Casein    Copper     Egg Tempera Painting     Encaustic    Giclée Printing   

Mixed Media    Monoprints    Oil Painting     Pastels    Preserving Art    

Displaying Art       Protecting Your Collection

	Racing Winds     Casein on Panel by David Burns

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.

COPPER

by Rick Fleury

Pamet Hills    Oil on Copper by Rick Fleury

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.

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.
 

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	Orleans Windmill by Robert Wisner
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).

	Charlotte Giclée on Paper by Garry Gilmartin

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.

Warm Peach Mixed Media by Pharr Schulenburg

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.

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.

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.
 

		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
For 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).

PASTELS

Solitude    Pastel by Amy Sanders

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.

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.

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