1: The Two Painting Stages You May Need Mediums

2: The Fat Over Lean Rule

3: How to Follow the Fat Over Lean Rule

4: An Important Rule to Remember

5: Some Other Popular Paint Mediums

1: The Two Painting Stages You May Need Mediums

There are two stages where you will likely need mediums when creating an oil painting:

A: At the beginning stages when you create a wash of colors, block the masses, or make a detailed underpainting.

B: During the painting process where you want to make your brushstrokes smooth and easy to glide on the canvas, making detailed paintings, or prolonging the drying time.

But before we start, we need to talk about a fundamental principle of oil painting: the Fat Over Lean rule.

2: The Fat Over Lean Rule

What is fat over lean? It means that the paint layers that are thinner (contain less oil) should be placed first on the canvas. The top layer on the top should be “fatter” (contain more oil) with each subsequent layer when you paint.

The reason is simple: oil paints are made of two components—binders and pigments. Binders play a crucial role in the composition of oil paints, affecting not just their consistency but also their durability and appearance on canvas. 

Because oil paint contains oil like linseed oil, walnut oil, or poppyseed oil, it expands and contracts slightly when it dries.

Because of this, if the paint layers on the bottom contain more oil than the layers on the top, then when oil paint dries, it will expand or contract at a slower speed than the top layer. The result is a cracking appearance on the canvas.

So, that’s why we need to follow the “fat over lean” rule when painting in oil.

(this picture above is why you need to follow the fat over lean rule)

3: How to Follow the Fat Over Lean Rule

We need to understand that there are two kinds of oil mediums:

A: The first one is thinning (breaking down) the oil paints. That’s what we generally call “paint thinner.” These products are what we use at the beginning stage of painting, like making washes, drawing masses, or making underpainting.

Mineral spirits and turpentine are the most commonly used thinners. Turpentine oil is a colorless fluid derived from the resin of certain tree species, including pine trees. Mineral spirits are made of 100-percent petroleum distillates and have no additives. Mineral spirits are a clean, clear product used for thinning oil-based paint.

I have been using this Gamblin odrless mineral spirits for years and loved it: https://amzn.to/3sEnsug ( note: if you puchase products through my amazon link, it will not add any extra cost to you. And I will get a very small commission from Amazon, so you will be able to contribute in supporting this blog.)

It’s important to remember that paint thinner describes the function of the product, not necessarily its makeup. So, paint thinner can essentially be anything that thins paint.

Another important role these products can play is cleaning your brushes. 

I usually give my paint brushes a wash in mineral spirits after I finish a session and then wash them clean with Master’s cleanser.

B: The second one is adding more oil (fat) to the paints to make it easy to slide on the canvas when you paint. This is what you will use in the middle stage of the painting.

Linseed oil is one of the most commonly used oil paint binders. Extracted from flax seeds, artists can manipulate its drying time. Linseed oil enhances the luminosity of colors and provides a glossy finish to paintings. 

This is the one I always have in hand: https://amzn.to/47Kj2kg 

Other popular mediums include walnut oil and poppyseed oil. If you are looking for prolonged drying time, check out walnut oil—with its pale color and slow drying time, and has a rich, clear finish. And poppyseed oil is known for its light color and subtle, silky texture—making it ideal for delicate brushwork.

4: An Important Rule to Remember

Use mediums only when needed. Because all mediums will more or less alter the density of the paint, thus affecting the temperature, vibrancy, and stability. Linseed oil and other mediums are known to darken the color with age. Since there are already oil binders in oil paints, in most paintings, there is really little need to add excessive muddiness.

Before we close this post, I want to briefly introduce other paint mediums:

5: Some Other Popular Paint Mediums

Liquin fast drying medium 

If you want to paint fast, try liquin fast drying medium. it halves the drying time of oil colour and reduces brush stroke retention. Creates a smooth, gel-like paint film that is easier to work with. Liquin allows the paint to dry faster and makes working with multiple layers easier.

This is the one I use when I need to paint fast in time for a show: 

https://amzn.to/47znPpa

Galkyd: Accelerating Drying Time

For those who prefer a faster drying process, Galkyd is a valuable medium. It accelerates the drying time of oil paints while maintaining a smooth and glossy finish. Artists often use it in layers to build up their paintings efficiently.

Impasto Gel: Creating Texture

Impasto gel is the go-to medium for artists who wish to add texture and depth to their paintings. By mixing this gel with oil paint, you can create thick, expressive strokes that leap off the canvas. It’s a fantastic way to add drama and dimension to your artwork.

Cold Wax Medium: Matte Finish and Collage

Cold wax medium is a unique addition to the oil painter’s toolkit. It not only extends drying time but also yields a matte finish. Artists often use it for collage techniques, creating layers and adding complexity to their compositions.

Oil Sticks: Direct Application

Oil sticks are a delightful departure from traditional tubes of paint. These versatile tools allow artists to apply paint directly to the canvas, offering a tactile and expressive approach to oil painting. They are especially popular among artists who enjoy the immediacy of drawing with paint.

As you embark on your oil painting journey, consider experimenting with different mediums to unlock new possibilities and enhance your artistic voice. Each medium brings its own set of characteristics, allowing you to tailor your creative process and produce works of art that captivate and inspire.

If you like this post, comment, and share it with a friend! If you like to learn about how to mastering brushstrokes, check out this post: https://yingmclane.com/mastering-the-art-of-oil-painting-brush-strokes/

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One such technique that can significantly enhance your paintings is the use of transparent colors for glazing.  

I thoroughly enjoy to see a beautiful masterpiece that skillfully employed transparent colors. 

What are Transparent Colors?

Transparent colors are a subset of paint pigments that, as the name suggests, allow light to pass through them. When applied in thin layers, they maintain their transparency, which is a valuable characteristic for artists. These colors are invaluable for creating subtle shifts in color, depth, and luminosity in a painting.

Here are some famous classical and modern paintings used transparent colors for you to enjoy:

• “Primavera” by Sandro Botticelli: Botticelli’s “Primavera” features transparent colors that add to the radiant quality of the painting, particularly in the flowing robes of the figures and the softness of the landscape.

• “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” by Gustav Klimt: Klimt’s iconic use of gold leaf and transparent colors in this portrait adds a sense of opulence and luminosity to the artwork.

• “Autumn Rhythm(Number 30)” by Jackson Pollock: Pollock’s drip painting technique involves transparent colors, creating a sense of energy and movement in this abstract expressionist masterpiece.

• “Four Darks in Red” by Mark Rothko: Rothko’s exploration of transparent colors creates a sense of depth and emotion in his abstract paintings.

The Magic of Glazing:

Glazing is a painting technique that involves layering transparent or translucent colors over a dry layer of paint. This method is used to achieve a myriad of effects, such as adjusting the overall color temperature, adding depth, and enhancing the luminosity of your artwork. Glazing can bring a sense of unity and harmony to a painting, making it an essential skill for artists.

(art story: French painter Vigée Le Brunone is of the most successful women artists (unusually so for her time), particularly noted for her portraits of women, especially portrait of Queen Marie-Antoinette. )

“Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat” by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun: Vigée Le Brun’s glazing techniques contribute to the glowing complexion and the exquisite detail of the hat and dress in this self-portrait.)

Examples of Transparent Colors for Glazing:

• Alizarin Crimson: With its cool, transparent nature and bluish undertones, Alizarin Crimson is excellent for achieving beautiful, rich glazes, especially in portraiture and floral subjects.
• Cerulean Blue: This cool, transparent blue is a versatile choice for glazing, providing a sense of coolness and tranquility in your paintings.
• Viridian Green: A transparent green, perfect for creating subtle shifts in color and tone, particularly in landscape and foliage.
• Burnt Sienna: This warm, transparent brown is your go-to color for adding warmth and depth to your glazes, especially in earthy or natural settings.
• Raw Sienna: Similar to Burnt Sienna but with a more yellowish tone, Raw Sienna can be used for glazing to achieve a warm, golden quality in your artwork.
• Quinacridone Magenta: Known for its transparency and vivid color, Quinacridone Magenta is fantastic for glazing and can be used to create transparent pinks and purples.
• Transparent Oxide Brown: Specifically formulated for transparency, this color is perfect for creating deep, warm shadows in your glazes.

When using transparent colors for glazing, it’s important to remember that thin, controlled layers are key. 

Experiment with layering, and don’t hesitate to try different color combinations to achieve the desired effects in your paintings. 

Glazing with transparent colors is a subtle and nuanced technique that can elevate your art, providing depth, luminosity, and a sense of harmony that can truly bring your vision to life.

Remember that the degree of transparency can vary among different brands and even within the same brand’s range of colors, so it’s a good idea to test the specific paint you’re using for its glazing properties.

Additionally, it’s often recommended to use a painting medium like a glazing medium or a drying oil to enhance the transparency and flow of your glazes.

To learn about other painting brush techniques, check out this post: https://yingmclane.com/scumbling-painting-technique-what-you-should-know/

Let me know if post is helpful!

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Now I am blessed to live in the sunshine state of Florida and I love to open my eyes in the morning and see the blue sky and lush greeneries. It’s hard for anyone to be in a bad mood in a bright and colorful environment!

You see, our world is consisted of colors. Color has a profound impact on our everyday life. 

And artists have the undeniable power to use colors to make an impact. 

That’s why understanding color theory is essential for artists who want to take their art to the next level.

In this blog post, we will explore the fundamentals of color theory and use plenty of examples of how artists can use it to enhance their paintings.

The Basics of Color Theory

Color theory is the study of how colors interact with each other and how they can be combined to create visually appealing compositions. It is a fundamental concept in art and design, and it plays a crucial role in various art forms.

The Color Wheel: 

It’s a fundamental tool in color theory and has a rich history dating back to the 17th century. Sir Isaac Newton, the renowned physicist, is often credited with the invention of the first color wheel. He arranged colors in a circular chart to demonstrate how white light could be split into its component colors using a prism. This laid the foundation for understanding color relationships.

The color wheel is a circular chart that organizes colors in a systematic way.

It consists of primary colors (red, blue, and yellow), 

Secondary colors(green, orange, and purple), 

Tertiary colors(colors created by mixing a primary and a secondary color). 

The color wheel helps artists understand how colors relate to each other and how they can be harmoniously combined.

There are three aspects of color:

Hue: means the specific color itself. Like red, orange red, etc. 

Value: the lightness or darkness or a color

Chroma: also called saturation, intensity. Means the brightness or dullness of a color. 

Color Relationships: 

Artists often use color relationships to create harmony or contrast in their paintings. 

Some common color relationships include:

complementary colors: 

The opposite colors on the color wheel.

Van Gogh liked to use bold, complementary colors in many of his paintings. In this painting, he used complementary blue and oranges, yellow and purple to express the warmth of the cafe in contrast with the starry night he was so fond of painting.

Cafe Terrace at night, Van Gogh

Analogous colors: 

Colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel.

Picasso’s famous painting: “The Old Guitarist”, showcased his love for dark, moody analogous colors during his Blue period. 

The Old Guitarist, Picasso

Monochromic colors:

A color scheme using only one color with different variations in value, hue, or chroma. 

American landscape painter George Inness used the family of green colors in different variations to describe this serene and mystic scenery. 

Pool in the Woods, 1892, George Inness

How to Use Color Theory in Paintings

Now that we’ve covered the basics of color theory and the history of the color wheel, let’s explore how artists can apply these concepts to their paintings:

1: Setting the Mood: Different colors evoke different emotions. Understanding the historical associations of colors can be particularly valuable. 

For example, red has long symbolized passion and love, while blue has been associated with calm and tranquility. 

Artists can use color to set the mood of their artwork and convey the intended emotions to the viewer.  

Being one of the most famous Impressionist painters, Monet is a master in using colors creating dreamy, peaceful art.

Impression Sunrise by Claude Monet

2: Creating Focal Points: The historical use of complementary colors to create contrast and draw attention to specific areas of a painting is a time-tested technique. It helps create focal points that guide the viewer’s eye and emphasize important elements within the composition.

Sargent used red and skillfully placed the focal points of this painting.

A dinner table at night by John Singer Sargent

3: Achieving Balance: Historical artists like Johannes Itten and Josef Albers, who were influential in the field of color theory, emphasized the importance of balance and harmony in artworks. 

 Josef Albers’s famous modern art series: Homage to the Square used color relationships like complementary or analogous colors, and achieved a sense of balance that makes the artwork visually pleasing and engaging to the viewer.

Homage to the Square, Josef Albers

4: Adding Depth and Dimension: Manipulating the values of colors allows artists to create depth and dimension in their paintings. 

The historical use of chiaroscuro, a technique that uses strong contrasts between light and dark, is an example of how artists have harnessed the power of value to create three-dimensional effects.   

When it comes to the chiaroscuro technique, Italian painter Caravaggio is the first to come to mind:

Martha and Mary Magdalene 1598 – by Caravaggio

5: Conveying Symbolism: Colors are often associated with symbolism. For example, red may symbolize passion and love, while green may symbolize growth and renewal. Artists can use these color-symbolism associations to convey deeper meanings and messages in their artwork.

Take another painting by Caravaggio, the red in the boy’s cloth symbolizes the energy and vibrancy of youth.

The Musicians or Concert of Youths  (c. 1595) by Caravaggio

Limitations of the Color Wheel

First,  the color wheel does not include the impact of white and black.

When you add white to a color, you will make it lighter hence increasing the value of that color.

When you add black to a color, you will make it darker hence decreasing the value of a color. 

Both white and black will decrease the chroma/saturation of a color.

Second, In reality, there are few colors you can’t mix to exactly match the color wheel. 

Artist tip: For example, purple is a hard color to mix. Our artist member Linda pointed out to me that  Quinacridone magenta and ultramarine make an absolutely gorgeous purple, Thank you Linda!

To learn the basics of choosing a color palette for painting, check out this guide: https://yingmclane.com/how-artist-choose-palette/

Master color schemes can take your art to the next level, so don’t be afraid to experiment with color and discover the endless possibilities it offers in the world of art. 

Hope this post is helpful. 

Free to share and comment!

The post Color Theory Guide: A Comprehensive Guide for Artists appeared first on Ying McLane.

Want an example? Check out a design principle called the “Golden Ratio”. Also known as the Golden Section, Golden Mean, Divine Proportion or Greek letter Phi.  

It is a ratio between two numbers that equals approximately 1.618. Usually written as the Greek letter phi, it is strongly associated with the Fibonacci sequence, a series of numbers wherein each number is added to the last.  To simply put, The Golden Ratio can be written as a mathematical equation of A ÷ B = (A + B) ÷ A = 1.61803398875. In a short form ratio, it is 1:1.618.

If used in design, the golden ratio can be expressed as when a line is divided into two parts and the longer part (a) divided by the smaller part (b) is equal to the sum of (a) + (b) divided by (a), which both equal 1.618.

Before you start running away thinking that you clicked opened a post about math by accident, check this image out–this is a shell I collected on the beach. It shows the perfect golden rule design by nature. 

And how does this golden rule apply to art?  A lot.  

Golden rule has been used by artists and architects throughout the centuries: from the Pyramids in Giza to the Parthenon in Athens; from Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa; and many contemporary artists too.  You must have seen this famous painting before: 

Piet Mondrian, Compositions in Red, Blue, and Yellow, 1930 

Piet Mondrian basically used a golden rectangle to design this painting.

In a golden rectangle, the side lengths are in golden ratio. If you take away that square on the left, another rectangle will remain which is also in golden ratio. You can make this design indefinitely.  

And when you spiral a line through the golden rectangle,  you will get the Golden Spiral effect, just like the shell I just showed you.

What is The Rule of Thirds?

You probably heard about The Rule of Thirds in painting and photographing. So what is the relationship between The rule of Thirds and The Golden Ratio?

The rule of thirds is a guideline for both artists and photographers. It says that if you divide your composition into thirds, either vertically or horizontally, and then place focal areas of your scene at the meeting points of them, you will get a more pleasing arrangement and layout for your compositions.

Below is my painting of Sanibel Lighthouse in Sanibel Island, FL. You can see the focal parts of lighthouse, the roof of the house and the edge of the beach landed on the cross section of those lines. 

So what The Rule of Thirds has to do with The Golden Ratio?

The Rule of Thirds is basically a simplification of the Golden Rule. While its ratio doesn’t equate exactly to that of 1:1.618. But it will give you roughly the same desired effect but is very easy to envision and implement compared to the Golden Ratio.

You see, our mind is created to enjoy interesting designs and variation in spaces.  

Our eyes and brains dislike boring, dead in the center designs or a too busy and messy canvas. 

With the guide of golden ratio, you can create variation and blank space that pleases the eye, and guide the eyes to travel though the canvas, so to provide an enjoyable art experience. 

Of course, you don’t have to rigidly follow the rule of third in your composition. But it should be an important tool in your artist arsenal.  

If you found my post is helpful, click the social media button to hare this post. 

Or leave a comment below about your take away from this post! 

Cheering you on!  

Ying

The post How to use Golden Ratio / Rule of Thirds in your art appeared first on Ying McLane.

The general rule is– the position of the sun in relationship with the clouds determines where the light and dark parts of the shadows are.  

In most cases, the sun will be above the clouds. 

So Imagine holding a cotton ball under a light. You want to paint three parts of this cotton ball:

1: the top part where the sunlight hits the cotton ball. It’s the lightest part of the ball. 

2: the middle part, the main body of the cotton ball.  It will be a middle tone.

3: the bottom part of the ball, where it is the darkest. 

If you paint a sunset, as I did in this painting of Fort Myers Pier in Florida,  the sunlight will hit the middle or lower part of the clouds. So the lower parts of the clouds will appear light in color, and the upper parts will be darker in color. You can also add some thin lines of bright color around the lower edges to show where the sunlight hit the clouds.

Remember: you are painting big shapes and values. Don’t try to paint every little detail you see. Or it will take away the overall feeling or mood you are trying to express in your painting.  

Happy painting!  

To learn more about the background of this painting, go to https://yingmclane.com/our-hurricane-ian-story-part-one/

Here is another good article about painting clouds: https://drawpaintacademy.com/clouds/#light-and-color

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