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Oils, First Try... (oh! They Actually Blend!!!) - Wizard

Discussion in 'Painting Techniques' started by arxo, Feb 4, 2013.

  1. arxo Active Member

    Country:
    Greece
    Hello all,

    For a while now I was curious to give oils a try and see what all the fuss was about.
    So, erm...Yes, they actually blend...wow! Better than I could have imagined or hoped...wow!
    ;)

    First of all let's get something out of the way. Yes, he is more red than he should be... :p:oops:
    But there is a reason for this. The bust is painted using only Indian Red, Light Red and Titanium White (with some violet, crimson and dark browns) all from Winsor&Newton. And this is because when I decided to try oils I Googled (obviously) everything related to oil portrait painting and was lost in all those great artists out there who can actually throw oils alla prima in a canvas and in a matter of hours can come up with oustanding lifelike portraits. And everyone (I mean everyone!!!) has his own method and pallette. Some use this red (gotta buy this one) and that yellow (this too) and that blue (don't forget that!!!), with that violet/white/green/etc...and, oh, do not forget pallette knives (two please, so that one can unload the other), and a pallette of course, and brushes, good ones like Kollinsky, but perhaps a set of synthetic ones that can be tested since it's the first ever try and... you get the idea...

    At the end I said : FCUK! I just want to see if I can do something with the darn things. So, I poured some Indian Red and Light Red and created 5-6 value strings adding more and more Titanium White (some say Flake White is better, I will have to buy that one too!!! o_O) and they looked really cool and pink and yes, that's why he is sun-tanned...besides in his tower in Middle Earth, he is bound to be over-exposed to the sun (or Sauron's eye) !!!

    So that's the story behind this little bust. Hope you like what you see. I am gonna stick around oils for a while and try the basic flesh recipe : red added to earth yellow = orange-ish, tone it down with blue (complimentary to orange) and add white...and see what I can come up with (for the next bust)...

    By the way : How can I best remove the oils gloss?

    Thank you for your time...

    sIMG_9095.jpg sIMG_9096.jpg sIMG_9097.jpg sIMG_9098.jpg
    Kisifer, Gellso, Gaudin and 1 other person like this.
  2. Helm A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Looks good mate best way to lose the gloss is to apply your mix from the pallette onto some cardboard and let the oil soak into that first before you use it if it's already on you can try carefully running your thumb over it or even very carefully using a bit of acetone nail polish remover BUT this can be disastrous if you use too much as it'll strip the figure if you aren't careful :nailbiting:

    Steve
  3. Johan Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Belgium
    Very nice if that is your first try ! wow !
    as for the gloss - with the colours that you used (earth pigment in at least one ?) my guess is that overtime the gloss will slowly disappear until just a soft sheen is left, which is not bad for the flesh colour of a face. So maybe you'll just want to leave it as it is, as this is quite well painted for a first one in oils.

    cheers
  4. DEL A Fixture

    Country:
    Scotland
    I think your blending of the flesh tones is very good, infact very impressive particularly for a first attempt.
    If the paint is still wet then heat should 'burn' some of the oil sheen away but be careful.
    I use an old (antique) PIFCO heat lamp from my rugby days, it's on a stand and can be moved back and forward to adjust heat.
    Cheers
    Derek
  5. Ron Tamburrini A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Great for first in oils ,they will dry out eventually and lose a lot of the sheen but a little on the face is fine anyway.
    Re the Flake white !! far far too heavy a pigment for miniatures stick with the Titanium .
    Regards looking at what artists do on canvas for flesh ,there are some good points but it doesn't all translate to three dimensions so keep up what you are doing and experiment experiment:)

    Ron
  6. housecarl Moderator

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Impressive work.
    This is a good article for all things oily.
    Carl.(y)
  7. CBDesign Active Member

    Country:
    Germany
    Very interesting..nice blending:whistle: ..I like it!
  8. megroot A Fixture

    Country:
    Netherlands
    Blending is great.
    If the paint is wet put the figure in a drybox. It's a wooden box with no expliciet measurements and with a lightbulb in top of it. I use 60 W and the figure stays under it for about 4-6 hours. Then it is completely dry and is full matt. Before I start to paint I let the oil soak out on a indexcard.
    Some guys use a crockpot......(I really have no idea what it is)

    Marc
  9. Kevin D. Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    BRAVO Marc!!! I have used them for a long time, glad to see someone experimenting on the dark side!!

    Very nice blending!

    Kevin D.
  10. arxo Active Member

    Country:
    Greece
    WoW! Thanks everyone for all your info and appreciation!...I have read about the drybox, but to tell the truth I didn't even bother to build one, instead I let it dry for almost a week between sessions...I think for the next one, I might give this idea a try...and the index card of course !!! Thank you all...and last but not least : Do all of you have problems with little brush-hair or dust that sticks in the figure? That drove me MAD! xexe!
  11. Helm A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    I have a serious problem with dog hairs :mad: ! it's because oils dry so slowly I think

    Steve
  12. arxo Active Member

    Country:
    Greece
    Thank God, my cat hasn't found a way to open the bookshelf yet!:)
  13. JasonB Moderator

    Country:
    United-States
    Glad to see someone using oils and actually blending. The "new" styles using acrylics and thin layers sometimes (most of the time actually) looks to me like paint by numbers compared to well blended oils. There is hope!
    BTW, I think you will find that as the oils dry the contrast between shadows and light will become greater, so you may over time decide to paint with a little less contrast and let the face "develop", then go back and add darks and lights. I frequently will go back over my first attempt and add lights and darks. The great thing about oils is that you can blend them out over dried paint , lightening or darkening almost in the style of acrylics using thin layers, but with much softer transitions. For me, the warmth that oils create in a face can't be touched using acrylics. Not by mere mortals like me at least.
    Ron Tamburrini likes this.
  14. Ron Tamburrini A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Its a slow cooker Marc
  15. Ron Tamburrini A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    The dark side indeed :( oils are the way of light :D

    Ron
  16. John Bowery A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Wish my first time had looked that good. Well done.
    Cheers
    John
  17. Gellso A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Damn it Carl I thought that would be something a little more alluring....:wideyed:

    Brilliant attempt for first time with oils and I'm glad you took the brave step. Some guys here will give you sound advice on using oils but trial and error is definitely the way to go.
    Great stuff,
    Gells
  18. housecarl Moderator

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    I can always find you something a little more risque.;)
    Carl.(y)
    Wings5797 likes this.
  19. Gellso A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    No thanks mate...your hairy divas link was more than enough!:sick:

    Gells
  20. Mirofsoft A Fixture

    Country:
    Belgium
    So they are still peoples painting with oils... I'm happy... Yours is good, I like
    I didn't konw about the " slow cooker", so even after 40 years in the field, you learn something .
    My trick for flesh is : first undercoat is Humbrol flesh, then brown oils, cleaned with a sponge to show the highlights, then lot of darker-lighter works but even 30 years later it's still shiny like :
    DSCN0015.JPG

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