PAINTING ON LOCATION

Too much wax will cause the lifting of under-strokes, Wax will dry-brush without drag, turpentine will keep the "soup" flowing. In the B/C old day's of painting, Sandraca was used as an intermediate isolating and final finish glaze, because it was alcohol based, today, since sandarac (sandracca)is no longer available except at http://www.kremer-pigmente.de/ Shellac can be used as an intermediate glaze but not a final. Dammar will do that job.

4 parts Stand Oil, 2 parts Raw Cold Pressed Linseed Oil, 2 parts Venetian Turpentine, 1 part Turpentine, 1/2 part Wax, 2% Drier.

4 parts Stand Oil, 3 parts Sun Dried Linseed Oil, 1 part Raw Cold Pressed Linseed Oil, 1 part Dammar, 2% Drier.

3 parts Venetian Turpentine, 2 parts Sun Thickened Linseed Oil, 1/2 part Turpentine, it should just drip off the palette knife. 2% COBALT DRIER, 5 DROPS DRIER PER 2 1/2 OZ. OF MEDIUM dries in 12 to 15 hours.

Windburg Medium, pre-made, IT'S REALLY A GREAT MEDIUM, [get it before they stop making it] mixes 1:1 with turpentine.

Windberg Art Products, 8601 Cross Park Dr., Suite 200, Austin,Tx., 78754

% Stand Oil	Sun Thickened Linseed Oil	Cold Pressed Linseed Oil	Balsam	Resin	Turpentine.	Dorland's or Beeswax	Drying	Mark, Comments
1 part Stand Oil	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	Wrinkles and skins, add: turp, raw cold pressed, balsam, or mastic.
1 part Stand Oil	.	1/4 part Cold Pressed Linseed Oil	.	.	needs no turpentine.	.	No drier. Three days dry.	A
1 part Stand Oil	1 part Sun Thickened Linseed Oil	.	.	.	.	1/4 part, Dorland's Wax	dry in 24 hours	A+
1 part Stand Oil	3/4 part Sun Thickened Linseed Oil	1/4 part, Raw Cold Pressed Linseed Oil	.	.	1/8 part Turpentine	1/8 part Wax	2% drier,	No tack, smooth blend, nice. My current medium until I use it up. A+
Stand Oil 1 part,	Sun Dried Linseed Oil 1/2 part,	1/2 part Raw Cold Linseed oil	.	.	.	1/8 part Wax	Add 2% Cobalt Drier to dry in 18 hours or Fifth day light tack.	A+  I used this formula for all  my 1995 paintings.  Sun dried linseed oil settles strokes.
1 part Stand Oil,	.	1/2 part Raw Cold Pressed Linseed Oil,	1/2 part Venetian Balsam,	.	1/4 part Turpentine,	1/8 part Wax,	2% Drier.	A+ Maybe the best medium.
1 part Stand Oil	1/4 part Sun Dried Linseed Oil	1/4 part Cold Pressed Linseed Oil	1/2 part Venetian	.	.	.	.	A beautiful balanced paint and glaze. A+
1 part Stand Oil	.	.	1 part Venetian Balsam	.	The turpentine evaporates quickly and needs constant replenishing,	.	No drier, tacky 8 days. Cobalt Drier 2% dry in 12 hours.	This mix has an edge bleeding problem.  A-
1 part Stand Oil	.	.	1/2 part Venetian	.	.	.	.	A little edge bleeding, some pick up. B
1 part Stand Oil	.	.	1/4 part Venetian	.	.	.	.	More pick up, wet 16 hours. C
1 part Stand Oil	.	.	.	1/5 part Dammar	.	1/4 part Wax	.	Stayed thick, doubled paint. A+
.	.	Cold Pressed Linseed Oil	Adding Venetian Balsam makes a great blending glaze.	.	Turpentine isn't needed to thin it out. - Nice glaze with turpentine.	.	Three days dry.  The drier is always optional.	An all round good medium used by itself. Adds slippery to Stand Oil. It has no flow-out .  A
.	Sun Dried Linseed Oil 1 part,	Cold Pressed Oil 1 part,	Venetian 1/2  part,	.	Turpentine 1/4 part,	.	2% Cobalt Drier optional.	A+
.	.	.	.	3/4 Dammar	.	1/4 Wax	.	Smooth and shows brush strokes, very painterly. Best for murals. A+
alkyd Oil Paint, It's made of long oil, modified alkyd resin.	.	.	.	.	The newer alkyd is fast drying, has no solvent action on dried layers but is sticky	.	.	Dried paint can chip off dried successive layers of paint unless a sticky medium like Alkyd, Liquin, or a oil modified alkyd resin is used. Stand oil, balsams and resins are sticky. A

Turpentine in paint gives the most control but it removes body.

Linseed Oil wrinkles and skins by itself, it has no solvent action and no adhesion qualities.
Linseed Oil yellows, layers must be dry between coats or they will chip off.
Half Oil = Stand Oil 50%, Turpentine 50%. A+ medium.
Boiled Oil = 200 degrees C for several hours, no siccatives (an old masters technique.
Sun Thickened Linseed Oil = Three sunny days in a shallow lead pan 1/8 deep or less.

alkyd Oil Paint,
The newer alkyd is fast drying, has no solvent action on dried layers so dried paint can chip off dried successive layers of paint. It's made of long oil, modified alkyd resin.

Resin Mastic Paint,
Oil-less paint. Dissolves and redissolves itself so it's joined layers are a compleat film. Mix it with up to 50% bees wax. Dammar mixed with wax will not yellow, (the Egyptian Fayum grave paintings prove that). Dammar as a final varnish over an oil and mastic painting will not yellow. You can polish a wax and mastic painting with a soft cloth but never get it glossie. Always have a little wax in your mastic. A+

When making a big blend of sky and water;
Stand Oil 1 part, Cold Pressed Linseed Oil 2/5 part, Wax 1/5 part, Dammar 1/10 part, = Stays very wet- very good blending, smooth and workable, no drier 2 1/2 days wet. Turpentine adds longer workability, work and pickup with Turpentine, glazes well.

Cobalt Drier 2% solution = dipping the palette knife 1/8 inch into the drier and mixing it with 1/4 inch of paint. Or when making a 2 1/2 oz. bottle of medium, add 5 drops drier, dries in 12 to 15 hours. Four drops dries in 20 hours.

Dammar resin and Venetian balsam are both self flowing.
Dammar by itself takes 2 days to dry.
Dammar dries differently than Oil, the whole paint film dries and dissolves as one, this is called solvent action.
Dammar and wax = A+, non-yellowing.
Dammar and Wax and turpentine make a juicy soupier medium. Very painterly - smooth easy blend.
Big loose technique to change and change again - fast setting to over paint - Matt finish. Adds control to solvent action. Fast juicy strokes cover 100%, Dammar gives Wax the smooth slippery soupier stroke and allows the buildup. Wax increases solvency, too much Wax dissolves and lifts under-strokes quickly. Wax will dry-brush without drag. Turpentine keeps the soup flowing - dry in two days. Add Cobalt Drier to dry in 12-15 hours. Dammar dries faster without Wax. More Dammar gives more gloss. A+
Turpentine and Chios resin together are as old as Sandraca "B.C." Wax was added in the early A/D. It's smooth and shows brush strokes in a painterly way. Roman Wax Cakes were made like this. It's easy to pickup when you want to lift an under coat. Best for mural work, permanent and non yellowing.

Wax and paint, 50/50, strokes just slide along, no grab or bite, dry two days, non yellowing. B
Wax and turpentine, no drier, dry 4 days.
Wax, turpentine and Cobalt drier, dry in 12 hours.
Wax and dammar, no drier, dry in 30 hours without drier. A+
Wax and Venetian turpentine, no drier, too slippery, wet 8 days.

Cold Pressed Linseed oil -dry in 3 days -good alone.
Cold Pressed Linseed Oil and Cobalt Drier, dry in 12 hours.
Cold Pressed Linseed Oil - down to earth good painting medium - slippery - adds slippery to Stand Oil - no flow out - no turpentine needed - nice glaze with turpentine. Three days dry. A
Cold Pressed Linseed Oil 1 part, Dammar 1 part, adds bite to the oil - adds self flow to oil - needs wax - Three days dry. B+

Sun Dried Linseed Oil and Turpentine, very smooth for a long time, strokes and marks fall out. It breaks down quickly with turpentine and will run.
Sun Dried Linseed Oil and Stand Oil paints slippery.
Sun Dried Linseed Oil 1 part, Cold Pressed Oil 1 part, Venetian 1/2 part, Turpentine 1/4 part, 2% Cobalt Drier. A+

Stand Oil is yellowing.
Stand Oil and Turpentine, no drier, dry in 5 days.
Stand Oil and Cobalt Drier, dry 24 hours, wrinkled skin.
Stand oil by itself = wrinkled skin - must add mastic or balsam.
Stand oil crawls with cobalt drier, very slow drying.
Stand Oil - too thick to work with, greasy and self flowing - lifts under stroke - four day dry.
Stand Oil and turpentine, dissolve the stand Oil to a consistency thicker than Raw Linseed but thinner than Sun dried. Sets very rapidly, dissolves layers quickly, lifts under layer, difficult to maintain painting consistency.
Stand Oil and turpentine, smooth - blendable - strokes flow out by themselves in an uncontrolled manner - Bleed over - needs Linseed Oil - two day dry.
Stand Oil 1 part, Cold Pressed Linseed Oil 1/4 part, needs no turpentine. No drier. Three days dry. A
Stand Oil 1 part, Cold Pressed Linseed Oil 3/8 part, Wax 1/4 part, Dammar 1/10 part = Stayed thick, doubled paint. A+
Stand Oil 1 part, Venetian 1/2 part, Sun Dried Linseed Oil 1/4 part, Cold Pressed Linseed Oil 1/4 part, A beautiful balanced paint and glaze. A+
Stand Oil 1 part, Sun Dried Linseed Oil 3/4, Cold Pressed Linseed Oil 1/4 part = No tack, smooth blend, nice. A+
Stand Oil 1 part, Sun Dried Linseed Oil 1/2 part, Raw Cold Linseed oil 1/2 part, Wax 1/8 part, Fifth day light tack, add 2% Cobalt Drier to dry in 18 hours. - I used this formula for all my 1995 paintings. - Sun Dried Linseed Oil settles strokes - A+
Stand Oil 1 part, Sun Dried Thickened Linseed Oil 1/2 part, Cold Pressed Linseed Oil 1/2 part, Venetian Balsam Turpentine 1/4 part, Turpentine 1/4 part, Wax 1/8 part, drier 2%. Maybe the best medium. A+
Stand Oil 1 part, Sun Thickened Linseed Oil 1 part, Dorland's Wax 1/4 part, dry in 24 hours. A+
Stand Oil 1 part, Sun Thickened Linseed Oil 3/4 part, Raw Cold Pressed Linseed Oil 1/4 part, Wax 1/8, Turpentine 1/8, and 2% drier, my current medium until I use it up. A+
Stand Oil 1 part, Venetian Balsam 1 part, plus Turpentine. The turpentine evaporates quickly and needs constant replenishing, this mix has an edge bleeding problem. No drier, tacky 8 days. Cobalt Drier 2% dry in 12 hours. A Stand Oil 1 part, Venetian 1/2 part, a little edge bleeding, some pick up. B
Stand Oil 1 part, Venetian 1/4 part, more pick up, wet 16 hours. C

Boiled Linseed Oil paints very smoothly, it's fast drying, but runs and puddles when you add turpentine. It paints better than Cold Pressed by itself and smoother than Grumbacher III, yellows a lot more then cold pressed.

Maroger's, Linseed oil cooked with white lead or red lead, a great and proven painting medium, very smooth. More a little farther down. A+

Poppy Oil, nice, like a soft wax, day to day work wet in wet, soaks into ground. Apply a coat of thin shellac or egg white to the ground to prevent this. Three days dry.

Venetian Turpentine flows like Sun-thickened Linseed and Stand Oil, sticky, flows out long after the stroke. Heavy tacky drag, smooth with turpentine.
Venetian Balsam Turpentine, smooth with enough turpentine, fast setting, hard to maintain consistency, lifts under layer, dry in 50 hours.
Venetian Balsam Turpentine and Cobalt Drier, heavy flow, separates and puddles. Dry in 12 hours.
Venetian Balsam Resin Turpentine 1 part, Raw Cold Pressed Linseed Oil 4/5 part, 2% Cobalt Drier, dries hard and glossie, best blending medium. Controllable light wash. = best glaze. A+

Grumbacher Gel - nice wax and oil feeling - no flow out like Venetian - after four days it was still 5% wet, thin with turpentine, dry in 3 days with 2% drier.
Grumbacher Gel stays thick like Zec.
Grumbacher III - Thinner than Cold Pressed Linseed - gives paint a nice bite and feel to the strokes, like Poppy Oil w/o the Wax feel. Good to use as the thinner instead of turpentine. Two days dry. A
Grumbacher Gel and Grumbacher III have thick and thin covered.

Archival Lean, fast drying. B
Archival Fat, Liquin properties. B

Liquin reduces the length of your strokes and separates them. Fast drier. Oil modified Alkyd resin yellows less than unmodified oil. B

Windburg Painting Medium - needs 50% turpentine to flow - slight bite - great control. The best pre-made medium. Two days dry. A+

Windsor Newton WinGel dries Very fast, One hour. Alkyd and drier medium.

Zec is waxie smooth, a very fast setter, holds all strokes, extends paint 100%, dry in 30 hours.
Zec and Mastic sets too fast, non yellowing, dry in 12 hours.
Zec and Cold Pressed Linseed Oil slows drying to 24 hours. Too much drag. C

Copal sets up fast, dries glossie, redissolves easily.
Copal with drier drags, it dries in one day by itself. Flows paint too much for my location painting, good glazing for portraits, lifts lower layer. Ron Garrett makes a better copal then common store bought copal, I did enjoy using Ron's better than any other brand. Ron Garrett 

MAROGER listed how to make mediums of his past.
Here is a good recipe for Maroger Black Oil.

In this case example, raw is referred to as raw cold pressed, purified linseed oil.
"BLACK OIL is made of purified raw linseed oil cooked with red lead and adding mastic. "
 
Cold pressed raw Linseed Oil - 96.5g Mastic - 30g Pbo - 4g
This comes out to visually about 1/2 cup oil, a handful of crystals, and about a 1/4 tsp of PbO. If you can make pancakes, you have the skill to make this medium. At this point, you might want to tell your family that you are NOT making food, just so they don't run over and ingest any of this stuff. Now, mix the oil and the PbO together. It will look exactly like orange juice (hence the warning). Now, using a Corning ware or some other such porcelain container and slowly heat the mixture.
If it gets too hot, just remove it, whatever you do, do not let it boil.

As it heats up the transformation will start taking place, turning the mixture from orange to the color of black coffee. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon or porcelain - NOT A METAL ONE. This is crucial. After the coffee color is reached, let it cook for one hour to make sure the change is complete.
The PbO does not go into the air, there are no poisonous fumes, so don't worry about that. At this point I like to let the temperature down a bit, before I slowly add the mastic, stirring it in. Now it looks like cappuccino for a while.

There is a variation that skips the mastic and goes for 10g of beeswax, but I have never bothered to try it as I want the brilliance the mastic gives - besides you can always make a paste of wax and resin and add it later (I recommend adding some carnauba wax, it is harder than ordinary beeswax). Okay. Now that everything is cooked, you have Black Oil.
I shot these photos as I was making the maroger media. I forgot to shoot it in the "orange juice" stage. This is the cooked black oil media and the porcelain spoon. And the empty tubes in a jar on top of the Chios crystals.

Just forget about this for now, you are not there yet, I don't know why anyone would want to paint with this as it is. Now fill your Jelly jar SLIGHTLY LESS THAN HALF FULL with the turpentine. This is very crucial - if it is exactly half, the transformation will not take place. Then fill the empty tubes that are standing up in a jar with your mixture, seal it tightly, and put it in the refrigerator overnight.
Tell yourself what an alchemical magician you are (I'm only half kidding) as it will transform into the Jelly. And here you are. 

When using this, just a little maybe about a third added to your tube paint should do the trick - if it is slick, you are adding too much. Not only will your paint look incredible, you will be able to blend like you've never done before, add beautiful thin layers, put in detail that will stay, not drip or run, and any layer you make will dry within 24 hours!
I also recommend using Titanium and Zinc as the white paint.

Maroger uses the term litharge for oxide of lead.

The painters lead yellow pigment is also called litharge. That would be white lead roasted to yellow. In this form it is of the orthorhombic crystal system. Yellow PbO is an orthorhombic crystal. The natural mineral litharge is red lead PbO, a tetragonal system crystal. Produced red lead is tetroxide Pb3 O4 the same as the natural mineral minium, only better.

Red lead is the heated litharge transformation ingredient made from the heating process of white lead. The yellow and red lead are lower in tinting strength the white lead without litharge. Sponifacation turns the white lead transparent in oil and even more so the yellow-orange called red. Black oil adds no color of it's own to pigments but all oil yellows.

Adding heat to lead white forms yellow litharge pigment early on the heat process. Lead Litharge has a early temperature of yellow. Maroger's medium uses the the lead color orange, called red lead. There is a lead heat transformation heating red lead rapidly at a high temperature. This decomposes the red lead and turns it into litharge. Cooking this litharge and oil mix makes it a transparent brown gel called black oil.

Lead heated in a fire will cause white lead oxide to form. Acid gas does a better job making more white oxides. Roast the white to make the colors from yellow to orange, red and brown. Lead white carbonate heats to yellow, orange, red (lead tetroxide, Pbsub3 Osub4, called minium and/or orange lead. It has low tinting strength and good body). Orange lead, called red lead, is higher in litharge oxide which is more transparent.

Artists Pigments, Feller, pg 118. When heated strongly red lead decomposes to form litharge. When heated gently it turns to reddish brown then purple. That would be cuput mortum.

My color wheel uses the same line of darkening as this lead oxide crystal. The colors yellow to orange and red use the same brown as their color's hue darker hue, Burnt Umber.

Jacques Maroger (1884-1962). (pronounced Mar-o-zhay).

In 1907 Maroger began studies with Louls Anquetin (1861-1942). Called the French 'Michelangelo' by his Impressionist compatriots, Anquetin sought the painting power of the old masters through a remarkable mastery of drawing, but his skills were stymied by the then current oil painting materials.

BLACK OIL is a gell made of purified raw linseed oil cooked with lead. It may be used as a medium, a diluent in the palette cup, to grind colors from dry pigments, and it is the basis of other mediums. It will yellow about the same as using a 2% siccative.

MASTIC VARNISH is made of pure gum spirits of turpentine and mastic (dammar) resin tears. It can be added to Black Oil for an instant Flemish type medium. Diluted slightly with turpentine, it may be used as a final picture varnish, after the oil painting has completely dried. It will not yellow as much as the heated oil.

ITALIAN FORMULA MEDIUM combines black oil with beeswax for a transparent paste which dries to a soft semigloss luster and gives an opulent, rich body to impastos.

FLEMISH FORMULA MEDIUM combines black oil with mastic tears, pure gum spirits of turpentine, and beeswax for a transparent gel medium. Colors have more intensely and a rich gloss finish.

All of the formulas have similarly agreeable handling qualities and may be Intermixed wet, but alternate layering is not recommended.

1. The GROUND, or surface to be painted, whether the traditional white lead in linseed oil, acrylic gesso, or some other, should be permanent, stainable but not absorbent, and have sufficient "tooth", i.e. not slippery. A glaze of Maroger Medium and color over a white ground makes a toned surface that is very compatible for painting when dry or wet.

2. OIL COLORS are ideally made of dry pigments freshly ground in Black Oil If TUBE OIL COLORS are used, it is recommended that one part medium be added to each four parts of color. The exception is LEAD (FLAKE) WHITE which may be ground in raw linseed oil.

3. GLAZES are mostly medium tinted with a small amount of transparent color. Some medium should be available on the palette, or in the cup, to add to colors for the feel and relative transparency the artist desires.

4. A meager COAT OF MEDIUM, not too slippery, should be wiped on the area to be painted, unless a dry scumble is desired.

End of Maroger Mediums.

Dammar Mastic dries differently than oil, the film dries as a whole, without a skin, and can be redissolved with a solvent. Because of this fact, layers can be applied over any stage of drying paint. Oil only, may chip off an under layer if it's not completely dry, as oil is not a good binder by itself but stand oil is.

Venetian Balsam Turpentine, can be redissolved, it imparts a high glaze and is a non-yellowing good binder. It flows like sun-thickened linseed oil and stand oil. By itself it has a sticky, heavy tacky drag that lifts the undercoat as you paint, turpentine will make it slick and smooth. Venetian and Stand Oil together melt the paint too much, they need Linseed Oil to make a medium worth painting with.

Stand Oil is greasy and self-flowing and lifts the under-strokes. Stand Oil by itself is the slowest drying oil of all, with turpentine to keep it fluid it paints well. Stand oil does not react well with any drier by itself, it does not yellow. Stand oil and Venetian Turpentine, 1:1:1 with turpentine makes the best of both world's combining tacky with slick, it still has an edge bleeding problem though. Venetian Turpentine or Dammar will inhibit Stand Oil's tendency to wrinkle, and oil mixed in will correct the edge bleeding caused by the balsam.

Both Linseed oil and Stand Oil wrinkle by themselves, add dammar or balsam.

Cold Pressed Linseed Oil is an all round good medium used by itself. It has no flow-out and turpentine isn't needed to thin it out. Adding Venetian turpentine and drier make it a great blending glaze. Oil by itself is not a good binder, under coats must be dry.

Poppy Oil paints like soft wax, very nice, it yellows the least of the oils and is very slow drying so it can be painted into for days, great for portraits. Most pigments are ground in poppy oil with a small addition of wax to retard drying in the tube.

Alkyd Oil Paint is made of long oil, it's fast drying and has no solvent action on dried paint, so successive layers can chip off the shrinking drying under paint. Unless the under coat is completely dry.

Acrylic's final finish should be a Polyurethane Acrylic, high or satin gloss, of 30% Acrylic emulsion and 70% Polyurethane emulsion. Get it an any commercial paint store, after sixteen years of my testing, it's still perfectly clear.
NEW.. May 24 1999. Here is an art supplier I have found that has this outstanding product, for 20 years now I have had to buy this finish from furniture finishing paint suppliers. This is what he wrote me yesterday,"Regarding the ClearFlex; the resin system we use in this product has such a high resistance to water that it was tested by a roofing tile manufacture in Mexico; they now buy a thousand gallons a month (without the UV inhibitors)."
For a long time now, paintings (oil) have needed a protective coating, this layer has always turned brown or powdered and had to be removed at some point. Now, with this acrylic-polyurethane emulsion we do not have to ever change or remove it. Thanks Gary!
Triangle Coating, 1930 Fairway Dr., San Leandro, California 94577-5631

Here is a complete palette, most of them are Liquitex because I liked the soft plastic tube, Winsor and Newton's colors are stronger more pigmented colors.

01, Cadmium Yellow Lemon Light
02. Cadmium Yellow Medium
03. Cadmium Red Light
04. Cadmium Red Medium
05. Naphthol Crimson,
06. Acra Violet, warm Magenta
07. Yellow Oxide
08. Red Oxide
09. Burnt Sienna, Winsor Newton
10. Burnt Umber
11. Dioxazine Purple
12. Ultramarine Blue, Winsor Newton
13. Thalo Blue
14. Turquoise Deep
15. Thalo Green
16. Brilliant Yellow Green
17. Light Emerald Green
18. Permanent Green Light
19. Vivid Lime Green
 
 

There are 42 Liquitex colors in all, these 19 are essential.
Liquitex has a new great medium for acrylics, 2003. It's called, Blending and Painting Medium.
It extends drying time a little and makes blending edges a lot easier.
An acrylic photo pigment chip chart of opposite colors to make neutral dark.
The same pigments are uses in W/C, acrylics, oils, cara colla and fresco

I hope water colors will be your first medium to work in like it was for me. At least get the primary colors making the whole range of colors, including the darkest dark's. For this you need the right pigmented colors. Here is my palette after painting "what was in front of me", for twenty years without black pigment.

The palette is two rows of fourteen wells, Yellow to Warm Magenta on the top, Cool Magenta to Yellow-Green on the bottom. Some wells have two colors in them to aid in the mixing. I like to keep the colors clean, cleanliness is number one. Starting in the top left #1 well. I squeezed in enough Talens Ultramarine Deep to fill the top half, under it in the same well I added Liquitex Burnt Sienna, this will make a Burnt Umber color. Brand names are important, they're rarely the same color.

#O1-WELL, Talens Ultramarine Blue Deep and Liquitex Burnt Sienna, these make a warm or cool Burnt Umber.

#02, Talens Ultramarine Blue Deep and Bocour Venetian Red, a very opaque neutral dark, warm or cool.

#03, Grumbacher Thalo Purple on top and Grumbacher Thalo Green below, a cool neutral for the background distances.

#4, Grumbacher Thalo Crimson for the Warm Magenta on top and Grumbacher Thalo Green below. This is the warm, or cool neutral opposition dark for strong foreground dark's.

#05, MMMM, Grumbacher Thalo Crimson, warm Magenta.

#06, MMYY, Grumbacher Finest Red.

#07, Liquitex Burnt Sienna.

#08, Grumbacher Vermilion Light.

#09, YYYM, Grumbacher Cadmium Orange.

#10, Grumbacher Cadmium Yellow Deep,

#11, Winsor and Newton Cadmium Yellow.

#12, Grumbacher Cadmium Yellow Middle.

#13, YYYY, Winsor and Newton Yellow, warm,

#14, Liquitex Lemon Yellow, cool.

The second row also goes from dark to light, since the paper's white, paint from light to dark. Out line your whites in pencil before you start. Don't paint over the pencil lines or they will become black pigment and permanent. Paint up to the line, let it dry, erase the line, don't damage the paper, then paint in the adjacent color.

#15, MMMM, Liquitex Acra Violet, the Cool Magenta to mix with blues.

#16, MMMC, Grumbacher Finest Thalo Purple.

#17, CCCC, Grumbacher Thalo Blue.

#18, Talens Ultramarine Light on top, and Liquitex Ultramarine Blue on the bottom.

#19, MMCC, Winsor and Newton French Ultramarine Blue,

#20, Grumbacher Cobalt Blue on top, Liquitex Cobalt Blue on the bottom.

#21, CCCY, Talens Turquoise Blue.

#22, CCYY, Grumbacher Finest Thalo Green.

#23, Grumbacher Finest Emerald Green.

#24, Liquitex Permanent Green Light on top, and Bocour Emerald Green on the bottom, opaque warm and cool.

#25, Bocour Olive Green.

#26, YYMM, Grumbacher Cadmium Orange.

#27, Bocour Cadmium Yellow Medium.

#28, Grumbacher Academy Yellow-Green.

Water Colors are really not that transparent, there are no 100% transparent Yellows, reds, browns, ultramarine blues or cobalt blues.

Here are the marking points on a normal twenty year old.

The skull is the basic division of the human body. It is eight heads high. The parting between the legs as one quarter head below the middle of the body.

START WITH A [3 x 4] OVAL.

Divide the head into six parts from top to bottom. This will give you the:

0. The top of the skull,

1. The hairline,

2. The center of the forehead,

2.5 The brow,

3. The pupils,

4. The center of the nose bulb circle,

5. The bottom of the top teeth,

6. The bottom of the chin

The head sideways is one head high and one head wide. The top of the ear is on line with the eye brows.

The ear hole is in line with bottom of the nose, and just above the backbone and skull pivot point.

The bottom of the ear varies with the individual and age.

The face triangle is from the center of each pupil, through the nostrils of the nose to the point between the front teeth. To me this is an important trait, every bodies triangle is a little different.
The smiling mouth lines up under the pupils, the two iris usually equal the maximum smiling width of the mouth.

The charcoal drawing is on a white background.
It was then painted with only two neutral dark making colors, Red Oxide and Ultramarine Blue.
A Burnt Sienna glaze is then used for warmth where it is wanted.

Five eye widths span the center of the skull, everybody is a little different. The space between the pupils is an average of two and a half inches. The width of one eye is usually equal to the space between the eyes.
 
 

The neck is 1/4 of a head high.

The shoulders are two head lengths (not widths)wide.

The chin to shoulder line is 1/4 of one heads length.

The chin to nipples line equals one head length.

The nipples to the belly button equals one head length.

From the belly button to the space between the legs is one and 1/4 head.

The width of the waste at the belly button is one head length wide (not head width wide).

From the hip [trunk] top triangle line to the space between the legs, is one head high and two head widths wide. Not more.

The center of the body is the bend line, it is 1/4 head above the space between the legs and two head widths wide. Not more. Here, I lower the 3 torso heads 1/4 of a head to the point between the legs and keep the bend line where it was.

The torso triangle is from the ends of the shoulder line to the center and the top line of the bend line triangle. That bend line triangle is the quarter head high triangle within the trunk triangle.

The rib cage can be represented by an oval two heads high, starting at the shoulder line.

The upper arm, from the shoulder triangles outside edge, is one and 1/2 heads long.

The lower arm is one and 1/4 heads long.

The hand is 3/4 of a head long, equal to the average face.

The chest side view is one head width wide at the nipples.

The upper arm is one and 1/2 head lengths, connecting through the shoulder ball, a quarter head circle reaching the end of the shoulder line.

Just below the leg space, the legs and the body are the widest.

Two egg shaped heads, side by side, upside down, will fit in the trunk area.

From the outside point of the bend line triangle down to the center of the nee cap is two head lengths. The bend line is always the center of the body.

The nee cap is a 1/4 head length circle.

The calf muscle is higher on the outside.

From the center of the nee cap to the ground is two head lengths.

The ankle is 1/4 head high off the ground.

The foot is one head length long.

The ankle bone is higher on the inside.
 
 

1. Start with the center balance line from top to bottom.

2. Divide it in half, this is the top of the bend line triangle.

3. Add the head, legs, shoulder line and arm lines.

4. Finish the torso triangle and the bend line triangle.

5. Now add the hands and feet.
 

That's it, these simple steps include the lines that can catch any action, fast!

Now, to finish the form, put the trunk triangle in, the shoulder balls, nee caps and rib cage.

From the pointed bottom of the bend line triangle, the space between the legs, connect a line to the bottom of the nee cap for the outside of the leg.

Add the calf lines and the stick figure is finished. It's accurate, balanced, and ready to add the muscles.
 
 
 

I start at the top left and work my way to my signature three times. When I have the first 100% coverage I concider myself 1/2 way done. In this first 100% coverage the lighting of that one hour of the day is captured, more then anytyhing else, capture the light. Note the time the light is perfect.

See what is in front of you as  brush-strokes, what brush will fill in the patterns the fastest, are there sharp corners?, long lines?, big blends?, heavy textures or many changes of color to contend with? Maybe there's a repeated pattern like water diamonds, eucalyptus leaves or grass. Maybe your going to change colors with a glaze. Each of the recommended brushes has a special pattern or job it's best suited for.

The strokes of a "fan brush" here.

Here's some ways to paint a sky.

ACRYLICS. Pre-paint the sky with the cloud color in acrylics and let it dry. Since it's Ultramarine Blue overhead and Cyan at the horizon line and Ultramarine is granular in W/C's and hard to blend in oil and acrylics. I use a Thalo Blue Cyan and Dioxine Purple to blend the whole blue sky then wipe out the clouds with a paper towel square and add the clouds darker colors by mixing a neutral combination like Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue.

OIL. Wipe out the clouds from the sky's colors and add the right cloud colors. A very thin pre-oiling of the surface will make paint flow smoother and wipe out cleaner.

WATER COLOR. Draw with a pencil harder than a normal 2B, outline the whites and high lights. Wash the #300 paper with a 5" elephant ear sponge, while there's still a slight sheen add colors, paint until the paper is dry. There is no need to tape down #300 paper, hold the corners down with close pins. When it's completely dry, re-spray it with water and start again, the dried colors won't move and can be painted over. Paint all the way to the edges, load the brush accurately, two strokes from one load plus enough left in the puddle for one more stroke. A dry brush will pick up or exchange wet colors. Don't paint with the wrong color, don't leave accidental white spots, outline white areas before hand, soften at least one edge of each stroke, start at the top left and pull, don't push the brush. 

Waterford 300#, Rough and Hot Pressed. A truly great paper.

Twinrocker 300#, Rough, large deckle, light tub size, pre-wash needed, moderate rough texture. Cold Pressed.

Strathmore Gemini 300#, Rough and Cold Pressed.

Strathmore Excalibur 80#, 25% cotton, 75% fiberglass. You must erase pencil lines before painting, hard to brush erase. Fun to paint on.

Fabriano Esport, Rough and Cold Pressed.

Fabriano Classico, 140# only, excellent, hard.

Arches, 300# and 400#, Pre wash, won't stain on first wash, great texture, erases anything.

Acrylics are easier than oils or water colors. One reason is because two coats of white can fix anything and the high lighting can be adjusted. Highlights are not added last or worked up to slowly, they're more part of the whole picture.

A new piece of equipment I made is used to plot two vanishing points of any building 90 degrees apart, it can be ten foot long for larger paintings. A bar attaches to the back of the painting, level with and behind the picture's horizon line. It has two straight edge bars on pivots that clip onto the bar and lock down on the perceived vanishing points of the top of the building. Sometimes times both vanishing points are off the page in a 60 degree wide picture. This tool will adjust for the earth's curvature.

Match up the buildings most extreme top angles with the straight edge arms and hinge clip them onto the horizon bar, matching and lining up the angles of the straight edge bar to the buildings image. I look at the building and point to the extended vanishing points on the horizon line to the left and right in my pictures view and clip the arms on. That position works now for any building in my picture with those compass aligned angles, as in a row of buildings down a street. Swinging the arms will give you the correct angles of the windows, doors, bricks, etc.

Acrylics, are thinner in basic use ability, the perfect consistency of paint for stroking is thinner with acrylics than in oils. Acrylics, as egg tempera, wax-water emulsion, and casein have no dragging properties, smoother then smooth you might say.
 
 

Gauze, stretched on a frame and drawn on, shows fore shortening and accurate layouts.

Retical, a string grid on a movable frame held in one spot to relate size proportions. Van Gogh painted his retical in a painting with boats in it.

Mirror, to see in reverse, placed to see the model and picture simultaneously.

Black mirror, to check faults in tonality.

The so called Claude Glass, was named to honor the landscape artist, Claude Lorraine. He did not invent it though. Gainsborough also was associated with this device.
It was a compact-looking fold up mirror, that was slightly convex. Either hand tinted or with a black backing. The overall effect for the artist's purpose was to allow the subtlety of the middle greys to emerge, while suppressing the overwhelming highlights. The darks were still preserved with detail. The convexity of the glass compacted the overall scene and aided in the area of perspective. The Science of Art, Martin Kemp, Yale University Press.

Reducing glass, sees the whole picture without standing back.

Colored glass, cyan will show the strength of warm colors, yellow will expose contrasts.

Plummet, a weighted string to check against vertical.

Pantograph, enlarges images mechanically.

Measuring stick, size relationships measured from an arm's length.

Real color wheel, to show opposition's when mixing neutral dark's or shadows in pigment, instead of using black pigment.