Highest Quality Oil Paint for Pennies

Save Money by Tubing Paint

High quality oil paint does not have to be expensive.  Purchasing paint in bulk can save a bundle;  Get paint in jars and tubs and use it directly from the container or tube it yourself. 

Empty 40 mL paint tubes

I don't use it fast enough to prevent paint from drying out in a wide mouth container, so I like to order paint in large quantities and tube it into 40mL or 125mL tubes.

Bulk Professional Oil Paints

Previously I discussed the content of various brands of oil paints.  Another brand I like to paint with is RGH.  These american made paints do not use extenders and contain only pigments and alkalai refined linseed oil.  They can also be custom made with safflower or walnut oil. 

RGH sells paint in tubes, jars and cans in sizes from 37, 63, 125 and 250 mL or 1/8,1/4, 1/2 and full pints to a quart, 1/2 gallon and gallon!


See the RGH pigment identification chart here.

How to Tube Oil Paint

See Stapleton Kearns' Tubing Paint for a thorough tutorial.

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Going to the Chapel- A work in progress

Oil Painting Using Glaze Technique

Going to the Chapel
10" x 30" x 1"
oil on canvas

© 2013 by juliesusanne

Painting is nearly complete.  Again, this was painted with many layers of glaze and the narrative emerged as the painting was being created.

Selfish Artist?

A question in a recent discussion on Art Biz Blog about whether being an artist is selfish got me thinking. 
Some said yes.  I disagree.
My response below:

"My ego is what tells me I'm being selfish doing my art.

My Divine Self guides me along the right path.

Self-fulfillment is different than ego-fullfillment.

Fulfilling the ego is selfish.

Fulfilling the Self is Self-full. "

Spin Cycle- a new painting

The beginning of a new painting:

Green Artist Tip: 4 Steps to Turpentine Recycling

Use Turpentine To Clean Oil Paint Brushes

Read post about Cleaning Brushes here.

How To Save and Re-use Turpentine:

You will need two jars with lids and a rag /paper towel

1. Swirl Dirty Brush in Clean Turpentine in Jar #1
2. Let Paint Settle to Bottom of Jar #1
3. Pour Turpentine from Jar #1 to Jar #2- Put lid on jar #2 and store recycled turpentine.
4. Wipe Out Jar #1 (while paint is still wet) and reuse jar later.




Swirl Dirty Brush in Turpentine

  

Let Paint Settle to Bottom

 

It takes several hours for paint to settle.  Just put a lid on it and go back to it later.

 

Carefully Pour Clean Turpentine from Jar #1 to Jar #2

Once paint has settled, be careful not to agitate jar.  Pour clean turp into clean empty jar.





Jar #2 Containing Recycled Turp



       

Clean Turp in jar #2 can be stored for later use. Store with tight fitting lid.



Wipe Out Paint from Jar #1 to Re-use Jar

Wipe out jar #1- this now becomes your empty clean jar for next time.  Let rag or paper towel dry and then throw in trash.

How to Paint Snow With White Oil Paint

Is Snow White?

Snow has relatively less pigment than its surroundings.  It is rarely pure white, though.  If you use pure white paint you will get an unbelievable big white blob. 

This effect can be useful if the painting has a planned surreal quality.  An example is seen in Kawai Gyokudo's 1955 color on paper scroll, Snowfall. 

Haystacks: Snow Effect,
 Claude Monet, 1891
oil on canvas 

Colors to Use to Paint Snow

Painting snow is painting the light. The light is reflected off of surrounding forms, landscape and sky.  For a cohesive painting, incorporate pigments from these surroundings.

Artists use pigments of the same or similar value to add variety and interest to snow.   This is seen in Monet's Haystacks: Snow Effect where he uses complements blue and orange effectively.

How to Paint Snow

Avoid painting an amorphous blob.

• Use another pigment to tint the white
• Use similar values (different pigments)
• Intersperse brushstrokes to create snow
• Keep brushstrokes crisp 
• Do not over mix the brushstrokes- you will end up with a muddy blob, if you do. 
• Caution: Black can give you dirty snow if you are not careful. Use black to knock down another pigment a notch, that is, extremely sparingly in a mixture.

Landscape artist, Stapleton Kearns, does not change his palette for winter painting,  but "whips up" his white.  He talks about that here: winter painting.  

Study Brushstrokes

Look at other painters original artwork in person as much as possible.
I wrote about an online brushstroke resource here: Best Brushstroke.
David Carmack Lewis' blog features several artist's rendition of snow here: The Art Out There: Winter.

The Albatross About My Neck...

Poetry as Inspiration

Current painting is inspired by the idea of having an albatross around your neck.  This narrative work is from the series about marriage.

Unwelcome Guest
julie susanne 2012
oil on canvas

"Instead of the cross, the Albatross about my neck was hung."
is from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 1798 poem, Rime of the Ancient Mariner."

Albatross Allusion Explained (Wikipedia)


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