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Archival Oils Student Survey
Art students from selected schools are checking out Archival Oils and Mediums. See what they have to say about the paint and join in the discussion if you like.
There are (55) Comments so far, why not join the discussion?
Hi there, I'm a 3rd year student studying at Curtin University in Perth, W.A. I have been painting seriously now through uni for about 2 years. Before that was doing painting as a hobby occassionally but hadn't enrolled in any classes. I started in Acrylics but switched to oils mainly, mid last year,(2006). I had always ended towards heavy thick paint application but in the last 5 months have been playing with mediums and viscosity more. This has lead to some pleasing results enabling me to handle the focus and concentrate on manipulating colour in my painting more successfully.However as I work up a painting, wet over dry, I find that I still like to apply thicker paint in the last stages. Sometimes I am fairly satisfies leaving it rough and loose after 1 coat as a sketch. I usually paint with a good variety of hue on my palette and try and pay attention to achieving depth and light through tonal ranges.
As for subject, I've been working in the area of bodily grotesque for about the last 18 months. when painting from life models this may com through in the way I handle the paint as described above. I've also been working on compositions from of body parts, or suggestions of such, that I have made. So far these arrive at a type of still life composition. What interests me is an expression of the links between female sexuality, eroticism and mortality. I am hoping to develop studies for new compositions in the new year using the oil paints supplied in the survey. Looking froward to your comments, regards Jez.
Some images to go with the comments above,
Jez
Hello, my name is Michael Chester, im currently studying at Edith Cowan University in Perth W.A. I Have been working on and off with oils since i was young. Now in my third year of tertiary study oil painting has become a large part of my practice. Understanding the importance of experimination, alot of my work exhist as a voyage to unknown places, but with this there is a sence of tightening occuring, as i am working through ideas I am becoming more aware of the elements coming about. Colour has increasingly become a large part of the work, using a range of colour that expresses both mood and emotion.
My subject matter is concerned with youth, suburban life, and the human body, i take inspiration from alot of books, films and other artists. Jeffrey Smart, David Hockney and lucien Freud to name a few. I will be adding a few images of the work soon.
Michael Chester
Hello There,
My name is Dale and I'm a student at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. I'm a mature age student (this makes me sound ancient and I'm not!) and I've just completed my 1st Semester of Ba Art. I've painted on and off for many years, but only discovered oils when I was studying for a Diploma in Art in London. This makes me sound like an old hand, but I am still very much a beginner. I have varied and ecclectic taste in painting (and other art disciplines) and am still struggling to find 'my style'.
I adore many aspects of painting, but predominantly colour and texture. Some artists I admire are Robert Juniper, Georgia O'Keefe, Xenia Housner, Ferdinand Leger, Debra Luccio...see what I mean about ecclectic!
Subjectively, my greatest desire is to explore the hidden in society, seeing past the facade to the, often, less pleasant underbelly of life, which is quite a challenge I think.
Most recently finished works are figurative, but I've just started experimenting with mixed media, examples of which will be appearing in my blogs in both this investigation and in the Interactive Acrylics investigation, so you can check out my experiences there, too. These first paintings are using my old paints (and some Archival's), but soon I'll be posting some using Archivals exclusively. I'm really looking forward to this whole investigation process, including everyone's comments. Back soon, Dale...
I have started 2 paintings in the holidays so far drawing upon ideas of the grotesque body I discussed in my first posting. Having traveled by road from Perth to Sydney I am interested to see how I could incorporate these images within landscape to effect a surreal composition.
So far I am delighted with the odorless solvent. When using oils I have found the solvent to be the main issue regarding smell and it's ill effects on the skin.I paint in the house and in the past, odor from my work has irritated other people in the house. Now no body raises a word. I have used an artist turps (brand?) purchased from Bunnings, Gum Turpentine AS, and a natural solvent with citrus smell distributed by Planet Arc. The Archival surpasses them all in that it is truly "odorless", and the gentlest on the skin with out sacrificing effectiveness.My brushes wipe really clean after painting and stay soft without the need to wash them out between painting sessions.
I am on my first & 2nd layers in each work using the lean medium, working over an acrylic ground. I have found it lasts well when put out in a pot over a number of days, starting to thicken on day 5. This could be helped by the moisture in the air currently in Sydney however i have found that other mediums I have used ,apart from straight linseed, didn't have this property. It dries quickly enough to advance the work, wet over dry within 1/2 a day. it is very smooth, I can get the consistency I while maintaining plenty of body in the pigment, it assists in painting in detail and I have found is better that straight linseed in these respects.
Paints themselves are velvety in texture and the intensity and consistency of pigments is great. However on starting many of the paints a pool of oil did come out before the paint which I didn't like initially. It is not a major problem because I brush it with the medium to get the right viscosity I want anyway. With some Paints on starting a new tube I worked the oil in with a clean metal skewer.
More to come when I advance these works a bit, with images. See you soon, Jezabell
Jezabell
Ways to prevent wastage:
All fast drying mediums react to air, so only put out what you need for a day’s work and keep the lid on the bottle to stop it thickening.
Don’t buy large bottles if you use them slowly unless you decant the contents into smaller containers. Smooth Gel and Flow Gel are in tubes and cylinders which allow no air entry.
Can you let us know which colours and which batch code – this is a constant battle with oil paints which can’t be oven tested like acrylics – small adjustments need to be made, which is why we need the batch code.
Jim Cobb
Hi Again,
I'm satisfied that the first two works have reached a point that I'm reasonably satisfied with. Though far from perfect I'm keen to go on and try other things so I've posted them below. Great advantages are that the lean and fat mediums I have been using dry fast on the painting (between 4-6)hours depending on the temperature and air flow. In the painting where I posted two images , one of the initial stage, I have used lean, then fat, then lean mediums in oil paint over an acrylic base, as an experiment, (All Atelier or Archival). It's early days yet but so far no problems.
Speed in drying is a real advantage over linseed. It probably is as fast as Liquol, hard to tell exactly, but I much prefer the smooth textures of archival mediums. Also in the past I had been adding a touch of turps to the mediums because the liquol can get "pasty", dry up too quickly, and to help it go further but with your mediums there's no need for this.
The other thing I really like is the slight sheen left on the paintings with the use of archivals oils and mediums. That is without any glazing and the purity and intensity of the colours I mentioned before.
I am a bit frustrated with the pale yellow I chose. I chose 2 yellows: Cad. Yellow medium and Transparent Yellow. CAd Yellow is good. Transparent yellow is not "lemony" enough for my liking. At time of order looking at colour chart on the net this seemed to be the lightest and 'zingiest'. I checked the colour chart again today and can't say that I would have chosen anything else. Perhaps you could suggest something or is that something to consider in archival range? Also did order Cadium Red Light which I have not yet received. I will e-mail the office.
The colours which pooled oil upon opening were:
Burnt Umber; pigment PBr7, batch 8769
Burnt Sienna,pigment PBr7, batch 13444
Paynes Grey,pigment Pb 29 PBk 7, batch14281
Yellow Ochre, pigment PY 42, batch 9107
Transparent Yellow, pigment Py 74, batch 80
Will keep you posted
I would also love to hear what other students who are doing the trial think,
All the best, Jezabell.
Hi, I'm a 3rd year student in the School of Visual Arts. I have been painting on and off for a number of years. I started painting seriously with oils as of late 2006. I'm more of a figurative painter but I do experiment with a lot of other imagery and mediums. Some artists that I look at and am inspired by are, Fracis Bacon, Balthus, Andrew Wyeth, Lucian Freud, James Ensor, Edouard Manet, Kiki Smith and Franz Kline.
The oils I normally use are Winsor and Newton. I just started to use the Archival Oils and will soon post my progress. Back soon, ML
Hello! My name is Claudia. I am a student at the University of Arizona. I am studying psychology and studio art. I started painting at a young age mainly with oils and watercolors. I am also currently very interested in combined media and sculpture. I used to paint mainly portraits of landscapes and wildlife. However, since I started at the university I have been struggling with painting in a more conceptual way. I am still at the experimental level of trying to find my style of painting. I am really looking forward towards what experiences I may gain through painting with the archival oil paints. I was a little late with introducing myself since the semester only began a few weeks ago. I should be starting to paint pretty soon though!
Hi, Jezabelle again.
I moved back to Perth last week to prepare for the next semester. Before leaving I did start another work but haven't had much time in the last 2 weeks to work. The flexibility with fast drying medium is fantasic. I was using lean to work upto wet areas and go around, providing washlike layers of colour in the area surrounding the main image. The wet area on the main image was fairly stable and I could work up very close without much bleeding. Where bleeding did occur it feathered outnicely and I used it to assist the image as though coming into focus. A few more layers to go on this yet and I will post the next image. All this was done with archival lean medium over a coloured ground of oils with lean medium which dried really quickly.
I am now waiting for my paints to arrive by post from Sydney cause the airline wouldn't permit these to go in my baggage. hopefully I can get onto it soon after settling in here. 'O'- week next week and i should be able to moe into a studio which will facilitate things.
Will talk again. See you later,
Jezabelle.
Hi my name is Eileen Moon-Back im an honour studen at Queensland Collage of Art in Brisbane, Australia i just finished sculpture and print making as my major and I do not have that much painting experience, but i am enjoying it alot. During the holiday I have started a couple of paintings, I have switched from figurative to abstract painting at the moment. Here I have attached a few paintings I've done last year. I would like to hear feedbak on my paintings so please feel free to comment about my artwork thank you
Eileen
These last 6 months I have been captivated by the work of James Glesson as well as always having been intrigued by the work of surrealists and looked at some Australian Surrealists as well.Continuing on from the theme I set in my previous 2 works I've pain ted an object I made from heat treated xray film, cut, joined, twisted and buckled in an effort to evoke organic associations with the body whilst not being representational. It's my intention to suggest other bodies ,either organically internal or external organisms, leaving the plaY OF SCALE COMPLETELY OPEN. Using archival lean medium facilitated wiping back and helped to push the paint around a lot. I used a sort of frotage technique though with plastic and latex gloves, in some areas which worked well. The medium would carry plenty of pigment with enough body. I didn't have to make the paint too runny. I also love the density of the pigment in Paynes Grey, Prussian Blue, and Purple which are great to achieve dramatic effects.I don't use black for shades, trying to pick out thecolour of the shadow.I've had a lot of trouble trying to load the images right now. The problem seems to be their size. I'll try again later.
Next I'm keen to try out the flow gel to see what effects I can achieve with this. My subject will be an image of part of a heart- internal organs again, taken out of context again.
Talk to you again Later,
Jezabelle
I like the paint so far, its good for the work I'm doing. The paint is very smooth which might not be suitable for impasto strokes. The paint is ready to use right out of the tube and rarely do I have to add solvent. I did also notice that several of the colors pooled oil when I opened the tubes, however that doesn't bother me. The smooth gel medium is my favorite part. It gives the paint a nice transparency without the running lines that you get when you add a lot of solvent. Ive used a transparent gel medium before and it would yellow almost as soon as it would dry and it took about 3 weeks to dry. It seems so far that the Archival gel medium wont have the same tendency.
The images I added are an example of work I did with Winsor Newton oils and an example using Archival oils. The Thigh painting was done about a year ago and I was experimenting on the effects I could do by only varnishing certain parts of the painting. The feet painting I had just finished. I used Golden bone black fluid acrylics as the ground on wood panel. I used some impasto technique on the background and on one of the feet. I don't think I would be able to get the paint to have an even thicker texture because its so smooth. This might be a negative character for certain painters. I haven't gotten the chance to test the paint on canvas yet.
A few more images.
hi its michael chester.
Unfortuantley i have been working for the past 3 months and havn't been up to much in the way of art, which is strange for me. But i have been reading keenly about art history, and am now inspired to get going with my visual work. i will post some of my previous work soon , and my new work will be developing from this. Keeping with the subject of the body and the domestic, the new work will be more active and eluding to ideas of movement, sensuality, and violence. I will be in the research stages of things for a month or two , drawing, writting , painting so there may be quite a break before more resolved work comes into play.
Hi its Eileen Moon
I am now testing archival oils on my painting, in the first coat of the painting the archival oils paint dried very fast which allowed me to work on my paintings the very next day. I am very satisfied about these archival oils, however some of the paints when I first opened the paints the oil come out before the paint. especially the yellow ocha, I use the pallet alot to move my paint around and some of the oil paints are too diluted so it is very hard to move around with the pallet knife. Also in that case i was wondering if i could mix medium into the paint, odorless lean medium is a very good to use because of there is no smell, dries fast and is easy to work with. flow gell medium is very good for my thick paintings because it can create good texture.
after ive finished testing ill add my paintings on here
thank you enjoy
Posting some images of the painting I last wrote about- 4 entries ago. Unfortunately lots of detail is lost in the reproduction, they are so small, but I hope it conveys the idea.
Also love your work Pinkeye. The only thing that troubles me is the circle background of the figure we're looking up at. The relevance isn't immediately obvious. I agree with your comment about the flow gel medium not being enough to bulk up the paint for impasto. I'm using this in my current work and find that it dries super fast and is really good for scratching in because of that. It also has a nice transparency. I did'nt realise this when I first worked it so have added another layer using the lean medium. I shall paint over the last layer with the gel which adds a lovely luminosity and lay in some more scgraffito.
For bulking up the paint you might want to try a WAX medium. Unfortunately, archival doesn't have one in their range. Apparently you can make it yourself, it's fairly straight forward but you'd have to research the receipe. Alternatively have you tried Whiting, or calcium carbonate as it's called. A pinkish , yellowy gritty powder that bulks up paint beautifully when used with a medium?
Talk again soon
Jezabelle
Hi my name is Rhonda Ferling student QCA. Am using an underpainting first with Lean Med. Have noticed that this seems to be taking at least 6 days to feel dry. The colours that I have used to get a nice grey, Titanium White, Ultramarine blue, yellow, red mixed the lean medium. and only 1 coat.
Dear Rhonda
To answer your question - oil paints can take from 2 days to 2 weeks to dry.
Weather has a strong influence, I suspect it could be humid in Brisbane and other students could be experience slow drying paint too, for a detailed explanation of how to speed up drying time please read the attached document.
http://www.chromaonline.com/chrom..._Basic_Information_Sheet_April08.pdf
Will the paint be stable you ask? Please visit the Gallery - http://www.chromaonline.com/chroma/gallery/archival_oils and look at Elizabeth Cumings, Euan McLeod and John Walker, who are the pioneers of Archival Oils - it may help to build your confidence.
Jim
Hi from Rhonda,
working wet into wet I have found the archival layering in medium to be the best so far that suits how I work. Layering thin working until I have the correct colour and then letting dry before adding any new colour. I work with a very small brush blending as I go. In the past I have used another brand of oils that is very oily and had trouble when blending that I lost some of the clarity of the sharpness. I work in a realistic format.
Hi from Rhonda, Qld College of Art Brisbane
So far, I like the colours of the archival oil paints and while working with my medium Laying In Medium, there seems to be a solid base to add further layers. There is no need to do a lot of blending. and I move the paint around with my brush and there seems to be a lot of stability there.
Jezabell,
A short note to follow up your email when you gave us the batch numbers of the colours with oil separation:
The colours which pooled oil upon opening were:
Burnt Umber; pigment PBr7, batch 8769
Burnt Sienna,pigment PBr7, batch 13444
Paynes Grey,pigment Pb 29 PBk 7, batch14281
Yellow Ochre, pigment PY 42, batch 9107
Transparent Yellow, pigment Py 74, batch 80
These batches were all made in 2006 and we believe that subsequent batches will be OK because adjustments have already been made. Some of the other students have mentioned similar problems and I suspect they are using paints from these 2006 batches too. If you come across this problem you can either discard the separated oil, which will result in a thicker paint or mix it back in with the pigment. It is a little messy but there is no need to throw the paint out.
These little glitches annoy us, because we are perfectionists and we appreciate comments like yours which could help us to track them down. Paint stays in the distribution chain for years sometimes as yours has, but we are grateful for your help.
Thankyou.
Jim Cobb
Here is another work completed with archivals. Sorry it has taken a while to add to the website but as uni started 4 weeks ago I have been at lot busier and let it go. I did this first with 2 layer using the gel medium and then another using archival paints with lean medium. I did mean to go another vlayer with more gel medium to see how that would go but haven't got around to it. Anyway I like the painterly effects as they stand. I liked using the gel medium at lot cause it does bulk up the paint slightly and is great for scgraffito which I started playing around with. It also has a very transparent quality which I have statred trying to exploit in another work which I shall put up when done. I was after that raw, in movement type of feeling.
This work is taken from an image of a heart, internally. I have started playing with the orientation of the painting and suprised at how the image changes yet is still very readable as human body.
Happy to be part of the survey,
See you later,
Jezabelle
hi there i have finished a couple of paintings recently ive used archival oils mostly except zinc white ( AS brand) 'In self contradiction' i used Cadmium red (series 4) on top of Napthol Red light ( series1) and Cobalt bblue ( series4) on top of french Ultramain Blue( series 1). I am very satisfied with both sets of combinations. the colours matched very well and also the mixing of series 1 and 4 was successful. I also tried Pearl Titanium for the white section in the corners, and all over the painting for the highlight effect, this created a tinting effect. This was so i could reduce the boldness of the primary colours. I used Flow Gel Medium in the blue section for special textures - the thick streaks of paint across the work. Now i know how useful these gel mediums work effectively.
i have got a few questions, im still usuing As zinc white for mixing colours because of its transparency, how can i make transparent white out of archival Titanium White?I do need this urgently as i am using this alot within my paintings. I have also tried this layering medium in several ways, could you tell me if these methods are correct. in some cases i mix layering medium and classic medium whereas in other cases i just use the layering medium only for the second coat of my paintings; in the case of just using the one layrering medium, i use 3 parts layering medium and one part of colour to get a glazing effect or a very thin substance, is this correct?
I will attach my recent 2 paintings
Walk49
Here are some ideas...
You will find a full palette in series 1, from which you can then extend to the higher series, as you are already discovering.
Zinc White: is more transparent and reputed to be bluer than titanium.
To get the dilution effect you need for translucent layering, use extra medium Smooth Gel or Flow Gel which should give you the see through effect.
A little Pearl white mixed into the titanium also has a subtle effect.
If you check out the AO Info Sheet it will tell you that Classic Medium is slow drying, but you may prefer Lean medium if you want fast drying, however the main thing is that you can proceed with layering as fast as you like, layer on layer.
Here is a link to the Archival info sheet
http://www.chromaonline.com/chrom..._Basic_Information_Sheet_April08.pdf
The only pitfall is doing thick Impasto under-painting, where you will not get good through-drying if you don't use Smooth gel..
Jim
hi from Rhonda Ferling 3rd yr Fine Art Griffith Qld College of Art
How soon after finishing the painting can I varish using Chroma Satin Solvent Finishing Varnish? . Before, with other paints that I have been using since the trial, it's been months before varnishing.
Hello Students
Here are a few ideas I have had in regards to the Archival and Interactive student surveys.
The Archival Oils users have the easier task because they only need to match up their choice of paint and mediums with the way they want to work – for example:
FAST = Fast White plus the Fast Mediums, which will also be chosen for their consistency.
SLOW = Standard Titanium White plus Classic Slow Medium.
Everyone will presumably be pleased that the mediums are odourless.
Techniques
The techniques you can develop are all the traditional oil painting techniques – the paint gives you control over drying time and freedom to overpaint without long delays between layers, provided that you use Smooth Gel in your underpaint.
It seems only natural to choose this modern, easier to use paint unless there is something you don’t like about its consistency.
It is not likely that a young person will be shocked at the idea of a modern oil paint replacing an old fangled one, in fact if you go back in time to where oil paint was new in 1450 it’s popularity grew quickly because it was easier and much more versatile than fresco and tempera.
I hope you will find Archival Oils are also easier, and more free and versatile to use than traditional oil paints. Possibly other brands may be “modernised” as the 21st century moves on.
The Archival Basic Information Sheet has been updated, click the link below to get the new pdf.
http://www.chromaonline.com/chrom..._Basic_Information_Sheet_April08.pdf
Atelier Interactive is vastly different
While Archival Oils can be described as a “better mousetrap”, easily adapted to your purpose, Atelier Interactive is a “different mousetrap” and there are many techniques that can be developed which have never been available to artists before. After four years of intensive use, I am still finding out new ways to carry out this painting process.
Hi Rhonda 3rd yr student using archival oils.
Need some info please on using Chroma Finishing Varnishes. How long before the painting dries can they be used. Usually the norm is 6 - 9 months to allow the paint to cure. Any thoughts........rhonda.
Rhonda
When to Varnish Archival Oils
An Archival painting needs oxygen to cure properly like any other oil paint. It’s flexibility will prevent cracking when the paint moves, if you varnish too early you slow the whole curing process down, so DON”T DO IT if you don’t need to, and in particular if the paint application is thick. This applies also if the painting is on a non brittle surface such as wallboards where oxygen cannot get in from the back.
If you want a retouch varnish which will even out the surface, over Umber for instance, use Chroma Solvent Varnish Gloss 50/50 with turps so that the application is very thin.
Note also the need to use Smooth Gel in thick impasto.
When a painting is on canvas, and not abnormally thick, common sense suggests you can varnish in much less than 6months.
Jim
Hi from Rhonda Ferling 3rd yr student Griffith University.
What medium do you recommend when putting down a thin layer of underpainting. I have been using Lean Medium and the drying time is about 1 week. regards, rhonda. p.s. am happy with the colours I have posted my recent work just finished with archival
I really enjoyed using the new paints, the colors are vibrant, and i completed 2 new painting with them that were part of my portfolio to yale and the art institute of chicago.
Rhonda,
Lean medium should dry in a day. I can't understand what is happening. Could you please check the label on the bottle against the label as depicted here to make sure that it is a current batch.
Hi from Rhonda Ferling, 3rd yr student Griffith University Bne.
Just finished my work and was hung in an exhibition this week. General comments were what paints did you use for this work and why is it so glossy. They really liked it. This is good for us as students to know and pass on the brand of paints you have used. You generally find out what other artists use and what they don't like about their own brands.
Hi,
My name is Eric Rossi, I'm a 3rd year painting student from the Queenslnad COllege of Art, Griffith University in Brisbane. I am a regular user of the mediums, the Lean, Fat and Classic, and also the Smooth Gel Medium. I just want to say how much I love them and the paints.
I have a question, is there any chance the clear mediums will darken over time? I ask this as I use many layers of medium, up to 10 at times and sometimes I por it on quite thick.
Another question on a different topic, is there a possiblity that 'fluoro' paints be developed?
Thank you.
Many regards, Eric...
I've been doing a lot of work recently with archival mediums, finding them very easy to use.For this image that I'm posting below I used classic and was delighted with it's smooth consistency and they way the paint colour maintains it's body. The image below has only had 2 layes so far and is ar from resolved.
Now that I've been using archival for a few months, I'mfinding I chose the medium in accordance with the effect I want to creat in the work.
Yesterday i was doing a study for self portrait and had to work fast becasuse I didn't have long. I used the flow gel medium. In the heat I find it dries too quickly, but now that the weather is cooler I wan't having any trouble with it. I like using this as it is easy to bulk up the paint on the brush whilst still having it flow beautifully and smoothly.
Although I like the lean medium, and use it a lot because it dries quickly, I prefer the flow gel and classic. With these 2 mediums I can load up the brush with plenty of paint and it applies thick and consistent. As I tend to paint in just a few layers, sometimes only one,, getting good thick coverage with the medium is really important. and advantageous.
Also, some of the colours are wonderful, highly saturated, clean, clear, smoth and consistent.My favourites are Red Gold, Indian Yellow, Cerulean Blue,,Paynes Grey, Brilliant Violet,and Dioxozine Purple.
Today whilst painting I used the fat medium for another self portrait study. After I finished painting I noticed rivulets forming in some areas through the paint. I was working on board with 2 layers of white acrylic undercoat, on an easel.Perhaps the paint I mixed up was too viscose,but I didn't realise this as it didn't run straight away.Is this supposed to happen, where the paint separates after application, if there is too much medium mixed in?
I've just got one image to post at the moment. I have others that I have to photograph and will post soon.
Firstly, congratulations on a great web-site, full of elucidating facts and examples of work. I am a doctorat student at qca and participant in the archival oils forum. My work is largely focused on the materiality of paint, its surface and relation to the choosen support.
I work in single colour layers, slowly building up the surface of the image in a geological/sedimentary like way. Due to the time it takes to produce the works (mainly drying time between each application of paint) this is my first entry into the blog, as I now have some images to share.
I have recently started working on primed panels of aluminium, (prepared with an etch primer and then gessoed) as I wish to work on a really thin support to emphasise the physicality of the paint. The last series of works (see attached) I have bent and twisted the aluminium panels in the desire to work on a more sculptural surface that is not flat and one that becomes itself a landscape-like contour on which to paint. So far I have really appreciated the flexibility of Archival oil and its rather quick drying time which as alllowed me to work quicker. The best discovery is the smooth gel medium, that makes the paint go a bit further but also seems to act as a binder between each of the layers. In the past I used to put damar varnish in my paint to encourage the binding between dried paint and the newer layer on top (I'm not sure if this is advisable?) As with a lot of impasto work, working up layers fat over thin, sometimes it is hard to ensure that all the paint that goes down over the previous layer is thicker, so far I haven't had any cracking, but its only early days.
Does the use of the gel medium help to stop cracking? I am hoping that archival oils supposed flexibility will ensure a good adhesion and binding to the bent contours of the aluminiums surface.
Another question, it seems that the drying period for your paints are indeed faster than those of other brands I usually use (winton, art spectrum, rowney), is this due to the solvents you use,if so are they toxic?
One more question concerns the use of both the gel medium and the texture medium (that I found a great consistency mixed in with the paint) are thety likely to yellow or change colour with time and when working fat over lean do they contribute to stopping eventual cracks?
The only problem I have found so far with the paints are their consistency, as often the oil seems to have separated a lot from the pigment and the first squeeze of an expensive cad. orange tube is just a lot of oil!
However from reading some of your responses there have been a few bad batches that have since been delt with.
Please enjoy some of my images and I would be happy to receive any responses.
Miles Hall
I have been Painting a lot recently and many comments on my work indicates that my painting has really come along. I really appreciate this survey and the ability to put my work on line. I feel that this progress in my work has been aided greatly by the variety and reliablity of the archival mediums and th freedom to experiement with their differences. T0 this end I am singing the praises of these mediums to fellow students and will very shortly need to make my own purchases of archival mediums, especially the odorless solvent.
Below are some images. The one of sandune with blue object is still a work in progress but is a development on the image posted last week. This image has been laid up using flow gel medium, and classic, possibly a bit of lean as well in at least 3 layers, possibly 4.(can't quite remember.) I started with classic, left it a week, then a layer with lean and flow gel. Then more flow gel and classic. Is this a problem, mixing up the layers like this?
THe Figure painting on the red ground was done using smooth gel medium. I enjoyed it's impasto effect but found it v ery tacky on my brushes and difficult to apply. I ended up mixing it with fat medium to help it to flow. Is this alright? I realise that this reduces the impasto effect a little. I was using a lot of paint, should I have been mixing smaller amounts of pigment to the gel or more gel. What can you recommend.
The other image is also a work in progress, part of my series of surreal objects located in the Australian landscape.
Hi from Rhonda, 3rd yr student Griffith Uni Bne.
I find using a synthetic brush helps with a good coverage of the paint instead of using my natural bristle brush. Whilst at Uni we prime our canvas with an acrylic sealer then I mix up my underpainting colours with Lean Medium and then I paint with the Laying In Medium mixed with my white and this I find is all I need in the way of mediums. I notice with using the Lean medium in an underpainting it gives a low sheen to the surface. I don't mind this.
Am I able to get more products when I need them sent to my home address?
Also any info sheets available on the new mediums Laying-In-Medium and the varnishs pls. Cannot seem to find them on your web site.
Congratulations on you website and thank you for providing the interactive forums and information on oil painting on this site. Navigation around the sire is easy and I've noticed changes and updates so can see that there is constant maintenance and updates to the website.
The only comment I have to make is that I was uploading some of my paintings and the screen seemed to freeze while the pictures were being uploaded, I was loading 6 images. Perhaps I had too many images or they were too large?
Regards, Eric Rossi...
Hi !
Eric Rossi from the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University again.
I have exclusively been using only Archival oil paints all year and am loving them.
With the mediums- do I need to obey the 'Lean to Fat' rule? I ask this as I use a lot of layers and sometimes pour the medium on very think and leave the work flat it to dry. So far I haven't experienced any problems with the mediums, they are performing extremely well.
I have attached just a couple of images of some recent works.
Regards, Eric...
Thanks for the additiional supplies. They will be extremely useful in the next few weeks. I have been telling a lot of people at uni about the survey as I get a lot of interest in my work and questions about what paint and mediums I use. The FAt medium seems to be gaining in popularity as well as the odorless medium. One of my tutors, who did a survey on toxicity of various solvents last year, was favourably impressed with the low evaporation rate of the odorless solvent. She is also an active artist and was going to try the fat after looking at it in my workspace.
I have a few images to add but much more work that I haven't photographed todate. Some of these are done with a mixture of archival and other brands of oil pain t but always using your mediums which seems to be the main lynch pin in the paintings I do. In The last few works I have done I relied heavily on French Ultrmarine and Prussian blues and Paynes Grey. The are wonderful colours in their depth of pigment and clarity and consistency, so smooth.
With regard to varnishing- what is it's main purpose? To add shine or protect the archival quality of the work? I have a work that I'm getting ready for exhibition by 23 of JUne. By that date it needs to be dry but I still have work to finish on it so I guess it won't have time to dry for the application of varnish. Is this right? I'll post a few images of the work. 2 of these are still in progress. More later when I get my photos up to date.
hi I am studying at Curtin Uni W.A. I use oils and mostly paint with Art Spectrum paints and mediums. Last year I attended a painting demo by a well known WA painter and was amazed to see he only used Archival paint and fat medium for all his work. After this I began using the fat mediums with my paint but I found it dried quickly so I had to use more of it and work steadily. Results were good but I had to be careful that the paint didnt get tacky and start to drag.
I ma looking forawrad to starti ng the trial so I can experiment with other mediums.
Hi,
It appears that a couple of posters are having some trouble adding images to their comments. We are currently trying to get to the bottom of these issues and we ask that if you are having difficulty adding images can you please email at least one of your images along with your name and some details about what web browser you are using (i.e. Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari) and the browser version to: support@chromaonline.com
We hope to resolve this issue quickly but to do that we will need your help.
Thank you.
Eric Rossi here from the Queensland College of Art. The paints are performing really well. They are versatile and the colours are satisfying and inspiring. My personal favourite colour in the range is Cobalt Green (Series 4), what a beauty!! These paints recently helped me get in as a Finalist in the Churchie Emerging Artist Exhibition 2008.
Perhaps a Zinc White (transparent) could be developed for the range. That is the only one I'm missing. An Ivory Black could also be useful.
Thanks, Eric...
Here are some images. Thanks, Eric Rossi...
Hi I have just joined up for the student survey and in the past used other brand oil paints with the archival fat medium. I am looking forward to trialing the Archival range of paints. I have attached a recent painting so my improvement using the Chroma range can be tracked. I enjoy a range of techniques however more recently I have enjoyed using a fat medium and creating a thick painterly effect with individual paint strokes.
Hi from Rhonda at QCA Bne.
Just finished a work with archival and have had many comments on it. Great colours as I work with a limited palette. Now started another portrait this time of my daughter and I find the paint covers well, I don't need to add another layer but where I want to add highlights I go over again in some areas and it all blends in well. I am finding that I hardly use any mediums as I paint only a few drops mixed into the titanium white that I am using.. I still had a good control of the paint on the brush but I had to use a synthetic brush to move the paint just they way I like it. Am pleased with the colours that I am using, Ultramarine blue, yellow, red, ochre and vermillion, brillent violet, permanent alizarine, cobalt turquoise. that's about it for my palette. Hope you like my image.
posting the image of my recent work from Rhonda at QCA
just having another try at posting my pictures
some recent images of my work
Here are a few finalised pieces.I found in the final layer of the landscape with the purple object I used a variety of mediums for different mark making areas of the painting. Lean for the smooth brushed effect of the sky, Fat for the luscious feathery purple tail and flow gel for the ground. Once again I really like the was the flow gel tacks up quickly and holds the pigment with body. I seem to be using more and more of it.In the final resolution this painting has at least 4 layers in combinations of fat, lean and flow gel medium. Again I used a lot of it in combination with the fat in the work of he huge hovering shell. it holds the brush stroke really well where I want it to go on firm and was of real assistance in the glowing , highlight sections. The work of the large Blue object also has about 4 layers and has progressed on from the stage originally posted on the site, but I'm fairly satisfied now. I'm taking a break from painting for about a month. I've been working intensely and have to move back to Sydney, NSW. I hope to start some more work in about August. See you later. Hope that you enjoy the work. Ciao.
Hi again from Rhonda 3rd yr student QCA.
Working with oils and have done 2 more paintings, will post soon. anyone having difficulty posting the image. I will try again. I am finding I don't have to use mediums a lot, which is a big saving just a little medium in my white which I tend to use a lot. The medium is use is the laying in medium. The rest of my colours are reds, violet, vermillion and I mix browns out of this and blacks. Doing the flesh tints in my portraits is working well and am really happy with the coverage. When one layer is dry and I want to add another layer is needed, it goes on really well and easy even if I don't use any medium with it. ...cheers, rhonda.
Hi again will try and update the image of my last painting. Nearly finished my portrait with the oils and they really cover well and blending is a breeze. Anyone got any ideas on how to keep paint on the palette from drying out too fast. I am only using the smallest amount at a time, because the next day, it has formed a skin and is not very useable.
Hi again. will try to post my image. rhonda Brisbane, Qld.
hello from rhonda. trying to add my image. not having much luck.
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