Preamble
This is the twenty-first post in a new Art Resource series that specifically focuses on techniques used in creating artworks. For your convenience I have listed all the posts in this new series below:
Drawing Art
Painting Art - Part I
Painting Art - Part II
Painting Art - Part III
Painting Art - Part IV
Painting Art - Part V
Painting Art - Part VI
Home-Made Painting Art Materials
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part I
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part II
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part I
Historical Notes on Art - Part II
Historical Notes on Art - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part IV
Historical Notes on Art - Part V
Tempera Painting
Oil Painting - Part I
Oil Painting - Part II
Oil Painting - Part III
Oil Painting - Part IV
Oil Painting - Part V
Oil Painting - Part VI
Pigments
Classification of Pigments - Part I
Classification of Pigments - Part II
Classification of Pigments - Part III
Pigments for Oil Painting
Pigments for Water Color
Pigments for Tempera Painting
Pigments for Pastel
Japanese Pigments
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part I
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part II
Selected Fresco Palette for Permanent Frescoes
Properties of Pigments in Common Use
Blue Pigments - Part I
Blue Pigments - Part II
Blue Pigments - Part III
There have been another one hundred and thirteen posts in a previous Art Resource series that have focused on the following topics:
(i) Units used in dyeing and printing of fabrics;
(ii) Occupational, health & safety issues in an art studio;
(iii) Color theories and color schemes;
(iv) Optical properties of fiber materials;
(v) General properties of fiber polymers and fibers - Part I to Part V;
(vi) Protein fibers;
(vii) Natural and man-made cellulosic fibers;
(viii) Fiber blends and melt spun fibers;
(ix) Fabric construction;
(x) Techniques and woven fibers;
(xi) Basic and figured weaves;
(xii) Pile, woven and knot pile fabrics;
(xiii) Nainkage, durable press and wash-wear finishes;
(xvi) Classification of dyes and dye blends;
(xv) The general theory of printing.
To access any of the above resources, please click on the following link - Units Used in Dyeing and Printing of Fabrics. This link will highlight all of the one hundred and thirteen posts in the previous a are eight data bases on this blogspot, namely, the Glossary of Cultural and Architectural Terms, Timelines of Fabrics, Dyes and Other Stuff, A Fashion Data Base, the Glossary of Colors, Dyes, Inks, Pigments and Resins, the Glossary of Fabrics, Fibers, Finishes, Garments and Yarns, Glossary of Art, Artists, Art Motifs and Art Movements, Glossary of Paper, Photography, Printing, Prints and Publication Terms and the Glossary of Scientific Terms. All data bases in the future will be updated from time-to-time.
If you find any post on this blog site useful, you can save it or copy and paste it into your own "Word" document for your future reference. For example, Safari allows you to save a post (e.g. click on "File", click on "Print" and release, click on "PDF" and then click on "Save As" and release - and a PDF should appear where you have stored it). Safari also allows you to mail a post to a friend (click on "File", and then point cursor to "Mail Contents On This Page" and release). Either way, this or other posts on this site may be a useful Art Resource for you.
The new Art Resource series will be the first post in each calendar month. Remember - these Art Resource posts span information that will be useful for a home hobbyist to that required by a final year University Fine-Art student and so undoubtedly, some parts of any Art Resource post may appear far too technical for your needs (skip those mind boggling parts) and in other parts, it may be too simplistic with respect to your level of knowledge (ditto the skip). The trade-off between these two extremes will mean that Art Resource posts will be hopefully useful in parts to most, but unfortunately may not be satisfying to all!
Oil Painting - Part IV [1]
Almost every writer on the technology of painting points out the fallacy of the belief that some painters of the recent past that any close attention to the technical details of their craft would interfere with the free expression of their intentions, and that by concerning themselves as little as possible with such matters their creative efforts are left untrammeled.
Jackson Pollock's 'Blue Poles' unveiled after restoration following the coronavirus shutdown.
Pollock's technique typically involved pouring paint straight from a can or along a stick onto a canvas lying horizontally on the floor.
In one way or another, students of the technique have shown that the work of the pre-eminent masters of the past was produced under conditions of the most highly developed craftsmanship and their artistic intentions, and showed little concern for the aesthetics divorced from craftsmanship; that a first-hand knowledge of sound technique is of enormous assistance to painters in enabling them to express their intentions with accuracy; and that the knowledge the artist has utilized is the best possible means to attain their ends and insures permanence bringing an increase of confidence.
Artist and Title: Leonardo da Vinci, Salvator Mundi (ca. 1500).
Comment: Maybe the last work by da Vinci, the Salvator Mundi is a rediscovered masterpiece.
The abandonment of rational studies of materials during the 1700s had an effect on the development of art forms; such a point of view was bound to contribute to certain elements to the nature of art produced, and many more dominant personalities who subscribed to it were led into methods of applying paint, which though unsound from the viewpoint of earlier, more accomplished painters, produced certain novel effects that could be used to support new artistic or aesthetic aims. However, much of the work produced under these circumstances is considered to be of little merit by most present-day schools of painting.
Artist and Title: Godried Schalcken, Young Man and Woman Studying a Statue of Venus, by Lamplight (1690).
Comment: He earned a reputation for rendering candlelight and lamplight. In his paintings, the brightness diminishes quickly as forms recede from the flame. At twice the distance, the light is only one-fourth as bright.
The electric light removed another restriction that tended to keep oil paintings within the bounds of correct and safe practice. Mention is made in this and other articles of the ill effects on permanence of excessively thick, pasty layers of oil paint sometimes studded by still heavier areas of almost modeled impasto. Such paintings would have been impossible in the era preceding our present controlled illumination; only by manipulation of individual lighting can they made to stand out with all the dash and sparkle intended by the painter.
Artist and Title: Thomas de Keyser, Portrait of a Man holding a Therobo, and a Young Girl (1629).
Materials: Oil on panel, cradled.
Size: 74.9 x 52.7 cm.
Courtesy: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (anonymous gift).
When one views a collection of historical portraits in ordinary general illumination, the older ones created in an age of lamps or gas lights, whatever their aesthetic value as pictures, are clearly and successfully visible, whereas the type painted in spectacular impasto strokes will display blobs of colr and glare.
Note: Many artists have used the impasto technique. Some of the more notable ones include: Rembrandt van Rijn, Diego Velázquez, Vincent van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning. The Italian word "impasto" can be translated as "pasty mixture." In regards to painting technique, the term indicates the application of a thick opaque layer of paint that is immediately evident to the observer's eye. Impasto was often used to represent the more important areas of the painting since it tends to attract the eye far more than the surrounding areas of smoother paint layers. The fall of light on the irregularities created by the brush stroke produces a sparkling effect which reinforces the material reality of the object represented.
Artist and Title: Vermeer, A girl reading a letter by an open window (ca. 1657-1659).
Materials: Oil on canvas.
Size: 83 x 64.5 cm.
Courtesy: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Gemäldegalerie, Dresden.
Not until scientifically adjusted lighting is switched on do these more modern works take their place as paintings worthy of comparison with the others. This is true of another type of work where glossy retouch varnish has been used for a final touching up in spots, to bring out or secure certain proper tonal relationships, thus obtaining color values by manipulation of refraction, absorption, and reflection of light from smooth and rough surfaces, instead of by use of pigment. Such effects are never very permanent.
Artist and Title: Lavinia Fontana, Portrait of a lady with a dog (detail) (1590).
Comment: Rebecca Gregg conservation, midpoint through a varnish removal. Cracks on old paintings such as the Mona Lisa look unsightly, but may actually be the key to keeping masterpieces stable over centuries, according to new research. It found restorers should be wary of filling in the cracks, as the network of fractures prevents further damage to the artwork. The network of cracks allows the surface to expand and contract without paint peeling off and offers protection against degradation.
Mona Lisa - details of the eyes.
Reference:
[1] The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, R. Mayer (ed. E. Smith) 4th Edition, Faber and Faber, London (1981).
This is the twenty-first post in a new Art Resource series that specifically focuses on techniques used in creating artworks. For your convenience I have listed all the posts in this new series below:
Drawing Art
Painting Art - Part I
Painting Art - Part II
Painting Art - Part III
Painting Art - Part IV
Painting Art - Part V
Painting Art - Part VI
Home-Made Painting Art Materials
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part I
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part II
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part I
Historical Notes on Art - Part II
Historical Notes on Art - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part IV
Historical Notes on Art - Part V
Tempera Painting
Oil Painting - Part I
Oil Painting - Part II
Oil Painting - Part III
Oil Painting - Part IV
Oil Painting - Part V
Oil Painting - Part VI
Pigments
Classification of Pigments - Part I
Classification of Pigments - Part II
Classification of Pigments - Part III
Pigments for Oil Painting
Pigments for Water Color
Pigments for Tempera Painting
Pigments for Pastel
Japanese Pigments
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part I
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part II
Selected Fresco Palette for Permanent Frescoes
Properties of Pigments in Common Use
Blue Pigments - Part I
Blue Pigments - Part II
Blue Pigments - Part III
There have been another one hundred and thirteen posts in a previous Art Resource series that have focused on the following topics:
(i) Units used in dyeing and printing of fabrics;
(ii) Occupational, health & safety issues in an art studio;
(iii) Color theories and color schemes;
(iv) Optical properties of fiber materials;
(v) General properties of fiber polymers and fibers - Part I to Part V;
(vi) Protein fibers;
(vii) Natural and man-made cellulosic fibers;
(viii) Fiber blends and melt spun fibers;
(ix) Fabric construction;
(x) Techniques and woven fibers;
(xi) Basic and figured weaves;
(xii) Pile, woven and knot pile fabrics;
(xiii) Nainkage, durable press and wash-wear finishes;
(xvi) Classification of dyes and dye blends;
(xv) The general theory of printing.
To access any of the above resources, please click on the following link - Units Used in Dyeing and Printing of Fabrics. This link will highlight all of the one hundred and thirteen posts in the previous a are eight data bases on this blogspot, namely, the Glossary of Cultural and Architectural Terms, Timelines of Fabrics, Dyes and Other Stuff, A Fashion Data Base, the Glossary of Colors, Dyes, Inks, Pigments and Resins, the Glossary of Fabrics, Fibers, Finishes, Garments and Yarns, Glossary of Art, Artists, Art Motifs and Art Movements, Glossary of Paper, Photography, Printing, Prints and Publication Terms and the Glossary of Scientific Terms. All data bases in the future will be updated from time-to-time.
If you find any post on this blog site useful, you can save it or copy and paste it into your own "Word" document for your future reference. For example, Safari allows you to save a post (e.g. click on "File", click on "Print" and release, click on "PDF" and then click on "Save As" and release - and a PDF should appear where you have stored it). Safari also allows you to mail a post to a friend (click on "File", and then point cursor to "Mail Contents On This Page" and release). Either way, this or other posts on this site may be a useful Art Resource for you.
The new Art Resource series will be the first post in each calendar month. Remember - these Art Resource posts span information that will be useful for a home hobbyist to that required by a final year University Fine-Art student and so undoubtedly, some parts of any Art Resource post may appear far too technical for your needs (skip those mind boggling parts) and in other parts, it may be too simplistic with respect to your level of knowledge (ditto the skip). The trade-off between these two extremes will mean that Art Resource posts will be hopefully useful in parts to most, but unfortunately may not be satisfying to all!
Oil Painting - Part IV [1]
Almost every writer on the technology of painting points out the fallacy of the belief that some painters of the recent past that any close attention to the technical details of their craft would interfere with the free expression of their intentions, and that by concerning themselves as little as possible with such matters their creative efforts are left untrammeled.
Pollock's technique typically involved pouring paint straight from a can or along a stick onto a canvas lying horizontally on the floor.
In one way or another, students of the technique have shown that the work of the pre-eminent masters of the past was produced under conditions of the most highly developed craftsmanship and their artistic intentions, and showed little concern for the aesthetics divorced from craftsmanship; that a first-hand knowledge of sound technique is of enormous assistance to painters in enabling them to express their intentions with accuracy; and that the knowledge the artist has utilized is the best possible means to attain their ends and insures permanence bringing an increase of confidence.
Comment: Maybe the last work by da Vinci, the Salvator Mundi is a rediscovered masterpiece.
The abandonment of rational studies of materials during the 1700s had an effect on the development of art forms; such a point of view was bound to contribute to certain elements to the nature of art produced, and many more dominant personalities who subscribed to it were led into methods of applying paint, which though unsound from the viewpoint of earlier, more accomplished painters, produced certain novel effects that could be used to support new artistic or aesthetic aims. However, much of the work produced under these circumstances is considered to be of little merit by most present-day schools of painting.
Comment: He earned a reputation for rendering candlelight and lamplight. In his paintings, the brightness diminishes quickly as forms recede from the flame. At twice the distance, the light is only one-fourth as bright.
The electric light removed another restriction that tended to keep oil paintings within the bounds of correct and safe practice. Mention is made in this and other articles of the ill effects on permanence of excessively thick, pasty layers of oil paint sometimes studded by still heavier areas of almost modeled impasto. Such paintings would have been impossible in the era preceding our present controlled illumination; only by manipulation of individual lighting can they made to stand out with all the dash and sparkle intended by the painter.
Materials: Oil on panel, cradled.
Size: 74.9 x 52.7 cm.
Courtesy: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (anonymous gift).
When one views a collection of historical portraits in ordinary general illumination, the older ones created in an age of lamps or gas lights, whatever their aesthetic value as pictures, are clearly and successfully visible, whereas the type painted in spectacular impasto strokes will display blobs of colr and glare.
Note: Many artists have used the impasto technique. Some of the more notable ones include: Rembrandt van Rijn, Diego Velázquez, Vincent van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning. The Italian word "impasto" can be translated as "pasty mixture." In regards to painting technique, the term indicates the application of a thick opaque layer of paint that is immediately evident to the observer's eye. Impasto was often used to represent the more important areas of the painting since it tends to attract the eye far more than the surrounding areas of smoother paint layers. The fall of light on the irregularities created by the brush stroke produces a sparkling effect which reinforces the material reality of the object represented.
Materials: Oil on canvas.
Size: 83 x 64.5 cm.
Courtesy: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Gemäldegalerie, Dresden.
Not until scientifically adjusted lighting is switched on do these more modern works take their place as paintings worthy of comparison with the others. This is true of another type of work where glossy retouch varnish has been used for a final touching up in spots, to bring out or secure certain proper tonal relationships, thus obtaining color values by manipulation of refraction, absorption, and reflection of light from smooth and rough surfaces, instead of by use of pigment. Such effects are never very permanent.
Comment: Rebecca Gregg conservation, midpoint through a varnish removal. Cracks on old paintings such as the Mona Lisa look unsightly, but may actually be the key to keeping masterpieces stable over centuries, according to new research. It found restorers should be wary of filling in the cracks, as the network of fractures prevents further damage to the artwork. The network of cracks allows the surface to expand and contract without paint peeling off and offers protection against degradation.
Reference:
[1] The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, R. Mayer (ed. E. Smith) 4th Edition, Faber and Faber, London (1981).
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