MATERIALS & METHODS - Painting - Oil Painting
Characteristics - Painting Methods & Techniques - Materials and Equipment - Work Space & Storage - Manufacture of Pigments - Protection of the Picture
Glazing is a method of imparting color effects to a painting by superimposing a thin darker layer of transparent or nearly transparent color over a dried, lighter colored, or monochrome painting. The glaze heightens and increases the color and brightness of the underpainting rather than obscures it. The blended effect of this kind of coloring is entirely different from that in which two colors are mixed or scrambled into each other, and one can hardly be imitated by the other.
Formerly, there was much difference of opinion as to the relative advantages of glazing versus solid painting as a regular technique, but today glazing is generally recognized as a legitimate [p. 111] tool or technique to be employed whenever the artist wishes to obtain its special effect. It may be used either to produce smooth, blended effects or to enliven the color of more casual or roughly stroked areas of paint. Objection to glazing has come mostly from artists who teach straight, direct painting or the bold brushstroke and who do not wish beginners to acquire "picky" habits.
Fundamentally, glazes should follow the rule for brightness as applied to grounds on page 18--that is, applying them over brilliant, reflective undercoats. However, there are so many variations and effects in which glazing may be used to advantage that no generalized instructions can be given in this respect.
Oil colors may be squeezed out of their tubes onto ordinary writing paper and allowed to remain there for a short while. This will absorb some of the surplus oil. Then they can be removed with the palette knife and mixed thoroughly with the glaze medium on a dish or palette to the desired consistency; for average use it should be quite fluid.
The mixed glaze of a syrupy consistency is sparingly applied to the areas of the underpainting to be glazed, and then patted or tapped with the tip of a clean, dry, soft brush held vertically, using a stippling or pouncing motion. This not only spreads the color uniformly over the surface but also picks up the glaze, diminishing the thickness of the layer. A small cloth pad or dabber may also be used. Repeated pouncing with a clean, dry implement will diminish [p. 112] the thickness of the glaze still more. Making up a thin, fluid glaze doesn't work as well; it is very difficult to coat over a surface satisfactorily. Brushes must be continually changed for clean, dry ones as they clog. A method for cleaning and instantly drying a brush consists of rinsing it in mineral spirits or turpentine, wiping, and rinsing with acetone, a solvent which evaporates very rapidly and which is very flammable. Keep it away from flame. [pp. 111-113] [Mayer, Ralph. The Painter's Craft. An Introduction to Artist's Methods and Materials. Revised and updated by Steven Sheehan, Director of the Ralph Mayer Center, Yale University School of Art. New York: Penquin Group. 1948. 1991.]
Ingredients of Glaze Mediums
Among the approved materials for use in painting or glaze materials are two specially refined linseed oils: stand oil and sun-thickened oil.
Stand oil is a pale, very viscous product of honey-like consistency, made by a high temperature process and also known as polymerized oil. Stand oil is non-yellowing, and when thinned down to usable consistency works well in mediums. It has a tendency to flow out smoothly to an enamel effect. [p. 109]
Sun-thickened oil is made by exposing linseed oil to sunlight until it is clarified, bleached, and somewhat thickened. If desired, it can be thickened to a heavy viscosity. Sun-thickened oil has always been employed by artists for use in mediums, and sometimes oil colors have been made with it, but the specially treated oils of this type are ordinarily not well adapted to color grinding. Sun-thickened oil is a fairly quick drier, whereas stand oil dries very slowly, and it usually requires an addition of a little cobalt drier when used in mediums. Stand oil is more reliable than sun-thickened oil in non-yellowing properties; some samples of sun-refined oil have been observed to revert to a deeper color when stored in bottles.
The following resinous ingredients are in approved use for glaze mediums:
Venice turpentine, an extremely thick, viscous fluid resin or oleoresin. It is the exudation of a certain species of European larch, which throughout the centuries has been found to be one of the few oleoresins of its kind that give good results and comply with all the requirements for use in permanent oil-painting mediums.
[pp. 109-110] [Mayer, Ralph. The Painter's Craft. An Introduction to Artist's Methods and Materials. Revised and updated by Steven Sheehan, Director of the Ralph Mayer Center, Yale University School of Art. New York: Penquin Group. 1948. 1991.]
1. Stand Oil 1 fluid ounce
Damar varnish [5-pound cut] 1 fluid ounce
Pure gum spirits of turpentine 5 fluid ounces
Cobalt drier 15 drops
2. Damar varnish 4 fluid ounces
Sun-refined linseed oil 2 fluid ounces
Venice turpentine 1 fluid ounce
Pure gum spirits of turpentine 4 fluid ounces
The manipulative properties of such mediums can be altered to meet individual requirements by slight changes in the proportion of oily and resinous ingredients. Increasing the varnish content will give a more sticky or tacky quality, and decreasing it will make it handle in a more oily way. [pp. 110-111]
[Mayer, Ralph. The Painter's Craft. An Introduction to Artist's Methods and Materials. Revised and updated by Steven Sheehan, Director of the Ralph Mayer Center, Yale University School of Art. New York: Penquin Group. 1948. 1991.]
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