{"id":8293,"date":"2019-02-24T17:15:08","date_gmt":"2019-02-24T22:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/?p=8293"},"modified":"2019-02-24T17:25:41","modified_gmt":"2019-02-24T22:25:41","slug":"baseline-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2019\/02\/baseline-yourself\/","title":{"rendered":"Baseline yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"

Regardless of where you are in your career, you will do well to establish a baseline for your oil-painting toolkit. The baseline provides a powerful framework that you can use to analyze materials and techniques. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At some point in your journey, you begin to question the received wisdom that guided you at the outset. This is true of every field, of course, not just painting. But oil painting cut itself off from age-old studio wisdom long ago. How long ago? Sir Joshua Reynolds<\/a>, Dr. Johnson’s friend and the first president of Britain’s Royal Academy, complained bitterly about this–and he died in 1792.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more<\/span>In the Studio Oct. 14 2012<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Put the materials to the test; question the recieved<\/g> wisdom–such as it is. Keep a journal and note the techniques, materials, and surfaces you used to create those masterpieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a canvas I dedicated to testing oil mediums some time ago. I divided the 36″ x 48″ canvas into 18 mini canvases. Each numbered mini canvas was done with a different medium. The images are all spontaneous doodles completed at one sitting without any over painting<\/g><\/g>. The images are just complicated enough to give each medium a fair test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more<\/span>Smooth Move—Smooth Painting Surfaces<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Because the images are all on the same surface, it’s a fair trial. One thing you’ll discover before too long is that the surface affects a painting tremendously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was careful to take notes about the ingredients and how the mediums handled, how changes to one ingredient affected the others. I made other trial canvases too and those studio journals are still my daily companions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more<\/span>In the Studio—10\/28\/12<\/span><\/a><\/div>

If, instead of dividing a surface into mini canvases, you use separate canvases, ensure that you prepare all surfaces the same way. Otherwise you’re in danger of invalidating the trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used to read a blog by an artist who was obsessively careful about his medium. He even pressed the oil himself. Then I discovered that his trials were painted over previous trials, sometimes many trials. He had no way of tracking the surface. When I understood this, I stopped reading his blog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more<\/span>Hurricane Sandy<\/span><\/a><\/div>

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Regardless of where you are in your career, you will do well to establish a baseline for your oil-painting toolkit. The baseline provides a powerful framework that you can use to analyze materials and techniques. At some point in your journey, you begin to question the received wisdom that guided you at the outset. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":8294,"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":[235,208,24,113,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anecdotes","category-materials","category-shop_talk","category-tips_tricks","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/base-1.jpg?fit=800%2C589&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12547,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2023\/06\/basic-oil-painting-medium\/","url_meta":{"origin":8293,"position":0},"title":"Basic oil painting medium","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"June 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"There is a lot of information about painting mediums on my site but if you're new to painting, an abundance of information is the same as no information. Where to start? The good news is that you can easily have a medium that supports ambitious work and serves as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "materials"","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\/2023\/06\/tturp-ooil.jpg?fit=800%2C745&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/tturp-ooil.jpg?fit=800%2C745&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/tturp-ooil.jpg?fit=800%2C745&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/tturp-ooil.jpg?fit=800%2C745&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8680,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2019\/12\/groves-heat-polymerized-oil\/","url_meta":{"origin":8293,"position":1},"title":"Grove’s heat-polymerized oil","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"December 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"It's true that I've used the same medium for several years. That doesn't stop me from trying new materials--far from it! My invariable practice provides a baseline to which I can compare the new materials as they come into my hands. I can quickly determine if a new varnish or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Grumpy review"","block_context":{"text":"Grumpy review","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/grumpy-review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/grove-oil.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/grove-oil.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/grove-oil.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/grove-oil.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2332,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2013\/07\/painting-mediums\/","url_meta":{"origin":8293,"position":2},"title":"Painting Mediums","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"July 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Shop Talk"","block_context":{"text":"Shop Talk","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/shop_talk\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4993,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2015\/04\/what-is-mineral-spirits\/","url_meta":{"origin":8293,"position":3},"title":"What is mineral spirits","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"April 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"What is mineral spirits and how is it used in oil painting? Mineral spirits, or white spirits,\u00a0is\u00a0a\u00a0petroleum-derived solvent. It is distilled from crude oil, and is related to kerosene. Mineral spirits and paint thinner are essentially the same thing. Paint thinner is less refined than mineral spirits and has undesirable\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "materials"","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\/2015\/04\/solvent-cups.jpg?fit=386%2C375&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5596,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2015\/11\/in-the-studio-11115\/","url_meta":{"origin":8293,"position":4},"title":"In the studio 11\/1\/15","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"November 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The ground on this painting, Three Women (VW Bug), is wonderful. It's a traditional oil ground applied\u00a0over acrylic gesso. A\u00a0traditional oil ground is essentially white oil paint with the addition of chalk. The chalk makes the ground more covering and absorbent than oil paint alone, even when sanded. It's really\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "aesthetics"","block_context":{"text":"aesthetics","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/aesthetics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/studio-2015-11-1.jpg?fit=600%2C740&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/studio-2015-11-1.jpg?fit=600%2C740&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/studio-2015-11-1.jpg?fit=600%2C740&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4756,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2015\/02\/in-the-studio-22215\/","url_meta":{"origin":8293,"position":5},"title":"In the studio 2\/22\/15","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"February 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This 30\" x 40\" oil was almost among the unfinished paintings recently purged. Instead, things started clicking during yesterday's session. I will finish it. The canvas is from a batch of canvases I prepared a year or so ago. 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