maybe try a new medium. i use the alla prima method myself because of the quickness of completing a painting. i have experimented with lots of the gamblin mediums. i have a bottle of “neo megilp” by gambin paints, which gives colors a very vibrant effect, defiantly something to try at least once. it is a slow drying medium, but what makes it different is that it “sets up” after about 2 hours, making a gel. u can even pick up a 1 oz sample from most art supply stores for free. heres a pic of the painting… heres gamblins literature…
“NEO MEGILP
NEO MEGILP Oil Painting Medium is a soft, silky gel. Neo Megilp maintains the body of the paint, and produces a luminous Turner-like atmosphere, while suspending and supporting paint in a soft gel. And it is made from contemporary materials so it will not turn yellow or dark as it did in the 17th and 18th centuries. Neo Megilp can also replace Maroger Medium for artists who love the working properties but are now concerned about Maroger’s poor aging qualities.”
Methods for developing glowing and iridescent paint
Hello! There are two things you could try here. First, are you using plain Titanium White? If so try using a “Mixing” white or Titanium-Zinc white. Zinc white is more transparent, softer and is better for tinting out colors than plain titanium. But, don’t use a straight pure zinc white, get the mixed color. Many oil painters swear by the lead whites, and they are beautiful. As long as you are cautious with them and make sure to wear gloves or use a barrier cream you should be fine. If you want to give those a try they lend a very different look from titanium/zinc. They are usually sold as “Flake White” or “Cremnitz White”. One of my favorites is the “Flemish White” made by Blue Ridge Oils. http://blueridgeartist.com/ Secondly it could be that your oil painting is just sinking into the acrylic gesso primer too much. One of the problems with the modern acrylic primer is that it is too absorbent. Oil painters really should work on a surface that is primed with oil primer which prevents the oil from soaking in and losing its depth. Experiment and try painting on a panel or canvas with an oil based primer and see if it doesn’t make a difference. Oil primed surfaces are easily obtained from most online art supply retailers like Blick or Jerry’s. Good luck and hope this helps! Jason
Jason
“Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Therefore, I believe we should be economical with it.” —Mark Twain
http://www.WalcottFineArt.com
April 28, 2012 at 12:47 pm #1161340
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interesting posts.
I’d use iridescent paint or iridescent medium for oil paint..
April 28, 2012 at 1:12 pm #1161318
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Hi Chantal, There may be a number of ways to interpret “glow.” It would be useful for you to post an example or two of paintings that you feel really glow! The feeling of light – glowing nicely is almost always related to how you are managing values in your painting – and to some healthy extent the chroma of your colors. Saturating our somewhat darker values can give them the illusion of glow – since electrically charged paints don’t seem to have been invented yet, we are limited to the value range of paint on our surface! ( which is a lot less than, say, a neon sign or a tv quietly glowing green-blue in someone’s “man-cave.”!! – But both can be painted nicely if we manage value and chroma carefully). -Kevin
i draw, paint and teach | my voice is hoarse | my shoulder hurts.
Talent is really a capacity for a certain type of learning of knowledge and a consuming interest in the facts that contribute to that knowledge~ Andrew Loomis
http://www.kevinwuesteart.blogspot.com
“kevinwueste” on instagram
April 28, 2012 at 1:29 pm #1161273
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I have a painting that has a house in the middle ground. The windows glow like real life. I used lemon yellow, in three or four very thin glazes, and made sure the surrounding cabin area is dark enough to be a good contrast and make the windows pop.
[FONT=”Arial Black”]
It’s All In The Shadows. [/COLOR] Mickey W .
April 28, 2012 at 2:01 pm #1161329
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maybe try a new medium. i use the alla prima method myself because of the quickness of completing a painting. i have experimented with lots of the gamblin mediums. i have a bottle of “neo megilp” by gambin paints, which gives colors a very vibrant effect, defiantly something to try at least once. it is a slow drying medium, but what makes it different is that it “sets up” after about 2 hours, making a gel. u can even pick up a 1 oz sample from most art supply stores for free. heres a pic of the painting… heres gamblins literature…
“NEO MEGILP
NEO MEGILP Oil Painting Medium is a soft, silky gel. Neo Megilp maintains the body of the paint, and produces a luminous Turner-like atmosphere, while suspending and supporting paint in a soft gel. And it is made from contemporary materials so it will not turn yellow or dark as it did in the 17th and 18th centuries. Neo Megilp can also replace Maroger Medium for artists who love the working properties but are now concerned about Maroger’s poor aging qualities.”
April 28, 2012 at 2:50 pm #1161341
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Although I paint with WMO’s, but maybe that helps something or at least a couple of tips … I mix in any color always some white *- usually titanium as well as some zinc white! Also i mix in each color one of my mediums CREAMY – either “CREAMY” and/or “CREAMYcobra”.
Then I give a lot of white middle “CREAMY +” & if I want to have more of that or ‘buttery’ then I gave extra/more CobraPaste.
And mix gently to *colors this WhiteMelange OR to do this when i paint AllaPrima & PleinAir with a brush and paint on the canvas … Lately, when I only work in the studio/artelier, I am using GOLD-Acrylic as underpainting -> then with oil glazes.
Seems wonderful and shines through and lights up or/and glow…! HERE MY RECIPES:
=======================
• “CREAMY” – into a vessel per unit:
7 Artisan Linseed Oil, 4 Lukas Stand Oil, 1.5-2 Artisan Thinner, 1-1.5 Artisan FastDrying, 3-5 Artisan PaintingMedium, 1 Artisan ImpastoGel
===>>> PastosLiquid * [FirstLayer or for ‘dilution’] • “CREAMYcobra” – also per unit of vessel:
14 Artisan Linseed Oil, 8 Lukas Stand Oil, 2-3 Artisan Thinner, 2-3 Artisan FastDrying , 6-10 Artisan PaintingMedium, 2-3 Artisan ImpastoGel & 2-4 CobraPaste
===>>> PastosButter * [medium-fast drying] • “CREAMY +” – units per vessel:
20 Artisan PaintingMedium, 10 Artisan Stand Oil, 7 Lukas Stand Oil, 10 CobraPaste, 3 Artisan FastDrying, 5 Artisan ImpastoGel
===>>> PastosHoneyWax * [upper layer, or ‘just’ AllaPrima & dries quickly – SuperB for PleinAir] TIP on Talens Cobra paste:
——————————–
“Cobra is a colorless Malpaste medium that you can mix in all proportions with oil paint. The paste has the same consistency as the Cobra oil paints and can in principle be Described as a water-oil color without pigment.” HERE YOU CAN SEE AGAIN THE RECIPES – but unfortunately only in German:
• http://www.decinergy.at/cms/EINBLICKE.html
EXPRESSIVER REALISMUS
• DECiNERGY -> http://www.decinergy.at & YouTUBE – [ ]
[FONT=”Courier New”] [ ExplanationVideo about ExpressiverRealismus ] – Painting from André KRIGAR
April 28, 2012 at 3:43 pm #1161294
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Thanks for all the great responses everyone! Jason: yes, I am using Titanium white. Will get some mixing white and try it. I know lead white is more transparent, but with kids running around my studio, I am hesitant to try it… but I might be convinced. Also, an oil primer makes total sense! I do find my paints to be sinking in too much. I often used gesso boards because I like the slick surface, but the gesso may be absorbing too much paint. Will have to look into oil primers. Kevin, you are indeed correct in saying that “glow” can be interpreted in many ways. I am referring, I think, to a certain transparency that one gets from reds and greens sometimes. I like Marc Delassio’s work quite a bit (he is a plein air painter so I can relate). He rubs red oxide on his gessoed panels and then lets a bit show through. A great effect! But here is an example of what I really mean: http://jenniferpazienza.com/catalog.pdf. Jennifer is a local artist and I hope to take a workshop with her this summer. We also happen to work at the same university and she’s promised me a studio tour soon! Again, I am a landscape/plein air artist so this is close to how I’d like to paint. lumiere: Bonjour! I was in your corner of the world this time last year. Working on a streetscape of Aix-en-Provence right now! I agree, iridescent paints help. Lately I am favoring colours I never would have used in the past: prussian blue, viridian green, windsor blue… these are highly transparent and though at first they seem unnatural, if used correctly, they can be very efficient ways of making colours sing. Of course if I were using them correctly and succeeding then I wouldn’t be here asking this question! Mickey: yes, I think the contrast between darks and lights, especially transluscent lights, is a bit part of it. I have seen wonderful plein air paintings (like those by Micheal Richardson, over in the plein air forum) that just glow because he uses a lot of dull areas, and then just a few highlights that just pop! So I think there are various ways of achieving the feeling of light in oil paintings and my hope is that I’ll get a few ideas from all of you kind folks! Keith: Great painting! I will look into that medium. Hopefully someone carries it locally. Maybe you’re right, maybe I need to experiment with mediums. Decinergy: I used to paint with WMO but have gone back to regular oils. I just prefer the texture of real oils to wmo. Your technique intrigues me, however. Are you saying that you start with an acrylic underpainting, then start laying in oil glazes? Do you cover the entire acrylic underpainting or leave some showing through?
[FONT=Palatino Linotype]Chantal (C & C always welcome)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/102840288@N03/
April 28, 2012 at 4:26 pm #1161342
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THANK you very nice! I am primarily a PleinAir & AllaPrima * – Painter and then/there I use my “CREAMY” mediums … In my Studio or Atelier – but this is new since some pictures:
GOLD-Acrylic Underpainting -> yes, the whole image is covered with gold, the picture is already ‘prepared’ or finished, ie light and dark shading.
Thereafter glazing or layering with oil.
Here I will share some parts free so that the GOLD can complet shine – but mostly i cover the complete picture [‘painted over’;-)]. I’m hung up, I either do a different medium from me – LIQUID-TRANSPARENT or LIQUID-WHITE – i cover all a very thin ‘oil layer’ of it and then paint it thin OR I paint directly onto the acrylic with oil and / or thinner …
-> but this is sometimes or i need one of the mediums to thin the paint. In which LIQUID-WHITE give the color it’s little white … I hope this could help !? WHAT I FORGOT TO SAY: i think you can also(?) use the Talens CobraPaste for normal oils … OR you look by Talens for the same medium but for regular oils … . :thumbsup:
AND MAKE MY MEDIUMS (from regular mediums) TOO OR YOUR OWN … .
EXPRESSIVER REALISMUS
• DECiNERGY -> http://www.decinergy.at & YouTUBE – [ ]
[FONT=”Courier New”] [ ExplanationVideo about ExpressiverRealismus ] – Painting from André KRIGAR
April 28, 2012 at 5:01 pm #1161278
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With all due respect to those answering your question, I don’t think you need any different materials. Looking over the paintings that you have given as examples, you can try to achieve “glow” working with what you have. Nor do these paintings seem to have been done using glazing – at least primarily. As Kevin mentioned, it is using a carefully developed value pattern – as well as using chromatic contrast that seems to be creating the glow you like. I see certain things repeated in a number of the paintings you link to. There are a lot of white areas or a strong light-valued area that very gradually get darker. Within that transition are very light values and very soft edges. Creating those soft edges and the very gradual value transitions seem to be what makes these paintings glow. There is a lot of blending of edges which seems most likely done wet into wet. This does not mean the entire painting was done in one sitting, but I really don’t see any evidence of glazing. Not to say it wasn’t glazed, but the point I am making is that can be done (probably easier) without glazing. Another thing I noticed in a couple paintings is the use of very strong saturated color contrasting with neutralized or grayed colors. This contrast will make the color seem more intense. That’s the way I see it – could be wrong, of course, but most of the time it isn’t the materials – just technique! Don
What are gradient maps?
The easiest way to explain what gradient maps are is to demonstrate what it does to a black and white gradient.
To add a gradient map go to [Layers] -> [New Adjustment Layer] -> [Gradient Map]
Gradient maps work by assigning colours to the layers underneath it based on how light or dark each pixel is.
The colour on the left gets assigned to black pixels, the colour on the right gets assigned to white pixels, and everything in between gets assigned to a corresponding value of grey.
Any amount of nodes can be added in between the two extreme nodes, and all of them can be rearranged.
Downloading and importing the Gradient Map material
To download the gradient set used in this tutorial for free, follow this link, or alternatively search “Iridescent gradient map” on Clip Studio’s asset store.
To import the downloaded gradient set for use, go into the settings for a gradient map layer by double clicking on it. Then click on the wrench icon, then “Add gradient set”.
The material should appear under “Downloaded materials”
Painting colour patterns
To make an iridescent soap bubble, start with a white circle and erase the centre with a soft round brush.
Keep the two gradients at the top, as it will help you know which shades of grey will produce which colour.
Create a new layer for the values above the white base, and mask it out with a selection made from the base. (use the wand tool to select outside the base, invert selection, go back to the the new layer and hit the mask icon).
Create a gradient map layer above the value layers select (Clip to layer below) and select the “Iridescence” gradient from the set.
On the values layer start painting with black and white using a soft round brush, preferably with “color mixing” checked in the tool settings. Push and pull the values, switching between black and white or selecting a grey from the gradient above that corresponds to the colour you want to add.
Erase the values with a soft eraser until it looks right, add a highlight layer above the gradient map layer set to “Add” or “Add (Glow)” blending mode (It needs to be above the gradient map layer, otherwise it will be affected by the gradient map)
Play around with the blending modes of the gradient map layer. I set it to “Pin Light” because it produced a nice effect.
The “Pearlesence” gradient in the set is configured for pearls, which tend to have narrower bands of colour, and have less bright effects.
Use the same techniques as above on a simple shaded sphere and adjust the opacity and blending layer of the gradient map (I set it to 50% opacity, and “Pin Light”)
Remember to clip the gradient map layer to the values layer, otherwise it will affect the base and the shading layer.
Experiment with different brushes, blending modes and remember to just have fun!
