. Buy two of them: dark and light. In terms of brightness of color, cadmium's rival is chromium yellow, or crown. It is much cheaper than cadmium. Cadmium is a durable paint, but crown soon loses its brightness.

Since time immemorial, the most common yellow and red paints have been the so-called ochres. Even primitive people painted silhouettes of animals on the walls of caves with ocher. Ocher is natural yellow clay, only washed and crushed. It is found in many places around the world and has various shades yellow, brown, less often red. High temperatures cause all yellow and brown-yellow ocher to turn red. You've probably seen how yellow raw brick turns red after being fired in a kiln.

All ocher is durable and cheap. Buy light yellow ocher and some red (burnt). Red ocher or its variety is sometimes called flesh ocher, Venetian, Indian, English paint.

Natural Siena earth close to ocher (from the outskirts of the Italian city of Siena), bright brown, dark yellow and burnt Siena earth are being replaced in our country by lands close to them in color, available on the territory of our Union. There are a lot of green paints sold, but most of them are mixtures of blue and yellow paints. Each of you can make this mixture yourself. In a set of paints, you can limit yourself to one green paint. The famous Soviet landscape painter Rylov used only one green paint- emerald green. And look, what an abundance of green shades he extracted from his modest palette!

Of the blue paints, especially at first, you could limit yourself to one ultramarine. Lighter blue paint- cobalt - does not completely replace ultramarine, but is necessary in the absence of the latter. Common among us dark blue Prussian blue (or Prussian blue) seduces beginners with its great strength and brightness. But it’s better not to get used to this paint. It will be difficult to wean yourself off of it, but it is weak and breaks down when mixed with most other paints.

The black paints we currently sell are: burnt bone and grape black.

Of the brown paints currently produced by our factories, Mars Brown is the best.

What material can you paint on with oil paints?

Oil paint does not adhere to a very smooth, slippery surface, it glides, and does not stick to the surface. On a porous surface that absorbs oil, oil paint, as they say, dries up, loses its shine, and becomes dull. So, the paint will fade greatly on ordinary white cardboard or paper. If you glue the paper with a liquid solution of some kind of glue, you can avoid dryness, but sizing makes the paper easily brittle.

In the last century, small works were often painted on oiled paper. Our famous artist A. A. Ivanov sometimes did this. The paint adheres well to this paper and does not dry out. But over the years, dried oil becomes brittle and oil-soaked paper crumbles like a dry tree leaf. But here's a recommended technique: the paper is glued with strong glue onto thick cardboard, and after that it is soaked in oil. The most common and convenient material for oil painting in our time is canvas. Almost all oil paintings that adorn our museums are painted on primed canvas.

More often, linen or hemp canvas is used for painting, as it is more durable, but they paint on both paper and jute canvas. The canvas fabric should be dense and smooth, without knots. You cannot paint in oils on a blank canvas. Oil, absorbed into the canvas, overeats it. After some time, the oiled canvas becomes brittle and collapses. Therefore, the canvas for painting must be covered with primer - primed. This primed canvas is sold ready-made. But, since both the success of the work and its further safety largely depend on the quality of the soil, you need to be able to choose a primed canvas when purchasing it, or better yet, be able to prime the canvas yourself.

The piece of canvas that you are going to prime must be stretched tightly onto the frame, otherwise the canvas will wrinkle. Before applying the primer, the canvas is glued with a liquid glue solution, preferably fish or gelatin. One leaf of gelatin is diluted in a glass of water. When the glue dries, primer is applied to the glued canvas.

Here's a good recipe for adhesive primer:

Gelatin 10 g, zinc white or chalk 100 g (a little more than half a glass), water 400 cm3 (two glasses). To make the soil more elastic, add 4 cm3 of glycerin or honey. This amount of soil is enough for 2 m2 of canvas. The primer is applied with a brush.

Very good soil is obtained using this recipe:

4 chicken eggs stir in 160 cm3 of water and add 120 g of zinc white (or chalk). This amount of soil can be used to cover 1 m2 of glued canvas twice.

To work with paints, small pieces of primed canvas, paper or cardboard can be attached with thumbtacks to the board. Canvas measuring 50 cm or more must be stretched onto a stretcher equipped with internal corners pegs with which you can stretch the canvas if it has sagged or formed folds. You need to practice a little in your ability to stretch the canvas onto a stretcher. Having folded the edges of the canvas onto the sides of the frame, fasten with a nail the middle of one side, then the middle of the opposite and the middle of the third and fourth sides. The canvas is then pulled towards the corners, gradually driving nails from the middle of each side to the corners.

When buying or ordering a machine for your painting (easel), pay attention to the fact that the machine is stable and the painting does not sway or tremble from the pressure of the brush. All folding tripods have very little stability, and for working in a room it is better to have a simple vertical easel with pegs.

I have already said that you can paint with oil paints without diluting them with anything, just as they come out of the tubes. But there are times when you have to resort to additional liquids and compounds during work.

You need to have a bottle of purified flaxseed, sunflower or nut oil. But do not forget that any excess oil in paint is very harmful and leads to yellowing and cracking of the paint layer. If for some reason you need to make the paint more liquid, it is better to dilute it with some liquid that will evaporate from it and will not leave any trace in the paint. Such a paint solvent can be refined petroleum (refined kerosene) or white spirit (solvent No. 2). In addition, there are special varnishes that can be used to dilute oil paint. They are called painting varnishes. Do not mix slow-drying painting varnish with others, which is called "retouche varnish" (retouch varnish). The purpose of the latter is to destroy rottenness*.

(*Since the author of the composition of the varnish does not offer retouching, it is possible to remove the decay with bleached or compacted oil, specially prepared for painting. Some artists, to eliminate the decay before the secondary propivation, wipe the decayed areas with a weak solution of dammar or mastic varnish. It is used as a solvent for turpentine varnishes purified turpentine; for varnishes prepared with white spirit, white spirit is used.)

There are also compounds that, when added to oil paint, speed up its drying. I warn the inexperienced painter against these compositions (driers), since some of them, while accelerating the drying of paints, at the same time cause them to blacken and crack.

Having received oil paints and a primed canvas in his hands, an inexperienced painter usually begins to paint with these paints at random, regardless of anything, rejoicing in the fact that he can rewrite the same places many times.

As a result of such handling of the material, the paintings quickly deteriorate, lose their color, turn black, become covered with cracks, and the recorded areas begin to show through the top layers of paint. Do not make excuses by saying that your first endeavors are not of great value and no one will regret if our pictures die:

Remember at first some rules for handling oil paints. If you do not expect to finish your work in one day, as they say, in the wet, do not apply the first layer of paint thickly and avoid introducing slow-drying paints into it (kraplak, gas black).

Usually the paint does not dry on the first day, and the next day you can continue working on it wet. When the paint stops staining, you need to leave the work for several days and continue it only when the bottom layer seems to have hardened. You also need to let each layer dry before applying a new one. With secondary registrations, withered areas usually appear on the paint layer, that is, dull areas. These faded areas can be restored to shine by carefully wiping them with retouch varnish. Be careful because the varnish may dissolve paint that is not dry enough. You can coat the dry area with oil, but the next day you need to use a piece of paper to remove the remaining oil that has not been absorbed into the paint, otherwise a yellow spot will form on the oiled area over time. Oil destroys rottenness better than varnish. You can to some extent avoid the formation of withering marks by wiping with retouch varnish all places that are subject to secondary registration. The old masters rubbed such places with a cut onion or garlic*. When making dry adjustments, be aware that oil paints become more transparent over time, and the parts you painted on top begin to show through under the top coat of paint. Therefore, do not just write down the places that you want to destroy, but scrape them off first. (* This method is especially often used in cases where fresh paint is applied to already very dry paint. Rubbing with onion or garlic helps to better adhere the new layers of paint to the underlying ones).

There are many examples of pieces of painting protruding from under the top layer, which the author considered destroyed. A painting by Velazquez has survived, in which the horse turned out to have eight legs, since the four legs painted on top were joined by four, destroyed by the author, but now clearly visible.

Performance techniques oil painting there are several. In the old days, usually, having carefully drawn the outline, the picture was underpainted, that is, light and shadow spots were installed on the canvas, often in the same tone with some kind of, mostly brown, paint, sometimes not in oil. Such underpaintings remained from Leonardo da Vinci. According to the underpainting, the whole picture was painted in colored paints; The picture ended with glazes. Glaze was especially widely used by the great Venetian masters of the 16th century, who were considered unsurpassed colorists.

Nowadays, artists often paint at once, trying to give each stroke of paint the desired shape, aperture, and color. This is how landscape sketches are mostly written. For example, Repin painted in one session, using raw material, not only sketches, but also completely finished portraits, without preliminary drawing, without any underpainting, without any glazing. Repin completed his large figure paintings for a long time, redoing a lot of them, sometimes even starting the painting again on a new canvas. Serov painted portraits for a very long time and, after drying the work, finished it with glazes.

A young aspiring artist must, from the first steps, accustom himself to serious, thoughtful, systematic work and to a strict attitude towards his material.

U rocks of oil painting for beginners in art school New Art Intention begin with practical techniques for learning to paint with oil paints. But before that, artists paint a whole series of paintings in acrylic, imitating the technique of oil painting, i.e. They write through underpainting and using a brushstroke technique that is closest to oil painting. Initial works are painted on canvases on cardboard and later, when novice artists get used to oil technology, move on to canvases stretched on a stretcher. Although canvases on cardboard are also used in plein air lessons for drawing sketches. In addition to linen, cotton and synthetic canvases are available for sale; the latter have pronounced “rubber” properties, which is somewhat specific.

Let's add on the above article. Now our artists use both plywood and plastic palettes. Plastic palettes do not delaminate and are easier to handle.

There is a huge choice of brushes now, many beginners in painting lessons work with synthetics, some with a column, some use bristles. The properties of each, or "brush stroke", are known to them and are suitable for different tasks when teaching painting. The only thing that can be said is that synthetics are durable, the kolonka wears off very quickly on the canvas.

There is also an abundance of color oil paints on sale now. There is no need to cook them. Paints from different manufacturers interact well with each other and mix with oils and varnishes. To dilute paints in painting lessons, we use “triple” - a mixture of equal amounts of varnish (for example, damar), oil (linseed) and pinene (purified turpentine). It is better not to use sunflower oil, because... it is semi-dry.

Training and further improvement of painting skills in our school New Art Intention have no time boundaries. Therefore, our artists have created many interesting paintings from still life to landscape, from portraits to abstract paintings.

In oil painting there are many techniques and techniques for working with paints. The artist himself decides which methods are closer and more interesting to him to use. There are always two basic techniques: single-layer and multi-layer technology.

Single layer oil painting technique.

A preliminary drawing of the future painting is applied. The picture is painted in a short time. Dye should not dry out, since when applying colorful strokes the artist mixes them into each other, creating new shades right on canvas. This technique is also called ALLA PRIMA (in one step). It allows you to work en plein air or with a small format sketch. Working with a hard knife or a palette knife, the picture turns out textured. By applying paint thickly, you can shape, move and mix the paint layer. Paints differ from each other in their properties. For example, white and cadmium have a dense structure, which allows you to work pasty (pasty) or body-like. One session is not always enough to complete a painting. To prevent the paint from drying too quickly, place the painting in a cool place protected from the sun.

Multilayer oil painting technique.

Long-term work on a painting requires applying two or more layers of paint. The first layer is underpainting. The artist applies a drawing to the canvas and paints a layer on which the main tonal spots are visible. The next layer is registration and detailing. Before proceeding further, the previous layer must dry out. Otherwise the paint will dry out and become dull. This is due to the fact that undried paints absorb oil from freshly applied layers. Before work, it will be enough to oil the picture.

Modern artists combine both techniques, alternating layers of paint, achieving depth, saturation and brightness of color. Using texture paste, the artist literally sculpts the texture, thereby bringing objects to the foreground. With a bristle brush and palette knife you can create a rough, bumpy surface. And then add layers of color that suit the author’s artistic intent.
Don’t look for a special recipe for mixing colors, don’t imitate the author you like! The individuality of the artist is manifested in the author's style of writing. Follow your own path, gaining vision and skill in drawing. On our

The great figure, scientist and artist of the Renaissance Leonardo da Vinci said: “Painting is poetry that is seen, and poetry is painting that is heard.” And one cannot but agree with him. You truly perceive real art from all sides. We see, contemplate, hear, and store in our souls the works of art we like. And world masterpieces remain in our memory for many years.

Genres and types of painting

When drawing a picture, the master performs it in a certain state, a special character. The work will not turn out to be complete, worthy of love and attention, if only shape and color are depicted on it. The artist is obliged to endow objects with soul, people with charisma, spark, perhaps mystery, nature with unique feelings, and events with real experiences. And genres and types of painting help the creator in this. They allow you to correctly convey the mood of an era, event, fact, and better grasp the main idea, image, landscape.

Among the main ones are the following:

• Historical- depiction of facts, moments of history different countries and eras.
• Battle- conveys scenes of battles.
• Domestic- scenes from everyday life.
• Scenery- these are pictures of living nature. There are sea, mountain, fantastic, lyrical, rural, urban, and cosmic landscapes.
• Still life- illustrates inanimate objects: kitchen utensils, weapons, vegetables, fruits, plants, etc.
• Portrait- This is an image of a person, a group of people. Often, artists like to paint self-portraits or canvases depicting their lovers.
• Animalistic- paintings about animals.

Separately, we can distinguish the plot-thematic genre and include here works whose subject are myths, legends, epics, as well as pictures of everyday life.

Types of painting also imply separate ones. They help the artist achieve perfection in creating a canvas, tell him in which direction to move and work. The following options exist:

- Panorama- image of the area in a large-scale format, general view.

- Diorama- a semicircular image of battles and spectacular events.

- Miniature- manuscripts, portraits.

- Monumental and decorative painting- painting on walls, panels, lampshades, etc.

- Iconography- paintings on religious themes.

- Decorative painting- creation of artistic scenery in cinema and theater.

- Easel painting - in other words, paintings.

- Decorative painting of everyday objects of life.

As a rule, every master visual arts chooses for himself one genre and type of painting that is closest to him in spirit, and primarily works only in it. For example, Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (Hovhannes Gayvazyan) worked in the style seascape. Such artists are also called marine painters (from “marina”, which means “sea” in Latin).

Technicians

Painting is a certain manner of execution of a plot, its perception through the world of colors and strokes. And of course, such reproduction cannot be accomplished without the use of certain techniques, templates and rules. The very concept of “technique” in fine art can be defined as a set of techniques, norms and practical knowledge with the help of which the author conveys the idea and plot of the picture most accurately and close to reality.

The choice of painting technique also depends on what type of materials and type of canvas will be used to create the work. Sometimes an artist can take an individual approach to his work, take advantage of mixing different styles and directions. This author's approach allows us to create truly unique works of art - world masterpieces.

In technical terms, there are several options for painting. Let's look at them in more detail.

Painting of ancient times

The history of painting begins with the cave paintings of primitive man. At this time, the paintings were not distinguished by the vividness of their plots or the riot of colors, but they had a peculiar emotion. And the stories of those years clearly inform us about the existence of life in the distant past. The lines are extremely simple, the themes are predictable, the directions are unambiguous.

In ancient times, the content of the drawings became more diverse, more often they depicted animals, various things, and entire biographies were made on the entire wall, especially if the pictures were created for the pharaohs, which was very believed at that time. After about another two thousand years, colors begin to appear.

Ancient painting, in particular Old Russian, is well conveyed and preserved in old icons. They are sacred and best example, conveying the beauty of art from God. Their color is unique, and their purpose is perfect. Such painting conveys the unreality of existence, images and instills in a person the idea of ​​the divine principle, of the existence of ideal art that one must emulate.

The development of painting did not pass without a trace. Over a long period of time, humanity has managed to accumulate real relics and spiritual heritage of many centuries.

Watercolor

Watercolor painting is distinguished by the brightness of its colors, purity of color and transparency of application on paper. Yes, it is on a paper surface that it is best to work in this fine art technique. The pattern dries quickly and as a result acquires a lighter and more matte texture.

Watercolor does not allow you to achieve interesting shimmers when using dark, monochromatic shades, but it perfectly models color if layers are applied one on top of another. In this case, it turns out to find completely new, unusual options that are difficult to obtain with other artistic techniques.

Difficulties in working with watercolors

The complexity of working in such technology as watercolor painting, is that it does not forgive mistakes and does not allow improvisation with radical changes. If you didn’t like the applied tone or you got a completely different color than you wanted, then it’s unlikely to be corrected. Any attempts (washing with water, scraping, mixing with other colors) can lead to either a more interesting shade or complete contamination of the painting.

Changing the location of a figure, an object, or any improvement in the composition in this technique is essentially impossible to do. But thanks to the fast drying of paints, painting is ideal for sketching. And in terms of depicting plants, portraits, city landscapes, it can compete with works done in oil.

Oil

Each of the technical varieties of painting has its own specifics. This applies to both the manner of execution and the artistic rendering of the image. Oil painting is one of the most favorite techniques of many artists. It is difficult to work in it, since it requires a certain level of knowledge and experience: from preparing the necessary items and materials to the final stage - covering the resulting painting with a protective layer of varnish.

The entire process of oil painting is quite labor-intensive. Regardless of which base you choose: canvas, cardboard or hardboard (fibreboard), it must first be covered with primer. It will allow the paint to adhere and adhere well, without any oil escaping from it. It will also give the background the desired texture and color. There are a lot of types and recipes for different soils. And each artist prefers his own, a certain one that he is used to and which he considers the best option.

As mentioned above, the work takes place in several stages, and the final stage is coating the painting with varnish substances. This is done in order to protect the canvas from moisture, cracks (mesh) and other mechanical damage. Oil painting does not tolerate work on paper, but thanks to a whole technology of applying paints, it allows you to keep works of art safe and sound for centuries.

Chinese fine arts

I would like to pay special attention to the era of Chinese painting, since it has a special page in history. The Eastern direction of painting has developed over more than six thousand years. Its formation was closely connected with other crafts, social changes and conditions occurring in people's lives. For example, after the introduction of Buddhism in China, religious murals became of great importance. During the period (960-1127), paintings of a historical nature became popular, also telling about everyday life. Landscape painting established itself as an independent direction already in the 4th century AD. e. Images of nature were created in blue-green colors and Chinese ink. And in the ninth century, artists increasingly began to paint pictures in which they depicted flowers, birds, fruits, insects, fish, embodying in them their ideals and the character of the era.

Features of Chinese painting

Traditional Chinese art differs in a special style, as well as the materials used for drawing, which, in turn, influences the methods and forms oriental art. Firstly, Chinese painters use a special brush to create paintings. It looks like watercolor and has a particularly sharp tip. Such a tool allows you to create sophisticated works, and, as you know, the style of calligraphy is still widely used in China. Secondly, ink is used everywhere as paints - Chinese ink(sometimes together with other colors, but also used as an independent paint). This has been happening for two thousand years. It is also worth noting that before the advent of paper, painting was done on silk in China. Today modern masters artists perform their work both on a paper basis and on a silk surface.

This is not all the technical capabilities of painting. In addition to the above-mentioned, there are many others (gouache, pastel, tempera, fresco, acrylic, wax, painting on glass, porcelain, etc.), including original versions of art.

Epochs of painting

Like any form of art, painting has its own history of formation. And above all, it is characterized by different stages of development, multifaceted styles, and interesting directions. The eras of painting play an important role here. Each of them affects not just a piece of the life of the people and not only some time historical events, but a whole life! Among the most famous periods in the art of painting are: the Renaissance and Enlightenment, the work of impressionist artists, Art Nouveau, surrealism and many, many others. In other words, painting is a visual illustration of a certain era, a picture of life, a worldview through the eyes of the artist.

The concept of “painting” literally means “to paint life”, to depict reality vividly, masterfully, and convincingly. To convey on your canvas not only every detail, every little thing, moment, but also the mood, emotions, flavor of a particular time, the style and genre of the entire work of art.

The greatest masterpieces were painted with oil paints; masters of painting and famous artists still give their preference to them. But working with such paints has its own unique characteristics and peculiar differences in techniques. Therefore, many beginning artists have some difficulties in painting. In this article we will try to figure out how to paint with oil paints, what types they are, and also consider several techniques in oil painting.

In specialized stores, oil paints are presented in a large assortment; there are many brands under which such art products are sold. What is special about oil paints?

The composition includes various pigments: mineral, organic, synthetic and earthen. The same components are present in other types of paints, be it acrylic or watercolor.

Oil paints differ from others in the binding component - linseed oil. It is this that gives the brightness and saturation of color, and it is because of it that such paints take a long time to dry. But a fresh layer of oil applied to the canvas can be changed, that is, you can repeatedly adjust the drawing and apply new layers on top of the old ones.

Another feature of oil paints is that they are diluted not with water, but with a special solvent, which is also used as vegetable oil. This thinner is sold in art stores, just like the paints themselves.

What types are there?

In every specialized store you can find three types of paints:

• Highly artistic. These are paints that are purchased by professionals in their field. They consist only of high-quality components, and therefore have a high cost. But for a good painting you need good paints that will not lose their shine or change color over time.

• Studio. They are no less in demand than the first option and behave well on canvas. Suitable for both professional and beginner artists.

• Sketchy. They are more suitable for beginners in the art business, since at a low cost you can purchase a sufficient number of paints and choose your own application technique.

Manufacturers of oil paints are located in many countries around the world. Experienced artists have already selected for themselves the options that are suitable for the job. Many people combine their sets from different companies, which is also acceptable.

Oil paints are also divided into transparent and opaque. The latter are denser in structure and therefore do not allow light to pass through them. Each package must have special markings. For example, the designation “*” indicates the durability and longevity of the paint on the canvas. The more such symbols on the paint, the longer the finished canvas will last. The most best paints have a lifespan of more than 100 years.

The symbol in the form of a filled black square indicates that the paint is not transparent; if it is half-transparent, it is translucent.

The pigments that give paint a particular color can be divided into organic and inorganic. The first type gives brighter shades, and the second gives natural colors. With a good ratio of pigments, manufacturers achieve beautiful and high-quality shades.

For the production of oil paints, imported linseed oil is usually used, since flax, which does not grow on the territory of the Russian Federation, has unique properties, thanks to which art paints have their own unique quality characteristics.

On video: how to choose paints for oil painting.

About drawing techniques

Preparing for creativity does not take much time, especially since in modern art stores you can purchase everything you need for work. Already stretched and primed, canvases can be found in any size - from the smallest to the largest.

A painting done with oil paints looks very impressive. The strokes applied by the artist look as if they are separate from each other. Many people think that oil painting is a fairly simple activity, but this is absolutely not the case. Let's try to figure out how to learn to paint with oil paints.

Each master has his own drawing technique, which has its own characteristics. The standard ones are:

• multi-layer overlay;
• alla prima - one layer.

Doing multi-layer overlay is very complex technology, in which you need to be as careful as possible, knowing all the properties and characteristics of oil paints. It is necessary to work in the same style and not dilute the paint in order to finish the job faster. A diluted composition may appear more matte and dull on the canvas than other parts. With this technique, the whole job will take more than one or two tubes of paint.

When applying one layer, be aware that the paint may shrink and cracks will appear in the painting. In this case, artists let the first layer dry completely and paint the second. Many craftsmen use this technique more often, since the material consumption is lower.

Basic Rules

So, let's learn how to paint in oils. What rules must be followed:

1. A prerequisite for painting any picture is light. Only properly set lighting can achieve the desired effect.
2. Artists begin their work with the outline of the future painting. Coal works well for this. It can be easily wiped off with a rag and the failed element can be re-drawn. The lines that are drawn with charcoal must be fixed on the canvas.
3. In a painting, all the tones and shadows are obtained by constantly mixing colors. You need to clearly understand what colors need to be mixed to achieve this or that shade.
4. Masters begin to paint their picture from the most striking elements of the composition. That is, first you need to select the darkest element and the lightest one. Then you can start all the other details.
5. Once the basic sketch is done, you can move on to drawing. But you shouldn’t focus your attention on one element. It is necessary to gradually use the entire canvas.
6. Artists recommend using white in much larger quantities than paints of other colors, since they are used more often.
7. The finished painting takes three days to dry, so you can make adjustments to the canvas the day after the work is completed. The missing area can be removed with a spatula. This will not harm the canvas or the entire painting as a whole. The work will remain just as solid.
8. For beginning craftsmen and amateurs, using professional paints is not profitable, since beginners will mostly draw sketches.
9. For oil paints, you need to prepare a special storage place. What you need for painting (paints, brushes, canvas, palette) should be in one place, and at the first need they can be taken and used.
10. After the canvas has completely dried, do not wipe the surface with a dirty rag or touch it with your hands. It can hurt appearance general drawing.

Step by step painting with oil paints looks something like this.

Artists who can boast of a large number of canvases will tell you how to paint your first paintings correctly. There are certain painting techniques for oil painting on canvas. A beginning artist needs to start working under the supervision of an experienced teacher. As soon as the painted drawings begin to work out and your techniques are identified, you can paint in oils yourself.

Sellers at art supply stores can also tell you what to write on with oil paints and how to start painting. There are many schools where people of any age learn to paint. Learn to draw only from good masters of painting!

Master classes on oil painting (2 videos)

Paintings step by step (23 photos)