Oil paints on paper

[Mary Jane Ansell]

A very neat trick for preparing paper for oil painting is to prime with pure Shellac. (AKA Button Polish)

Douse a wad of cotton wool with the Shellac and quickly wipe it all over your chosen paper. Don't use a brush as the shellac is very hard to remove and will ruin it. The Shellac stains the paper to a pale tea colour, which, as a happy coincidence gives you quite a useful mid tone for your study, and leaves your paper beautifully workable for oils.

This is a tip I picked up from some very expert tutors at The Slade and is ideal for studies in the life room - it's very speedy to produce and you can work on it within about 30 mins as it dries virtually instantly.

Enjoy!

Best wishes,
Mary Jane

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Mary,

Thank you so much for sharing this. I just got this beautiful set of sample papers mailed to me and was wondering how I could paint on it with oils for little studies. Your tip comes in just in time!

I didn't know what Button Polish is, so I looked it up and found this:

[QUOTE]Made from unbleached, fine shellac flakes, darker and more cloudy than French Polish. Rich and golden in appearance, it is a great favorite with restorers to recreate

[Thomasin Dewhurst]

Mary Jane, do you know if you would you have to frame the finished oil on paper with glass, or would it stand being unglazed?

[Mary Jane Ansell]

Enzie,

I am ceratinly aware of paintings done in this method surviving pretty well today having been done 60 - 80 years ago. But it's generally accepted that all oils on paper are really to be considered pretty temporary, in the great scheme of things. Ralph Mayer (The Artist's Handbook) reckons on oil works on paper (he doesnt mention shellac primed paper though) as having somewhere between 35 and 200 years of good condition depending on their weight and rag content.

The shellac may improve that lifespan a little, as it protects the paper somewhat from being deteriorated by the paint.

Thomasin

As the shellac may make the paper more brittle and prone to cracking, I would think glazing would be best if you want to preserve it as long as possible, but it's probably wise to say again, if you are aiming for real longevity it's always going to be best to stick to a panel or a canvas.

[David Clemons]

Paper will hold up fine if it's a high pecentage of rag composition (cotton or linen) rather than wood pulp, and is properly sized. No glass is required in that case. I've seen oils on paper by Constable that are over 100 years old and in excellent shape. They were mounted to either wood panel or canvas.

Shellac flakes can be found in a "white" or "clear" variety, but is still a slight amber in color. Look for the de-waxed/wax-free type. Most pigment sellers carry it, or fine furniture/woodworking places. The flakes are diluted in denatured alchol. Please avoid the pre-mixed liquid in cans (Zinsser) as it has additives to extend its shelf life (mixed shellac will spoil like RSG) which you don't need.
Here's a good US supplier who also carries a nice selection of resins:
http://www.woodfinishingenterprises.com/varnish.html#

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Mary, I have seen these old works on paper as well and always wondered how it is they didn't deteriorate. You solved a little puzzle

This sounds like a fun thing to experiment with and I will give it a try. David, thanks for the link!

[David Clemons]

You're welcome Enzie.

I probably shouldn't have used the term "spoil" since what it does is more like deteriorate when left in solution too long. I usually mix up about a pint at a time and use it within a few months. The dry flakes last indefintely as far as I know.

I imagine the Constables I saw were sized with gelatin. Many areas of the paper were left unpainted, but the paper was a bright white.

[Enzie Shahmiri]

David,

I looked at the site you recommended and I am thinking of ordering a 4 oz bottle of DEWAXED GOLDEN ORANGE SHELLAC

Is this the right one or do you recommend something else?

[Adriano Maggi]

This sounds like a fun thing to experiment with and I will give it a try. David, thanks for the link![/QUOTE]

Dear Enzie,
I suggest you to experiment oil painting on paper before using shellac.
Because the beauty of this effect depends on the drying up the paper does. If you look of the hair of the Klimt' s painting , you can see the transparence , but if you impermeabilize the surface you wouldn't get such effect.
Adriano

[David Clemons]

Enzie, the type I bought last time was "extra light." I expect golden orange would be more staining, but you might like that.

Adriano, I wouldn't want my paper surface soaking up the oil, but I have used spare paper on occasion to do that somewhat, and give me a more dry texture as I apply the paint.