{"id":2332,"date":"2013-07-18T12:38:13","date_gmt":"2013-07-18T16:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/?p=2332"},"modified":"2019-07-31T12:45:10","modified_gmt":"2019-07-31T16:45:10","slug":"painting-mediums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2013\/07\/painting-mediums\/","title":{"rendered":"Painting Mediums"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Painting mediums are a never-ending topic for<br>\ndiscussion and debate among artists. Mediums profoundly affect how oil paint handles, and many preparations are complicated or dangerous, filled with ancient lore and alchemical processes.<\/p>\n<p>Oil by its nature is flowing and slow drying, qualities that during the early Renaissance led to the birth of large-format paintings on light, portable supports. But by itself oil can be too flowing, so from the beginning, artists doctored their oils to speed drying and reduce flow. By controlling flow and drying time, artists hope to find that magic elixir that enables both the broadest effects and the finest detail&ndash;seemingly incompatible qualities.<\/p>\n<div class=\"internal-linking-related-contents\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/10\/in-the-studio-oct-14-2012\/\" class=\"template-2\"><span class=\"cta\">Read more<\/span><span class=\"postTitle\">In the Studio Oct. 14 2012<\/span><\/a><\/div><p>While there is no single best medium, the one I use is flexible and well suited to my needs. The medium I use today is the result of many, many trials and tests. I have always wanted a medium that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>flows under my brush and never interrupts my thoughts by sticking<\/li>\n<li>because I frequently over-paint, the medium must be as thin as possible but stay in place without running or sagging<\/li>\n<li>drys as quickly as possible without ever being sticky<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The following describes &ndash;roughly&ndash;what I use (I say &lsquo;roughly&rsquo; because I change proportions but this is a good baseline):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>linseed oil, 1 part<\/li>\n<li>copal varnish, 1 part<\/li>\n<li>turpentine, 1 part<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jamescgroves.com\/courtrai.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Courtrai drier<\/a>, drops<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"internal-linking-related-contents\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/10\/smooth-move-smooth-painting-surfaces\/\" class=\"template-2\"><span class=\"cta\">Read more<\/span><span class=\"postTitle\">Smooth Move&mdash;Smooth Painting Surfaces<\/span><\/a><\/div><p><strong>Linseed oil<\/strong>. Because I want a very drying medium, I use black oil. Black oil is made by cooking the oil with lead driers. Black oil can be made at home or obtained commercially. You can substitute other drying oils. What should be avoided is thick or sticky oils such as stand oil. Walnut oil works just as well as linseed, by the way. You can also use regular or cold-pressed oil if you find the recipe too drying.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Copal varnish<\/strong>. Copal varnish drys hard and, compared to other resins, matte. Its dry, matte, finish supports frequent over-painting, and if the result is too matte, can be corrected by the final varnish (which is one reason to apply a final varnish). Copal varnishes differ from one another and if your varnish is oil-heavy and thick, you can decrease the amount of linseed oil in the recipe, or increase the amount of turpentine (or do both). Note: copal is a natural-occurring resin but many varnishes and mediums called &lsquo;copal&rsquo; are made with synthetic resins. Try to get real copal.<\/p>\n<div class=\"internal-linking-related-contents\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/10\/in-the-studio-102812\/\" class=\"template-2\"><span class=\"cta\">Read more<\/span><span class=\"postTitle\">In the Studio&mdash;10\/28\/12<\/span><\/a><\/div><p><strong>Turpentine<\/strong>. Any artist-grade turpentine will work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Courtrai drier. <\/strong>Courtrai drier is a powerful lead-based drier. A few drops are sufficient. Lead-based driers provide their powerful effects without making the paint sticky&ndash;an important consideration. It also firms-up the paint and enables thin paint layers, so don&rsquo;t skip this ingredient. You can substitute other driers, but to see this medium to good effect, get yourself some Courtrai. <strong><br>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>&nbsp;Notes<\/h3>\n<div class=\"internal-linking-related-contents\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/10\/hurricane-sandy\/\" class=\"template-2\"><span class=\"cta\">Read more<\/span><span class=\"postTitle\">Hurricane Sandy<\/span><\/a><\/div><p>This recipe produces an excellent, and flexible, day-to-day medium that can be created without having to heat the ingredients together.<\/p>\n<p>I use it every day but experienced artists will quickly spot its one limitation. If you are working on a large area that needs to stay open for a long period, like all day, this medium is too drying. Large areas will begin to close (the brush starts to drag) too soon. For these situations, I add a small amount of cold-pressed linseed oil (not black oil) to the medium to correct its super-fast drying speed. In the same way, you can add thickening agents, such as stand oil, for certain effects. It&rsquo;s very flexible, like I said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"internal-linking-related-contents\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/11\/thumbs-up-thumbs-down\/\" class=\"template-2\"><span class=\"cta\">Read more<\/span><span class=\"postTitle\">Thumbs-up: van Ruisdael; Thumbs-down: Renoir<\/span><\/a><\/div><p>You can also slow drying time by treating the turpentine with a small addition of balsam, such as Venice Turpentine, or Canadian Balsam.&nbsp; <a title=\"Turpentine Tip\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2013\/02\/turpentine-tip\/\">I described the procedure in this post.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Painting mediums are a never-ending topic for discussion and debate among artists. Mediums profoundly affect how oil paint handles, and many preparations are complicated or dangerous, filled with ancient lore and alchemical processes. Oil by its nature is flowing and slow drying, qualities that during the early Renaissance led to the birth of large-format paintings [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[24,19,113,1],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-2332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shop_talk","category-studio","category-tips_tricks","category-uncategorized","tag-painting-material"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3326,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/04\/glop-goo-and-jelly\/","url_meta":{"origin":2332,"position":0},"title":"Glop, goo, and jelly","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"April 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I've never understood the fascination with\u00a0thick, viscous oil painting mediums. Used for special effects, such mediums are perfectly fine, but for everyday work they are completely useless. I scratch my head whenever I see recipes based wholly on balsams or thickened oils--goo.\u00a0 Closely related to the goos are the jelly-like\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Shop Talk&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Shop Talk","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/shop_talk\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Oils and whatnot","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/mediums.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8011,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2018\/07\/homemade-drying-oil\/","url_meta":{"origin":2332,"position":1},"title":"Homemade drying oil","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"July 22, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The crude container that I made with a lead sheet contains 16 oz. of cold-pressed walnut oil. I'll leave the oil in the container for several months before straining it into a jar, like the one in the upper-left of the photo. The lead imparts drying qualities to the oil\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;materials&quot;","block_context":{"text":"materials","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/materials\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ADS_4415.jpg?fit=800%2C617&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ADS_4415.jpg?fit=800%2C617&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ADS_4415.jpg?fit=800%2C617&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ADS_4415.jpg?fit=800%2C617&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6436,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2016\/10\/how-i-paint-mediums-and-thinners\/","url_meta":{"origin":2332,"position":2},"title":"How I paint: mediums and thinners","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"October 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This photo shows painting cups in front of my custom-made palette. \u00a0I always use this selection of mediums and solvents when I paint. In the left-most container is my medium. \u00a0My medium\u00a0is very drying which means, among other things, that it is very rough on brush heads. \u00a0Not only\u00a0does it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;materials&quot;","block_context":{"text":"materials","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/materials\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cups.jpg?fit=800%2C437&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cups.jpg?fit=800%2C437&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cups.jpg?fit=800%2C437&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cups.jpg?fit=800%2C437&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7662,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2018\/02\/review-groves-coles-copal-varnish\/","url_meta":{"origin":2332,"position":3},"title":"Review: Groves&#8217; Cole&#8217;s Copal Varnish","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"February 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"My painting medium consists of oil, essential oil (turpentine), copal varnish, and driers.\u00a0 I like my medium, and it's suitable for everything painting-wise except a few corner cases.\u00a0 For the corner cases, I add a small amount of this or that, depending on the case.\u00a0 I like my medium, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;materials&quot;","block_context":{"text":"materials","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/materials\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/gorves-coles.png?fit=800%2C569&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/gorves-coles.png?fit=800%2C569&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/gorves-coles.png?fit=800%2C569&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/gorves-coles.png?fit=800%2C569&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1223,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2013\/02\/turpentine-tip\/","url_meta":{"origin":2332,"position":4},"title":"Turpentine Tip","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"February 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Put some Venice turpentine\u00a0 into your everyday turpentine (10:1 turpentine to Venice turpentine). You could substitute larch turpentine or Canada balsam for Venice turpentine, both of which are easy to obtain. The admixture of Venice turpentine firms the turpentine without overpowering it. I sometimes use the mix to thin paints,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Shop Talk&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Shop Talk","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/shop_talk\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5396,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2015\/10\/old-painting-medium-revisited\/","url_meta":{"origin":2332,"position":5},"title":"Old painting medium revisited","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"October 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I've written before about my oil medium. I wasn't exaggerating\u00a0when I wrote that my medium, one I've used for years, is the result of many, many trials. \u00a0I haven't used every possible medium, of course, but I've tried a lot of them. No one can try all possible combinations. \u00a0Recently,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bio","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/bio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/ngg_featured\/nude.jpg?fit=800%2C595&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/ngg_featured\/nude.jpg?fit=800%2C595&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/ngg_featured\/nude.jpg?fit=800%2C595&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/ngg_featured\/nude.jpg?fit=800%2C595&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Gw6F-BC","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}