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Casein Copper Egg
Tempera Painting Encaustic Giclée
Printing
Mixed
Media Monoprints Oil
Painting Pastels Preserving
Art
Displaying
Art Protecting
Your Collection |
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CASEIN
Casein paint has been used since the days of
the ancient Egyptians. A milk protein, casein
can create the characteristics of egg tempera.
David Burns, MD, states: “Casein is lasting, and being
water-based, is very compatible with watercolors. Casein
is easy to clean from brushes with soap and water and contains
no adverse chemicals.”
In the past, casein was used as a glue for
cabinetmaking because it is so strong. Visually, casein does
a better job of resembling oils than most other water-based
paints.
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COPPER
by Rick Fleury
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Pamet
Hills Oil on Copper
by Rick Fleury |
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Painting on copper was popular from the mid sixteenth to
mid-eighteenth centuries. Masters from Europe to South America,
including Rembrandt to El Greco, found copper to be an intriguing
surface on which to paint. Usually small, but incredibly
rich in detail, the masterworks often used the color, reflectiveness
and luminosity of the copper as an integral part of the palette.
The works often depicted allegorical, mythological and sacred
themes, as well as some remarkable still-lifes. The techniques
used to paint on copper, however, were guarded by these masters,
and, apparently not passed on, banishing the practice to
what many have considered a lost art. I stumbled upon copper as a painting surface about five
years ago in my local hardware store. The surface intrigued
me, and I finally came upon a “treatment” that
worked. In keeping with tradition, all are engraved on the
back with an artist mark. What has resulted is a body of
work that continues to expand and fascinate me, and, happily,
my collectors, as well. They offer a “living canvas” — with
portions of raw copper peaking through which may change over
time — a shiny rock today, or copper strands of sand,
may patina, becoming a moss-covered rock, for example, or
ruddy shoreline or seaweed. Other “treated” portions
are intentionally left exposed to retain the natural beauty
of the copper, and are a permanent part of the painting.
Lately, I’m working more with the luminosity of copper
as I continue to explore the potentials of this material — allowing
the treated copper to blend with the paint, pushing the potentials
and radiance of this beautiful, smooth surface. It continues
to inspire, surprise and delight me. But, in keeping with
tradition, I, too, have chosen not to disclose my technique
of treating the copper to receive the paint.
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EGG
TEMPERA PAINTINGS
Egg tempera is a medium that
has been used since medieval days and was preferred by many
early Renaissance painters. Affording an unsurpassed luminosity
and the finest details, this medium offers effects not available
by other methods.
Within seconds egg tempera feels dry. However,
true drying or setting may take a year or more. As it dries,
it forms an unusually hard, waterproof, elastic skin considered
more resiliant than oil color.
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On
Tempera Painting
. . . it calls for strong discipline, clear thinking, and an accurate observance
of the rules of craftsmanship
Max Doerner
. .
. in the long run is as tough and permanent if
not more so than oil
Robert
Vickery
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Orleans Windmill
by Robert Wisner |
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For
more information, please consult The Materials
Of The Artist And Their Uses In Painting by
Max Doerner (1949, Harcourt Bruce & Company)
and New Techniques In Egg Tempera by Robert
Vickery and Diane Cochrane (1973, Watson~Guptill
Publications).
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ENCAUSTIC
PAINTING
When the binder for pigment is wax, it is
known as encaustic painting. Encaustic painting was practiced
by the Greeks
as far back as the 5th century B.C. The encaustic technique
was
also used in the 19th Century to solve the problem of dampness
faced by mural painters in northern climates. The 20th Century
brought a major, renewed interest in this technique.
Wax is considered as durable as oil and tempera and, as
an excellent preservative, was used by the Greeks to weatherproof
ships.
Additional information can be found at encaustic.com. |
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GICLÉE
PRINTING
The giclée
process uses environmentally safe, water-soluble dyes and
works by translating a digitized original from any source
into a high-speed stream of microscopic color droplets.
Prints appear smooth and continuous in colors and tone
because the original droplets are comparatively the size
of a human red blood cell.The giclée
process allows reproductions
to be printed on a variety of surfaces. Peter T. Quidley's
oils are printed on canvas; Garry Gilmartin's are printed
on 300lb watercolor paper. Giclée prints also allow
the artist the versatility of controlling color relationships.
The rich saturation of color is comparable to dye transfer
and has a velvety surface reminiscent of either mezzotint
or sheet-fed gravure. |
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Warm Peach Mixed Media
by Pharr Schulenburg |
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MIXED
MEDIA
Oil Paint, Oil Bars,
Wax Medium by Pharr Schulenburg
I have added two new tools/ingredients to my painting process.
I often begin my work with a charcoal drawing. Now I continue
the drawing process with oil bars (like huge crayons).
I have also added wax medium. By combining the oil bars with
the oil paint and wax medium I am discovering a way of
integrating
the layers in a new and exciting way. I can apply heat
to the wax and it becomes a wonderful liquid and adds a spontaneous
and immediate quality to my process. Working with heat
and
wax also gives me less control (compared with palette knives
and brushes) and opens me up to new ways of seeing and
developing my paintings.
The wax medium is often used as a permanent and protective
sealant for oil paintings. |
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MONOPRINTS
by Kim Victoria Kettler

A
Taste for Life by Kim Kettler
For me, the process of making a monoprint
involves the best of painting with the
best of printmaking. Basically,
one paints an image on a plate, (in my case, with specialized
water-based inks), aligns the plate on paper, and
runs
the plate through a printing press, thereby transferring
the image from plate to paper. It
is a MONOprint because only one image can be made;
though “ghost
images” can be pulled from a second
passing of the plate through the
press, they are much much lighter in color, and bear
little resemblance
to the first print. The painting stage can take hours
or not, and it is possible to run the
same paper through the press several times,
building up a unique image with several passes.
The magical
part is in the transfer from plate to paper. Details
such as brushstroke lines and distinct
edges between colors are diminished, and the result
is a certain freedom between artistic control and pure
chance. This is how a monoprint
succeeds best in my work: when intuition plays with intention,
making the piece more like an improv than a strict exercise
in form and color.
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OIL
PAINTINGS
Oil paints have been widely used since the
fifteenth century and have become the standard
for easel painting. The range of
oil paints and surfaces available offer painters great flexibility
for a variety of different techniques. This
range of options
continues to expand.
Oil
paints can be used on a number of wood, Masonite, glass,
paper,
metal and canvas surfaces. Canvas is used most frequently.
Cotton canvas is quite durable and the least expensive
of
the regularly used canvases.
While
some artists prefer linen over canvas for its texture and
permanence, cotton, polyester and jute are all widely accepted
surfaces.
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Oil
on Linen:
What makes linen so attractive to
painters is its strength and its beauty... it never looks
as mechanical
or evenly woven as other fabrics.
Bill
Creevy
Provincetown Rig
Oil on Linen
by Peter Kalill |
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more information, please consult The Artist's Handbook
of Materials and Techniques by Ralph Mayer (1985,
Viking) and The Oil Painting Book by Bill Creevy
(1994, Watson~Guptill Publications). |
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PASTELS
Pastel is a
dry medium in a stick form, consisting of powdered
pigments held together with a minimal amount
of a binder (usually gum tragacanth). Pigments
used in making pastels are the same pigments
that are ground for use in making oil and watercolor
paints. Painting with pastels, therefore, is
as close as one can get to painting with pure
pigment.
Traditionally used
in the 18th century for painting royal portraiture, the
soft pastel medium
can trace its roots back to prehistoric cave paintings.
In and out of style in the last four centuries, pastels
are now enjoying a modern-day resurgence of popularity,
due to their intense colors, permanence and “immediate” handling.
Pastels
are the most permanent artists’ medium, if properly
created and protected. Pastels should be done on an archival
surface which is free of acid, and should be framed under
glass, preferably with a spacer between the glass and
the surface of the painting. As the pigments are the
same as
those used in oil paintings, you should expect the same
level of resistance to fading.
Caring
for your pastel: You only need to know
a few things about caring for your pastel.
- When transporting,
lay a pastel glass side up, never glass-side down!
- When not hanging,
store a pastel glass side up or upright, never glass-side
down!
- When shipping, leave
the job to professionals, who know how to pack and ship
pastels specifically. If uncertain of who to contact
in your area for shipping, contact a local pastel association.
Its members likely can supply you with a reputable, knowledgeable
shipper in your area.
- If reframing,
be sure to leave a spacer between the pastel’s
surface and the glass or mat. If a mat is used, use
an acid-free
mat. Plexiglass instead of glass is an option to lower
weight and make shipping easier, but static generated
by Plexiglass can be a problem.
Your pastel has
been created and framed for maximum protection and permanence.
It has been created on an acid-free and/or archival surface.
The pastels used are the finest in light-fastness currently
available on the market (equivalent to oils in light-fastness).
It is currently framed with an acid free backing (and
mat, if it has one). It is also framed with glass.
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PRESERVING
ART
Orange!
Laura Griffith
Works
of art have no natural defenses except for the inherent
quality
of the materials used in their construction. Because
of this, creating an environment as safe as possible is
critical
for
the longevity of the work. You will not want to store
your art in an attic or damp basement. Typically, oil paint
is
applied to canvas on a stretcher or a wood panel. These
supports for the medium expand and contract with
changes in the
atmosphere.
Framing, significant for presentation, also serves
to allow
air to circulate behind the supports. The frame and
the support
will have differing levels of expansion and contraction
as temperature and humidity change. To allow the support
room to breathe, the support should never be nailed
directly to its frame.
Debra
Strain, Conservator, Fine Art Restoration
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