Pre-primed or self primed, that is the question!

[Virgil Elliott]

Sharon,

Robert Doak is indeed passionate about what he believes to be true, and then when he finds out he was wrong about something, he is just as passionate in his advocacy of his new position. Do not equate passion with knowledge of reality. Doak is also passionate in his denouncements of his competitors, and it is wise to take that with a grain of salt as well. He has some good products to sell, and some that are questionable, but I don't take his word on which is which because he fervently believes that everything he sells is wonderful and better than anything else, and he is a very aggressive salesman.

Titanium does not make brittle paint films in oil; zinc oxide does. Titanium dioxide makes weak paint films, because as a powdered pigment it is very light and fluffy, and that is why it is mixed with zinc oxide in most "titanium" whites. The two combined minimize the faults of each. Is it as good as lead carbonate? Well, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are not toxic the way lead is, but are they as durable over the centuries? Some people think so. I remain sceptical, though I think they will hold up quite well when bound with alkyd rather than unmodified linseed or other vegetable oil. Winsor & Newton's Oil and Alkyd Painting Primer is an alkyd ground pigmented with titanium dioxide and, if I recall correctly, zinc oxide, and my feeling is that this is at least as good a ground as any, and better than most. Gamblin Ground is very similar, more or less the same ingredients, perhaps varying in how much of what is in each. I have used them both, and intend to use them again. Robert Gamblin recommends scuffing the surface of Gamblin Ground with fine steel wool after it is dry for optimum adhesion. Of course it is important to then remove all the dust that has been generated by that process before painting on it. These alkyd grounds can be used one week after they are dry, unlike white lead, which takes much longer to cure. Of course we don't have several hundred years' track record to assure us that alkyd grounds will perform as well as white lead in the long run, but accelerated aging tests indicate that the alkyds will ultimately retain more of their flexibility than white lead oil grounds. I use them with confidence.

Most commercially available lead-primed linen is sized with rabbitskin glue, which is not ideal for that purpose because it is hygroscopic, and undergoes fairly drastic expansion and contraction when the humidity changes, which plays hell with the paint layer after it has lost its youthful flexibility, unless the canvas is glued to a rigid panel.

Stretched canvas is not really the ideal support for oil paintings, because oil paint films become brittle after 50-100 years. Hide glue (aka rabbitskin glue) exacerbates the problem by imposing tremendous stresses on the painting as it expands and contracts, causing extreme changes in the tension of the canvas.

I have been gluing my canvas to panels lately, and using Gamblin's Neutral pH PVA Size for sizing it, then priming it with one of the alkyd grounds I mentioned, more often than not, though I do still sometimes use white lead if I can let it cure for a year before I need to paint on it. Gluing the canvas to a panel goes a long way toward mitigating the problems inherent in stretched canvas supports, and makes all these choices less critical. It is quite possible that an acrylic ground would work just fine on canvas that is mounted on a panel. I still have my doubts about using it on stretched canvas, though, if the painting is to be done in oils. If I were to use an acrylic ground, Golden's would be my choice.

There are those who feel that PVA might ultimately prove problematic in some way, but since we KNOW hide glue will cause problems, I think it makes sense to use the best thing science has to offer instead of something that is known to definitely be problematic. It would be wonderful if we could have guarantees that this or that is the ideal product in every way, but there are always pros and cons to consider in reality, and we just have to make sure we are well informed and then use our best judgment.

Virgil Elliott

[Marvin Mattelson]

Thanks Virgil. Sage-like advice. I appreciate it.

[Linda Brandon]

I'm following this with much interest. I recently stretched raw unprimed linen, coated it with Gamblin's PVA size and then put a coat of Holbein Underpainting White (a lead white). I'm letting it sit for a month before I start work on this. I wouldn't use the Holbein product again, largely because it's so expensive, rougly akin to waxing your car with Chanel skin cream. (Not that I have any.)

I've since been told that Studio Products makes a good lead oil primer. Has anybody here tried it?

[Sharon Knettell]

OK now what is the best linen and where do you get it?

And has ANYBODY used Mr. Doaks' stretchers?

[Michele Rushworth]

Sharon, thanks for doing that Claessen's testing. I love the stuff and would be very interested to hear if any problems (rabbit skin sizing, lots of zinc white, etc.) come up.

[Marvin Mattelson]

I would bet that the Claessens has rabbit skin glue. It's been used for centuries. The PVA size may be scientifically tested but it hasn't endured the test of time. I don't care what anybody says, there are no guarantees.

Science may come up with a new breath mint that will cause all oil painting to turn green when exposed to the fumes. Some things are out of my control. I try to stick with materials that have stood the test of time. If I do artwork that is deemed worthy, conservators in the future will know how to preserve it.

I'm also leery of canvas glued to boards. I worry about the glue and what will happen to the board. I definitely don't like alkyd mediums. The layers can delaminate. This is something I have experienced first hand! Never again!

I don't paint on plastic. Like the old masters, I don't use any medium other than linseed oil. I use high quality pigments suspended primarily in linseed oil and I depend on knowledge, good drawing, brush handling skills and common sense to achieve the best results I can.

In my opinion artists spend far too much time worrying about materials and not enough time learning their craft. The most wonderful studio and equipment will not make you a great artist. Not that these things aren't nice to have mind you, they are beside the point.

When I grew up I had a neighbor who owned every conceivable piece of photography equipment imaginable. He still took the worst photos.

At some point you have to trust somebody unless you dig up roots and berries, press your own oil and weave your own canvas.

I like the stretchers that Doak carries. Soho Artists Supplies carry the same exact ones. If I call them up I'm not on the phone for two hours. They're the ones I use. They are very light and very strong. I have never had any problems dealing with them and I've been using them for years. To date, I really like their lead primed portrait linen.

[Linda Brandon]

Originally Posted by Marvin Mattelson

I don't paint on plastic.

So you're using it as a cutting board after all!

[Virgil Elliott]

Originally Posted by Sharon Knettell

Virgil,

One more question. He recommends copal as a medium as opposed to mineral spirits and as an ongoing kind of retouch varnish.
What is your opinion of copal used in both those applications.

Sharon,

Once again, it depends. Copal might be all right for use in small paintings on panel, where the increased gloss it produces does not cause a problem with glare, and where the increased ultimate brittleness it is likely to impart to the paint layer would be less likely to cause cracking than it could on a rigid panel, but there is the issue of how much medium one customarily uses. Too high a percentage of any medium is apt to cause problems. With copal there are a number of potential problems, though its advocates disagree, claiming that the proof that exists falls short of establishing that with absolute certainty. So far, none has been found in the paintings of the Old Masters, who seem to have been able to paint quite well with simple paints made from pigment and linseed or walnut oil.

I find it curious that so many painters of today consider it absolutely essential to paint with medium. It is better, in my opinion, to begin with paints that are fluid enough to be controllable under the brush as they come from the tube, or as close to it as possible, and only add a drop or two of linseed oil to soften them further where necessary. One can paint quite well with oil paints adjusted for consistency with linseed oil. Why complicate things if you don't need to?

Quality in painting derives from what is in the artist's head. It is not to be found in any magic medium.

I would not consider a purveyor of painting products an objective authority on painting products. It is not uncommon for people to mistake their beliefs for facts, and represent them as such. It is an important point to keep in mind.

Virgil Elliott

[Sharon Knettell]

Virgil,

I see your little green light is still on, SO before you get back to your work, WHAT oil paint are you currently using?

Ralph Mayer advocates the use of mineral spirits as opposed to linseed oil. This is indeed confusing!

[Virgil Elliott]

Originally Posted by Sharon Knettell

Virgil,

I see your little green light is still on, SO before you get back to your work, WHAT oil paint are you currently using?

Ralph Mayer advocates the use of mineral spirits as opposed to linseed oil. This is indeed confusing!

Sharon,

If only things in reality were as simple as people expect them to be!

In my #1 paintbox are paints from Blockx, but only Series 1 and Series 3, which are ground in linseed oil (earth colors and Mars colors, ivory black); Old Holland; Williamsburg; Michael Harding; Sennelier; (blues, Indian yellow, ivory black, cadmium yellow-orange, cadmium red-orange); Winsor & Newton (Flake White #2, Foundation White, Flake White #1, and a few others); Gamblin; Daniel Smith Autograph Series; Robert Doak: Archival Oils (Permanent Alizarine); Vasari; M. Graham (blues); Rembrandt (their old formulation) and a few things I have ground myself from dry pigment and linseed oil.

Regarding Ralph Mayer, his book was originally published in 1940, and was periodically updated until he died 26 years ago, so it does not reflect the last word in painting materials knowledge. Publishers will keep it on the market as long as it continues to sell, and they do not know or care how much of the information it contains is true, or how much of it is wrong. It is indeed confusing, especially when several noted authors disagree, which they do. Frederick Taubes, Ralph Mayer and Jacques Maroger all wrote books, and contradicted one another on many points. Then there are the other books by other authors, including Kurt Wehlte, Max Doerner, Charles Locke Eastlake, Abendschein, etc., and there is very little consensus of opinion among them on anything. Mark Gottsegen's "The Painter's Handbook" is the most recent, and the most reliable, though not 100% correct on everything, as Mark acknowledges. He has just delivered a manuscript of a revised edition to his publisher, to be released in perhaps a year, which should be the most reliable reference book for painting materials, since it reflects the present-day state of scientific knowledge, chemistry, etc. I haven't read the revised edition yet, so I cannot say whether I think he is right about everything, but we seem to see eye-to-eye on most of these issues when we discuss them. We are on the same ASTM subcommittee. I recall Mark saying that he now regards the original edition as correct about 75-80% of the time. New knowledge comes to the fore all the time, as new discoveries are made constantly, so any book is apt to become dated within a short time.

Mineral spirits is a solvent, not a medium, not a vehicle for binding pigment into paint. Solvents weaken the binding power of vegetable oils. One might get by with adding a little bit, but more than the bare minimum will weaken the resulting paint layer. It will also dull the surface to some degree. It is not a good thing to use as a medium.

Virgil Elliott