Essence of Degas

Edgar Degas is well known for his paintings and pastel works on paper. Recently I read of a technique used by Degas to create a pastel effect with oil paint. It is called peinture a l’essence, and is simply allowing most of the oil in the paint to be drained off on blotting paper. After this the paint is diluted with turpentine. This can create an almost watercolor effect that dries to a dry chalky effect, depending on the amount of oil drained. Degas used this technique to add color to his drawings on paper as well as his paintings on paper. Many varied effects can be achieved by this depending on the technique used and characteristics of the paper. The most intriguing effect produced is the crisp colors that it achieves, which is very pastel-like in appearance. I have also discovered that Claude Monet used paint leached of it’s oil in his impressionist paintings as a way to vary the surface of his paintings. This technique could be used to do just that, vary the surface of paintings and possibly create a sense of depth. I plan on experimenting with this further and will update in the future.