OIL PAINTING THOUGTS AND IDEAS

Studio Easel Giveaway 2011

2011-06-23T11:37:00.001-07:00

As many of you know I am currently building a studio easel from sctratch, which I will be giving away through a drawing held soon. When it is complete and the entry process figured out I will announce it in the newsletter, so stay tuned. For now I am posting current pictures, but still lack finishing touches, final sanding, etc. It is built from Walnut, and will more than likely be finished in a walnut oil finish possibly rubbed out with some wax.

The clamps holding everything in place are all cam clamps, which are very strong yet easy to unlock for easy movement. They slide in a T Track system and will lock down at any point along the track. The uprights will move forward and backward and lock into place.

I received a great amount of feedback and ideas from everyone, and would like to thank everyone for their help with this. The main feature that everyone wanted was for it to be sturdy, which I think it will be. I wasn't able to incorporate everything that I would have liked to such as a crank system, but the lower tray moves easily enough.

Henry Hensche Color Study

2010-10-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

HENRY HENSCHE COLOUR STUDY

It has been my one goal for this blog to become a place where I can post information that will actually help us painters. So it is with great pleasure that I am able to pass along this writing by a former student of Henry Hensche, and someone who has devoted his entire adult life to the study of color. This is written as a more thorough follow up to some postings on rationalpainting.org, and is meant as a tool to help the serious painter get started with this method. Being 193 pages, with color photos, it is truly a great resource for anyone wishing to explore this way of color study, and apply it to their own work. If you have serious questions please feel free to email me at info@blueridgeartist.com, and I will do my best to get the answer.
Click link below for the full .pdf version, which is much easier to read.

http://blueridgeartist.com/media/pdfs/Henry_Hensche_Colour_Study.pdf

THE HENSCHE APPROACH TO COLOUR STUDY IN PAINTING

A brief introduction to the beginning stages of colour study with sequential examples and commentary

Preface:
This article is an expanded version of the piece previously written for rationalpainting.org and is about the beginning stages of Henry Hensche’s method or approach to colour study as well as some of his other ideas about colour composition in painting. There is also the attempt to disentangle Hensche from a great number of misconceptions.

One is always reluctant to write or post anything at all about what Hensche taught for several reasons, one is that I am not a teacher or a writer, I don’t know enough to be either one. Secondly there is always someone usually quite justifiably who believes themselves to be of superior knowledge and judgment always ready to condemn or be negative or destructive of anything positive that is offered freely to others, (but the reader will have to judge that for themselves). And thirdly and most importantly is that one does not want to assist any charlatans who are teaching for profit to gain a more credible spiel through which to further dupe their paying clients. The words themselves mean nothing, so the student must look to the teachers’ works to see if they actually reflect the meanings and content of those words. If not then the sincere student is the one who loses out and is left to pay the costs and it is for those sincerely interested of all ages that this effort is made here.

Although I have been allowed this space to repost this modified version of the RP.org article, so that everyone has easier access to the materials, this website is not responsible or accountable for its tone or content. The entirety of this article has been compiled and edited by g.t. thurmond for all those interested in colour study but who were not fortunate enough to have studied with Henry Hensche directly. One wishing to see more images of Hensche’s works can access www.thehenschefoundation.org/

Those of you who are actually interested in colour study will have to bear with me, it is not a simple subject and I have made these pages as short as possible without losing their meaning. Being a simple minded person you all must please forgive my poor use of the Queen’s English, but I have tried to be plain spoken and clear so not to confuse anyone. The language is impersonal where practical, but it is difficult to present facts in a void, especially if one is passionate about one’s subject.

Many will find this article very useful while a few others may find the style of presentation or verbal delivery offensive but it has been written for adults, not children or adolescents. My only concern is to disseminate these ideas in a way that anyone who wishes to attempt to study for themselves can have free access and be guided by relevant and accurate information on colour study materials and procedures. This article is about training not painting so the jpg examples in the study sections were chosen for their simplicity and direct ability to illustrate the ideas explained in the text and is written as one would speak; because it is fully intended to be an adequate substitute for live instruction. One should not have to pay for something that the intelligent and self motivated student can read for themselves, do for themselves and if one studies as described can figure out for themselves.

The copy type face is mainly 14 point Ariel and Arial Black in 18-20 point type for headers, san serif to eliminate annoying screen blur and large enough to compensate for the condensation or compression of smaller high res screens and still be easily readable. This article was designed to be displayed as a 10 ½ inch wide word.doc page, with type line and images at a 7 ½ inch width. As a printed document this would be a 6 inch line on an 8 ½ inch wide paper but at 100% screen display it should display as the larger format. If one can download original 50MB file as word document or PDF then one can enlarge pages and view jpgs to see colour details or read smaller written and typed materials such as in Dia. e, d, and f.

This document will NOT print accurately as displayed. The settings are RGB, not CMYK and the jpg saturations and contrasts do not automatically convert to printable settings where the prints will be correct or equivalent to monitor display.

All jpg examples of studies as well of Hensche’s paintings and class demonstrations have been corrected and balanced as closely as possible but one’s monitor type and/or monitor settings as well as ones search engine or server can often make the CIE-LAB (or equivalent) colours look exaggerated. And since this article is about colour and developing one’s colour perception it is important that the examples give as correct an impression as possible to the viewers eye as the original work would have, or at least as closely as we can make our monitors display them.

Many keep their monitors calibrated with those programs for doing such. Otherwise if you have older equipment your monitor should be set at fairly high contrast or even 100% on CRT monitors and the brightness at 60% or higher for colour clarity as this removes the grey dingy tinge which low contrast settings put over any colouration. The jpgs in this article were corrected to be displayed at a screen setting of 6500K (sRGB ). If your monitor is set at 9300K they will display too bluish cool, if set at the 5000K setting they will display too warm and dull, to reset to 6500K should only take a few clicks on the front of your monitor. If your monitor displays the colour patches below fairly well then the rest of the jpgs should be reasonably accurate also.

All jpgs have been sized for document limitations but are at their most accurate when article is viewed at 150%. A much smaller display will concentrate the colours and they will appear more saturated, a much larger display will cause the colours to appear paler as the size increases, so please keep that in mind and adjust accordingly. But once again, on most monitors especially CRT types if the screen is set at 6500K, 100% contrast and 60% or slightly higher brightness then display should be good.

Colour correction patches:
In the colour patches the top group are 100% saturated colours, middle greys are desaturation of top group, and bottom group is greyscale mode of the saturated colours at top (as one can see desaturation and actual greyscale have little relation to one another), along with pure black and pure white on left margin. It should also be remembered that RGB colour cannot produce any true yellow or orange so is a compromise at best, but these are the limitations we must work under.

if you are interested in best display or colour bias of your monitor and have a Photoshop program or Elements or other type one can copy, save and display this colour patches jpg into that program and do the following - click on your colour sampling tool (such as eye dropper etc) from the tool bar or menu, click sample the lower left bottom section of white, when the display box pops up the sampling circle should be completely buried in the desaturated white corner of the colour vectoring box, if not and if it is out within the box’s displayed colour then that tint will show the colour bias of your screen. Sample the black band at left, the indicator circle should be buried in the desaturated black corner of the box. If you sample the center section of desaturated greys the indicator should be exactly halfway between the previous white and black locations. And in sampling the grey scale of bottom group the indicator should stay in the desaturated strip also with no colour bias tinge.

One can remove any excess screen colour bias by slightly reconfiguring the RGB settings for the monitor or running a program designed for this purpose. I would add that it is not necessary to make any corrections at all, this information is simply for those who may be dissatisfied with how these jpgs display or those who are very particular about monitor colour.

For those interested in the other colour patches information the colours in top group are @ 100% saturation and displayed are both RGB and CMY, when sampled in Photoshop they will display on the chromatic bar scale and the percentage breakdown will be displayed in numbers, the results should be as listed here. 5 is @ 255R/100% all RED saturation. 3 is @ 255G/100% all GREEN saturation. 6 is @ 255B/100% all BLUE saturation. 2 is @ 255G and 255B and is 100% CYAN saturation. 4 is 255R and 255 B and is 100% MAGENTA saturation. 1 is @ 255R and 255G and is 100% YELLOW saturation.

One with further interest in the RGB colour model can start here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model

Hi-Res Photos

2010-01-25T05:40:00.000-08:00

Most of you probably already know about Sotheby's hi-res photos of paintings they have sold, but for those who don't, it is a great resource. If you go to the sold lot archive to search for someone you will get more images, where as if you just search from the search box you will only get what is currently up for auction, or will be soon. Most all of the images I have viewed are extremely clear when zoomed in on, to the point of seeing brushstrokes clearly. Luckily, Sotheby's has sold almost all of the "masters" at some point, so odds are they will have something for you. You can get there through www.sothebys.com. Enjoy!!

Trusting Our Intuition

2010-01-21T06:38:00.000-08:00

Currently I am reading Blink, by Malcom Gladwell, who also wrote Tipping Point. The book is really pretty interesting, and is all about the decisions that take place in our subconcious mind, that tend to be more reliable than we might think. Our minds can take all of our experiences and expertise, and in a fraction of a second make a snap judgement about something, which we tend to call our gut feeling. Gladwell makes the case that when we overcomplicate decisions, by analyzing too much we are actually negating one of our greatest assets, which is our intuition.

This made me start thinking of how this can relate to an artist's work, and it is quite obvious. When most of us went through drawing, and particularly figure drawing classes, we learn to do gesture drawing, or most certainly quick sketches at first. This exercise can sometimes be confusing to a lot of students who would rather have a system to tell them how to draw a figure, for instance. However, at some point we have to learn to trust our intuition more, even if it is in the initial stages of a drawing or painting. In my own experience, some of the best drawings have developed from this subconcious way of working. It may be that we really need to have a firm grip on the figure, or fundamentals of drawing, before we can access them in our subconcious. But the marks made in a less than cerebral mode do seem to be truer to the figure, and tend to be closer to the gesture or pose.

This is probably fairly obvious to most artists, but it is well worth putting thought into next time you start a work. Just see what part comes from intuition, and what parts were analyzed. There is probably a great balance of the two modes, and I would love to hear everyones thoughts on this.

Paul Cezanne

2010-01-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

In keeping with the thoughts mentioned below, I thought I would discuss Cezanne, from my point of view. Being considered the father of modern art may have some artists thinking of Cezanne as overrated, and therefore written off as more of hype than substance. We all have our favorite artists, and my list grows continuously, but I always seem to come back to Cezanne.

It is Cezanne's later works from which I have gained the most insight into his "genius." But it wasn't until I read "Cezanne's Compostition," by Erle Loran, that I truly realized what Cezanne was doing, and doing well. Cezanne was able to manipulate space in a new and revolutionary way. It is this space that he created, that keeps me coming back, as well as his ability to "direct" a viewer. It is like he is almost telling our eyes, in some instances, how to view his world.

I could really never do this conversation justice by trying to explain what I am seeing, so I strongly recommend getting the book by Loran. There is also a limited preview on Google books at: http://books.google.com/books?id=0owOFFLVLqEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=cezzanes+composition&ei=y-FRS96zIomuzQTw6I2WDA&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false. The book contains plenty of illustrations showing just how Cezanne exaggerated certain things to force the eye certain ways, or create a tension between objects. There are also pictures of the actual motif he was painting from, compared to his painting of it. For instance, Cezanne would set up still lives with every object having a certain function to the picture as a whole. He was able to tilt things just enough by lifting them with coins, to get that bit of tension between objects that would force space in his way.

No matter what your opinion is of Cezanne, and whether you feel he is overrated or not, there is something for any painter to be learned from his works. It may not all be clear at first, but with real study and, of course, the book mentioned here, Cezanne can help any painter to understand the possibilities of composition. Every painter has to think of composition at some point in a painting, and one must realize the many opportunities there exists to create space. To me, space is a vital component of painting, and Cezanne did this in a brilliant way. Most artists have already discovered Cezanne, and his composition, so this is more of a plea to those who haven't to really study what he was doing. It can only help to create better work in the long run.

Random Thoughts

2010-01-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

When I was in the university art system we were allowed all the freedom in the world, which was great, but we weren't taught the fundamentals. We didn't really get a grasp of our materials, or what they were capable of. Luckily there is a resugence of small schools and ateliers, which teach and promote this awareness. There has to be a way to marry the two worlds. It is my opinion, that this would allow an artist to have the tools and knowledge to create what their freedom of expression saught to create. Maybe it is just a dream, but surely there is someplace that does this. Anyone out there know of such a place, let me know?

While on this subject of seperateness in the art world, here is another thought. Too many times I have heard, or read, about how one painter or another has done nothing of value. This is not just relegated to one school or another, but is found throughout. I have always been of the mindset that if I don't understand what makes a particular painter great, then I must find out. There seems to be a way of thinking that just because an artists' greatness is not immediately clear, then they have nothing to offer. That is just not true. Almost always there is something to be learned in a painting, whether you see it right away or not. Don't sell yourself short. If you don't see what is so great about a painting, then study them until you do. More often than not you will learn something, whether minor or life changing, it is how we grow as artists. With the internet we have access to enough information about anything, or anyone, so we have no excuse.

I will be writing from time to time about these things, but it is always just my opinion. So feel free to disagree, or agree. We all have opinions, and are all free to express them.

Our State magazine article

2010-01-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

We have been featured in the Our State magazines' January 2010 issue, which can be read by clicking on the link on our site. http://www.blueridgeoilpaint.com/oilpaintcolors.html.

What's On Your Palette??

2009-12-01T06:39:00.000-08:00

In our recent newsletter I asked everyone to send me a list of what they keep on their palette as their go-to colors, as well as any others that are helpful. The response has been really great, and has been very interesting, as well as helpful. Like I said in the newsletter, I am now able to make time to get back to the easel more, and am finding it hard to narrow my colors down, as I just have too many choices. But this information also helps me get an idea of what colors are must have additions to our line up in the future. I am somehow going to digest this information I am getting into a blog post, as well as a newsletter article. So, for anyone reading this, please let me know what you use as well. We can use all the information we can get to produce a concrete list of the most common, and not so common, colors used by you, the artist. Please send us your list to info@blueridgeartist.com. Also, if you haven't signed up for the newsletter you can do so from our site or, email us to add you. We look forward to hearing from you.

Paint Review on Wetcanvas

2009-12-01T06:30:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have wondered how our paints compare to the other top brands, there is a very thorough review at wetcanvas.com. Click title to go there. The review was written by Jim Harris, the true paint guru, who reviewed us about a year ago as well. Since then we have improved greatly, so it was nice to see that it showed up in the comparisons. This also gives great feedback on which to improve things further. Every batch is scrutinized, and somehow made better, so this gives us a direction for some of the colors. We are also going to look into putting some sort of color swatch on the tubes to help with identification. Our last attempt at this didn't really pan out, so we know what to do different this time around. As always, we cherish your thoughts on everything we do around here, so feel free to tell us at info@blueridgeartist.com.

Italian Art Store

2009-11-06T11:35:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, we are now selling our oil paints and mediums through The Italian Art Store. It was an opportunity that we just couldn't pass up, and it is an honor to be carried by a retailer with such a great reputation for only carrying the best products. They have most all of the colors that we make, as well as the copal and balsam mediums.

In order to fall in line with other manufacturer's price structures we had to put our colors into different series. This resulted in most prices being lowered, and a few going up a dollar. You can see what has changed at www.blueridgeoilpaint.com.

Thank You - Eric Silver

Changes coming soon

2009-09-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

Among the changes coming about is a price structure. Where I have about 10 price categories now, there will be 6 very soon. This means that some colors had to go up in price, but most have come down. I will be posting the new prices on my site very soon.

Due to the decrease in prices I will no longer be able to offer the 10% off for first time customers once this takes effect. This has been a great promotion as I started up, and I greatly appreciate all the first time customers it brought in. However, once you are a customer you will be getting discounts from time to time, as a reward for your loyalty. Likewise, if you would like to be placed on our mailing list you will receive updates on our products, as well as discounts, just send us your email address to info@blueridgeartist.com.

I know I haven't updated the blog with anything for quite a while, but I plan to devote more time to it soon. It has been unbelievable what this year, so far, has meant for our business. I have always known that if you are passionate about making great products, eventually the rest will take care of itself. I am constantly improving everything that I do even from batch to batch, and plan to continue to strive for perfection. Again, thank you to my devoted followers, as you have truly made this enjoyable.

- Eric Silver

Flemish White

2009-01-12T07:41:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who made '08 a very special year, and we are looking forward to some great things in '09. Our Flemish White has become our best seller, and for good reason. It is not like any other lead based white on the market. We have worked extremely hard to get the formulation perfected, and are very happy with where it is at. The way that we mix it, to the way that we grind it, has become what makes the Flemish White so special. When it is made properly it will not yellow, which is very critical. There will inevitabely be other manufacturers to use the name, but there is no other manufacturer to make true Flemish White. We have invested in enough stock to last for many years to come, so we are in it for the long haul. If you haven't tried our Flemish White yet, our starter kit is your best option. The kit contains all of the necessary additives to make the white do all of it's "tricks." If you don't like jars, we will tube it up for you, just ask. Thanks again for '08, and check back in February for our new line of paints, which are truly our pride and joy.

PayPal

2008-10-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

We are now accepting PayPal payments, which has turned out to be great for international orders. You may choose this option when checking out. For those of you who know and like PayPal, we invite you order with us.

We Are Finally Moved!!!

2008-09-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

We are finally moved into our new space, which is about 2500 sf. This will allow us to grow and expand our capabilities. There is naturally still things to get done, but we are now making paint here. We are also taking phone orders as well at 828-254-5981. Technical questions are still best answered through email due to the time involved, but Eric is always willing to answer them. If there is something that he doesn't know we have plenty of resources to find it out. Of course, you can still order online at http://www.blueridgeoilpaint.com/. We look forward to serving you in the future.

Thank You - Eric & Athena Silver

Giorgio Morandi

2008-09-16T15:05:00.001-07:00

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC is having a comprehensive show dedicated to the life span of Giorgio Morandi. They will have works from his early days, what there is left of them, and through to the more famous still lifes and landscapes of his later years. I have always found Morandi's paintings to be much more than bottles, but rather a discovery of spatial relationships that might have gone unnoticed. This is probably due to his studies of Cezanne's work, who redefined space as it was known to his time. However, Morandi was also able to capture a quiet serenity in his still lifes that is, to me, quite beautiful. Despite what opinions one may have of Morandi's work, it is truly worthwhile to study his space and his play on visual ambiguities. There is certainly more than meets the eye in his works. The Met has also published a catalogue of the show, which is great because Morandi books are not as prevalent as some others. Hopefully this show will enlighten more people in general to appreciate his works. Morandi has always been described as a painter's painter, which I find very true. It looks like I will have to wait until next month to see it first hand, but it will be up until Dec 14. There is also an online exhibition of some of the pieces. If anyone has been please let me know how it is.

http://www.metmuseum.org/special/giorgio_morandi/more.asp

Velazquez's palette

2008-08-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

During his artistic career, Velazquez, didn't use that many different pigments, but would continually use the following throughout:

White: Lead White and Calcite
Yellow: Yellow Iron Oxide, Lead-Tin Yellow, and Naples Yellow
Orange: Orange Iron Oxide and Vermilion
Red: Red Iron Oxide, Vermilion, and Organic Red Lake
Blue: Azurite, Lapiz Lazuli, and Smalt
Brown: Brown Iron Oxide and Manganese Oxide
Black: Organic black of vegetal or animal origin
Green: Azurite, Iron Oxide, and Lead-Tin Yellow
Purple: Organic Red Lake and Azurite

These pigments were all ground in his workshop with binding oils that were carefully purified. There is also a great number of his paintings that contain calcite in the initial layers, which allowed for more transparent layers. The amount of oil used as the binder in his paints was also adjusted according to the desired transparency. The use of calcite also allowed him to paint quicker, which allowed him the freedom he was looking for. Velazquez was completely aware of the traditional formulas for painting, but found no use for them. He wanted to do away with the formulaic traditions that were restricting to his creativity. Of course, today we would say that his methods were more restricted than some used in modern painting. However, without Velazquez's search for a more free technique we would not have the freedom of expression seen today.

Information gathered from "Velazquez - The Technique of Genius," by Jonathan Brown and Carmen Garrido. Another great book worth looking up.

Secret of the Old Masters

2008-08-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

If you have never read "Secret of the Old Masters," by Albert Abendschein, you owe it to yourself to search out a copy of it. I believe it is out of print, but could probably be found online. In it Abendschein gives his findings through years of experimentation and research to find the secrets of the masters. He was mainly concerned with Titian, Paul Veronese, Velasquez, Rubens, Van Dyck, and Reynolds. These are the ones he focuses on in the book. I will try to hit on some of the more interesting points. He begins by going into his many different combinations to find the perfect medium, or varnish. Experiments included painting with straight varnish and pigments, then adding waxes or oils. There are too many ones to list here, but the one he saw fit for artistic uses was a copal varnish. Copal is far superior to other resins, and doesn't yellow as badly as Mastic or Dammar. One reason for the difficulty of the modern direct method of applying paint to copy masterworks, is that they painted in layers. It is well known that the masters painted in many thin layers to achieve a luminous painting. It is very difficult to replicate a color when it is actually the combination of several colors in thin layers in a certain sequence.

Another point touched on is the preparation of the ground to lend itself to more luminous paintings. The ground must be absolutely white so that as the painting ages, and the layers become more luminous, the subdued light of the white ground will lend itself to the painting. This is why he says you shouldn't use a colored or dull ground because it will eventually turn the painting that color or dull it out. The use of absorbent grounds is also seen as asking for trouble in the future because there is too much oil absorbed into it. It is then suggested that a varnish ground be used. It is believed that Sir Joshua Reynolds used a copal varnish mixed with white as his grounds. This allows the paint to be applied in any way desired without spotting or alternations of transparency and opacity.

By the end of the book, there is a clear path that is desired. That is one of a luminous painting that is very durable. Another recurrent theme is that less oil used is always better due to the undesirable qualities of drying oils. This leads to the final conclusion that these masters would actually "burn" the oil off of a final painting. It is believed that they would leave a painting in a bright sunny place to allow most of the oil to dry completely and be bleached by the sun. This would allow the colors to really show through without the problem of excess oil to yellow with age. By leaving a painting in the sun, it would appear, will give you a much more luminous painting that ages very well, and actually improve with age.

Trip to NY

2008-07-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a trip to NYC. While there I trained, and worked, with Robert Doak. Every free moment I had was spent in the museums, which is always a treat. There is a pretty good Turner exhibit at the Met right now, which is worth a look. As always, the museums are getting very crowded with the summer time tourists, so plan to go early. You can also get some sort of a break late on Friday evenings. The worst possible time I found was, of course, when they are free. The Frick is "pay what you wish" on Sunday afternoons, and the Moma is free on Friday afternoons. It is always very moving to see such great art, even if you have to step on a few feet to get close. While there, I learned a great deal, and am very excited about getting my own color line in better harmony, and working toward a more complete line. I will be adding new products and colors throughout the summer, so check back often. Along with many new colors, we will also be adding a balsam medium.

New Labels

2008-07-14T10:18:00.001-07:00

We are currently working on attaining new labels that use better ink. However, for now we will continue to use the old ones. We are also starting to add color strips to our tubes, so you will be able to see exactly what shade is in the tube. To do this we are actually rubbing out every color on canvas pad and attaching a strip to the tube. Of course, this is time consuming, but we feel that it is the best, and most accurate, way of doing this. Improving what we do is our constant goal, and we will always consider any suggestions you may have. Simply email us at: info@blueridgeartist.com.

Flemish White

2008-07-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

We are very excited to introduce Flemish White. This white is a lead based white, with capabilities not seen in traditional Lead Whites. This particular white was used as a white pigment in the 1800's, and has recently been offered again. It is only being sold by us, here at Blue Ridge, and Robert Doak & Assoc. We have worked very hard to make sure that the artists will have this for the future. To read more about it's capabilities please visit us at www.blueridgeoilpaint.com.

Origins of Oil Painting

2008-04-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

Some interesting news about the origins of oil painting coming out today April 22. Follow link to read article about the discovery of oil paintings from the seventh century in Asia. http://www.livescience.com/history/080422-ancient-oils.html

Natural Earth Colors

2008-04-17T05:50:00.000-07:00

We have just added three new natural earth colors to our oil paint line, which offer something totally unique to just them. These colors are naturally a little gritty, which gives them a very interesting visual quality. These natural pigments are also more transparent than the synthetic pigments when rubbed out, but have beautiful undertones that show up. The Raw Sienna is much more of a mustard color than the synthetic version we offer. The Brown Ochre is like the one Velazquez used in his backgrounds. I have been very excited to play around with these colors, and will post more swatches as I get a chance. To truly get a feel for the capabilities of these colors they must be painted with. You may order these at http://www.blueridgeoilpaint.com/.

A B C

A. Natural Raw Sienna

B. Natural Brown Ochre

C. Natural Burnt Umber

All colors rubbed out with walnut oil.

Zorn Pallete Mixes

2008-04-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been turned onto the Zorn palette by Ron and Vanessa Lemen, who teach this method in San Diego at http://www.studio2ndstreet.com/. You can read all about the artist, Anders Zorn, here http://www.backstage.com/americanartist/techniques/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001996184. It is speculated that Zorn actually did use a blue of some sort, but it is traditionally thought that he only used a red, yellow, white, and black. Today most artists use Vermilion, Yellow Ochre, Flake White and Blue Black to replicate his palette. I have been experimenting with these colors and their potential combinations, which I have posted below. However, it quickly became apparent that there are far too many combinations possible with just these colors due to the varying amounts of each color mixed. I have included the basics as a starting point, but to grasp the capabilities of this limited palette you must try them for yourself. We offer all of these colors at http://www.blueridgeoilpaint.com/.

A B C D E F G
H I J K L M

Mixes are as follows:
A. Vermilion
B. Blue Black
C. Yellow Ochre
D. Vermilion + Flake White
E. Blue Black + Flake White
F. Yellow Ochre + Flake White
G. Vermilion + Yellow Ochre
H. Vermilion + Blue Black
I. Vermilion + Yellow Ochre + Blue Black
J. Yellow Ochre + small amount of Vermilion + small amount of Blue Black
K. Vermilion + small amount of Blue Black
L. Yellow Ochre + small amount of Vermilion
M. Yellow Ochre + small amount of Blue Black

Jaune Brilliant

2008-02-23T11:14:00.000-08:00

A B C D E F G

A: Jaune Brilliant
B: Mixed with Titanium White
C: Mixed with Flake White
D: Mixed with Cadmium Red Md
E: Mixed with Cadmium Yellow Lt
F: Mixed with Cobalt Blue
G: Mixed with Ivory Black

Cobalt Violet Dp

2008-02-23T11:08:00.000-08:00

A B C D E F G

A: Cobalt Violet Dp
B: Mixed with Titanium White
C: Mixed with Flake White
D: Mixed with Cadmium Red Md
E: Mixed with Cadmium Yellow Lt
F: Mixed with Cobalt Blue
G: Mixed with Ivory Black

Transparent Red Oxide

2008-02-23T10:44:00.000-08:00

A B C D E F G

A: Transparent Red Oxide
B: Mixed with Titanium White
C: Mixed with Flake White
D: Mixed with Cadmium Red Md
E: Mixed with Cadmium Yellow Lt
F: Mixed with Cobalt Blue
G: Mixed with Ivory Black

Cobalt Green Lt

2008-02-23T10:38:00.001-08:00

A B C D E F G

A: Cobalt Green Lt
B: Mixed with Titanium White
C: Mixed with Flake White
D: Mixed with Cadmium Red Md
E: Mixed with Cadmium Yellow Lt
F: Mixed with Cobalt Blue
G: Mixed with Ivory Black

Rose Madder Genuine

2008-02-23T10:30:00.001-08:00

A B C D E F G

A: Rose Madder

B: Mixed with Titanium White

C: Mixed with Flake White

D: Mixed with Cadmium Red Md

E: Mixed with Cadmium Yellow Lt

F: Mixed with Cobalt Blue

G: Mixed with Ivory Black

Naples Yellow

2008-02-02T12:13:00.000-08:00

PY 41
Lead Antimonate
Warning: Contains Lead. Use caution.

A B C D E F

A: Naples Yellow mixed with oil to show range
B: Mixed with Titanium White
C: Mixed with Flake White
D: Mixed with Cadmium Red Md
E: Mixed with Cadmium Yellow Lt
F: Mixed with Cobalt Blue

As with all of our swatches, the color will vary between monitors. Most swatches have oil added to the rubdown to better show the range of the color. If you have any suggestions or preferred color combinations please email us at info@blueridgeartist.com.

Lead-Tin Yellow

2008-02-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

Lead Stannate
Warning: Contains lead. Use caution.

A B C D E F

A: Lead-Tin Yellow mixed with oil to show range
B: Mixed with Titanium White
C: Mixed with Flake White
D: Mixed with Cadmium Red Md
E: Mixed with Cadmium Yellow Lt
F: Mixed with Cobalt Blue

As with all of our swatches, the color will vary between monitors. Most swatches have oil added to the rubdown to better show the range of the color. If you have any suggestions or preferred color combinations please email us at info@blueridgeartist.com.

Emerald Green

2008-02-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

Emerald green, in it’s original form, was derived from arsenic and therefore highly toxic. Despite this major drawback the impressionists, such as Monet and Pissarro, used it extensively. It was also used by Matisse, as documented by his students. They found the intense green almost impossible to replicate by mixing paint, and were therefore bound to it’s use. We now have this same green available in pigment form that is not of arsenic origin but equally as lightfast. Emerald green has become one of my personal favorites recently and below I have mixed it with various other colors to show a limited sample of it’s capabilities. As with all of the colors that I will be adding in the near future it is mixed with the basics and are labeled as such. Please feel free to email me with any comments, complaints, or suggestions at info@blueridgeartist.com.

A B C D E F

A: Emerald Green mixed with oil to show range
B: Mixed with Titanium White
C: Mixed with Flake White
D: Mixed with Cadmium Red Md
E: Mixed with Cadmium Yellow Lt
F: Mixed with Cobalt Blue

As with all of our swatches, the color will vary between monitors. Most swatches have oil added to the rubdown to better show the range of the color. If you have any suggestions or preferred color combinations please email us at info@blueridgeartist.com.

Azo Burnt Orange

2008-02-02T09:45:00.000-08:00

Azo Burnt Orange

A B C D E F

A: Azo Burnt Orange mixed with oil to show range.
B: Mixed with Titanium White
C: Mixed with Flake White
D: Mixed with Cadmium Red Md
E: Mixed with Cadmium Yellow Lt
F: Mixed with Cobalt Blue

As with all of our swatches, the color will vary between monitors. Most swatches have oil added to the rubdown to better show the range of the color. If you have any suggestions or preferred color combinations please email us at info@blueridgeartist.com.

Pyrol Ruby Red

2008-02-02T08:55:00.000-08:00

Pyrol Ruby Red
PR 254
ASTM I

A B C D E F

A: Pyrol Ruby Red mixed with oil to show range.

B: Mixed with Titanium White

C: Mixed with Flake White

D: Mixed with Cadmium Red Md

E: Mixed with Cadmium Yellow Lt

F: Mixed with Cobalt Blue

As with all of our swatches, the color will vary between monitors. Most swatches have oil added to the rubdown to better show the range of the color. If you have any suggestions or preferred color combinations please email us at info@blueridgeartist.com.

Essence of Degas

2008-02-01T11:44:00.001-08:00

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.

On Contours

2008-02-01T11:43:00.001-08:00

When rendering objects in space, everyone knows, there must be some seperation of the objects. Throughout history painters have wrestled with ways of doing just that. Leonardo DaVinci used his sfumato effect to create seperation of foreground objects from background objects. He utilized his knowledge of aerial perspective to create a blurred transition between objects, thus creating the illusion of atmosphere. Later artists such as Johannes Vermeer used sfumato by allowing his paint to overlap the transition areas, which creates a luminous effect around that object. For instance, conservators at the National Gallery in London, have written about his use of this in “A Lady at the Virginal with a Gentleman.” In the floor tiles leading to the foreground he allowed the white tiles, which were painted first, to be overlapped by the black underpaint of the dark tiles next to them. He then scumbled over these darker tiles with a blue and black mixture and allowed this to overlap as well. This created the luminous effect between these seperate elements. He utilized this effect in many ways and was always searching for ways to depict light and space. Another artist to use sfumato was Rembrandt. He utilized this technique by allowing the underpainting to shimmer through a highly viscous upper paint layer. The underpainting was usually impasto or a heavy weave of canvas, which gave a “tooth” to catch the loosely applied upper layer. Sfumato is only one way in which artists have created seperation of objects in space. Color is universally know to create seperation in a painting, but it wasn’t until the Fauvists that color was exploited in great depth. The use of cools receding and warms coming forward was used by Vermeer as well as many others. While this may seem obvious to us now, it wasn’t always utilized in painting. As painters we are always trying to achieve that elusive depth in our paintings and it is due to this that we discover these new techniques and ideas about space. So, just paint, learn all you can, and paint. If you should happen across a new technique, let me know at info@blueridgeartist.com.

Turbid Medium Effect

2008-02-01T11:42:00.000-08:00

The layering of paint to create different effects has been used throughout the history of painting. But one technique, the turbid medium effect, will be described here. In this technique a light colored paint is thinly applied over a warm dark layer. This makes the top layer appear cooler than painting it over a lighter tone. Rembrandt used this technique extensively in his shadows and half tones. To do this he would paint an underlayer of a dark color to represent the shadows and half tones. He would then layer over this with a warm translucent color of the general lights of the scene. This created the cool half tones automatically. The turbid medium effect is fairly straightforward, but is worthy of experimentation to fully understand its possibilities.

Smalt Blue

2008-02-01T11:41:00.000-08:00

K, Co(Al), silicate (glass)
Cobalt Potassium Silicate
Pigment Blue 32

Smalt is a potassium glass of blue color. It can be ground to many degrees of coarseness and is then colored by a small amount of cobalt oxide during the manufacturing process. The credit for smalt’s creation is given to Christoph Schurer, a bohemian glassmaker, around 1540-1560. However, smalt has been found in much earlier paintings from the fifteenth century. It is said that the production of smalt became a Dutch and Flemish specialty. Being made of colored glass gives smalt a low tinting strength and is, therefore, mainly used in glazes. Many painters have used this pigment in various techniques, and commonly used in skies when mixed with flake white. Rembrandt used smalt for its siccative effect, which is due to the presence of cobalt. He would also use it as a bulking agent to attain texture in his thin glazes. Vermeer is said to have used it in his cool flesh tones as well. Smalt is believed to change color and darken with age. Some say this is due to the potassium being leached out by the oil medium and forms a soap. This browns the oil medium and contributes to the loss of the blue color as well. Still there are some who say this is due to the fact that fresh linseed oil has a very similar refractive index to that of glass and when the oil dries its refractive index increases. When this occurs, the light scattering capabilities of the glass particles is taken away. It has been observed that when smalt is mixed with flake white it seems to lessen this problem and is suggested that this be done. Of course, this will probably not occur in our life time but should be noted.

A B C D E

A: Smalt mixed with oil to show range

B: Mixed with Titanium White

C: Mixed with Flake White

D: Mixed with Cadmium Red Md

E: Mixed with Cadmium Yellow Lt

Quinacridone Red Rose

2008-02-01T11:22:00.000-08:00

A B C D E F

A: Quinacridone Red Rose thinned with oil to show range.
B: Mixed with Titanium White
C: Mixed with Flake White
D: Mixed with Cadmium Red Md
E: Mixed with Cadmium Yellow Lt
F: Mixed with Cobalt Blue

As with all of our swatches, the color will vary between monitors. Most swatches have oil added to the rubdown to better show the range of the color. If you have any suggestions or preferred color combinations please email us at info@blueridgeartist.com.