Breaking the rules of painting?

[Chris Saper]

In representational painting, which is what we are all really about here, there are, in my view, absolutely a set of fundamentals. They involve things like drawing, value behavior, the division of space, harmonious color, light and shadow, and the way the eye moves about the surface. There are fundamentals because there are some basic things inherent in the way we see stuff.

Within that context are a wondrous set of tools at each of our hands: things like contrast, saturation, hue, temperature, shape, line, edge management, texture...that allow for an infinite number of variations.

When a painter decides to use the tools at hand, (presuming he or she has some measure of control over them) to move outside the variations that comprise the norm, more power to them. Sometimes the painting will still "look good', sometimes it will fail. (Sort of like what can happen even if you stay within the variations.)

So break any rule that you would like, flaunt variation. If it works, it will be evident. If it fails, it will be evident, too. The big difference in understanding the fundmentals, is that if your painting fails, you will at least have some basis for knowing WHY...and if you wish, you can avoid repeating the mistake next time.

Break all the "rules' you want...you will enoy all the consequences, good or bad. My point is, it's far better to understand the fundamentals first.

So when I offer a critique, I am absolutely going to go with what I see as the fundamentals, the basics, where going with the odds will tend to serve one better than not. What the recipient chooses to do with all this is no longer in my domain.

[Linda Ciallelo]

As the most famous person in the world once said "the laws are made for man, not man for the law".

[Marvin Mattelson]

There are truths and there are rules. Painters of note have always recommended the study of nature as the path to discovering the truth. This doesn

[Karin Wells]

Linda Ciallelo: I just realized that no one answered your question about the "fat over lean" rule. This is one of those unbreakable rules that should be followed unless you don't mind your painting surface cracking over time.

Sometimes it helps to simply remember that all mediums are considered FAT. And here is a more detailed explanation that I hope clarifies...

In indirect painting (Leonardo style - painting from dark to light) the artist builds up three general layers of paint and medium.

Bottom layer or layers: A color is used to block in the painting. The paint in this layer is often thinned with turpentine and a small amount of medium. This layer is lean.

Middle layer or layers: This is where opaque colors are introduced. The medium can be thinned with 10% to 20% turpentine.

Top layer or layers: A glaze layer that modifies the opaque colors and makes the surface very rich. No thinners are added to your medium in this layer. This layer is fat.

Paintings built in this manner follow the "fat over lean" rule. Again, ALL PAINTING MEDIUMS ARE CONSIDERED FAT so thin your medium less as you work from the bottom layers to the top ones.

Oil paints that look shiny are FAT to begin with. And oil colors that look more matte (dull) are LEAN.

Some other painters (Rubens sometimes worked this way) often apply thick opaque paint as the initial layer and add transparent glazes to modify that underpainting. The "fat over lean" principle applies to this too. I did an underpainting example at: http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...=&threadid=794 that illustrates this.

"Fat over lean" applies to all methods of painting in traditional oils whether direct, indirect or when using a combination of methods.

[Michael Fournier]

Karin, Great info. I wanted to add a few additions that also might help.

The first one is not all mediums dry at the same rate nor do all paint colors. So you must be careful when using different additives to your paint and when you have heavy applications of slower drying paints that you do not put a faster drying layer over a slower drying one.

The rule of Fat over Lean assumes that the Fat layer of paint contains the same or similar type of oil-based medium as the lower layer.

All oil paint contains oil so even directly from the tube it can be fat depending on the layer you intend to apply over it.

If you use linseed, almond or similar oil-based mediums then as you add more medium to your paint it is Fat, meaning that it contains more oil.

But, here is the gotcha:

Alkyd resin mediums like Liquin which are quick drying will dry much faster than oil paint direct from the tube or with added oil-based mediums. If you were to follow the rule of Fat over Lean, assuming that the paint with more medium (Liquin in this case) was Fat then you would be in trouble if the layer you are painting over was thick oil-rich paint direct from the tube, even with no oil medium added.

Some mediums can contain other drying agents like Japan Drier which also hasten the drying of oil paint. (Caution: Japan Drier can cause paint to become brittle and should be used very sparingly if at all.) These mixes also should not be used over an oil-rich layer.

Even if you waited until the oil rich layer was dry to the touch it still is likely to shrink more than a faster drying layer over time, causing the top layer to crack or worse even flake off.

You could put a layer of paint that is 50% Liquin down as an initial layer of paint and it would dry very fast. You could paint over it with paint direct from the tube with no medium added and it would still be following the fat over lean rule. Why? Fat means "more oil" and paint from the tube has more oil than a 50/50 mix of paint and Liquin and dries slower.

And one more note: paint thinned too much using just solvent, either turps or an odorless substitute (most are mineral spirits) is a very weak layer of paint and you should be careful not to thin top layers too much.

On bottom layers it is ok (many artists use an oil wash to tone their canvas) since the loose pigments will combine with the subsequent layers of paint and bind with the oil in those layers.

When an oil wash is to be left visible or as the final layer it is best to thin the paint with some kind of medium that will bind the pigment. I use Liquin for this because it dries fast and because the alkyd resins in it bind the paint to the surface.

I have done oil wash paintings using all transparent layers thinned with Liquin with the top layers having less Liquin and more oil. None have cracked or have had any separation between layers. (The oldest have only been around for 10 years so I cannot say what might happen in 50-100 years from now.)

The best advice beyond what Karin has given is: Think of "Fat" as "slow drying" and "Lean" as "fast drying". Then if you follow "fat over lean" you should be ok.

[Karin Wells]

I was specifically speaking to "traditional" oil paint and "traditional" mediums (like a standard mixture of Damar varnish, oil & turpentine medium).

Alkyd paint, Liquin, Galkyd, etc. are not considered to be entirely "traditional." With materials like these you have more latitude working within the "fat over lean" rule. The best way to approach working with these newer materials is to read and follow the manufacturer's suggestions on the label of each product.