tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4886083553561376818.post8573297596373955061..comments2022-04-04T01:42:22.198-07:00Comments on Bryce Cameron Liston Fine Art Blog: Materials and Components: Flake White- a little knowledge goes a long way?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304174523304341265noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4886083553561376818.post-56694924700889734092017-11-05T15:12:13.893-08:002017-11-05T15:12:13.893-08:00Lead white, unless mixed with a really inferior oi...Lead white, unless mixed with a really inferior oil, will not turn as yellow as butter. It goes to a cream. It also works better in keeping the painting from cracking, crumbling, or taking forever to dry. It is very lean (requires very little oil), tough, and flexible. It looks soft and natural, which is a big help to painting flowers, skin, water, etc. It does not need a bunch of additives to make it handle beautifully. <br /><br />Titanium white has it's place--as a replacement for the too brittle zinc white, but I use it only for highlights on water, eyes, etc.--never for skin.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08360221575567076472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4886083553561376818.post-53577726054920727712015-07-08T07:05:25.769-07:002015-07-08T07:05:25.769-07:00Lead/flake white will yellow more readily than oth...Lead/flake white will yellow more readily than other white pigments. Using lead white as a ground requires a good deal of drying (oxidation) time. If turned to the wall, a newly made, lead white canvas will become a buttery light yellow (it can be brought back to its original white by bringing it back into sunlight). Waiting for the ground to dry is the key - and that means weeks not hours or days, but the results are worth the wait. Acrylic gesso (acrylic dispersion ground) resists paint, oil or acrylic, and a lead white ground allows the brush to flow across the surface and the oil paint to be absorbed and bonded with the ground. When painting with lead white, it's a very good idea to mix it with titanium white, because it will yellow less, be more light-stable, and will be less brittle. <br /><br />Sadly, Mr. Gottsegen passed away (very prematurely) in October of 2013, so with him went a true passion for painting materials and techniques. Mr. Gottsegen first became interested in materials and techniques in a course taught by the estimable Reed Kay at Boston University. "David" as he preferred to be called then, decided shortly after taking the two-semester course that he'd write a book that would be better than Reed's. In some ways he did just by including modern chemistry and new materials, but traditional material and techniques are what they are and don't change. A line of experts, from Max Doener to Ralph Mayer to Reed Kay to David Gottsegen, have enriched the painter's knowledge base so that oil paint can be the safest and most seductive painting medium of all. Most people assume that because acrylic paint is diluted with water that it must be safer than oil, but that's not necessarily true. Acrylic paint has a chemical base of methyl methacrylate (just like Elmer's glue) and employs the same pigments as oil paint - cadmiums, cobalt, etc. Oil paint is comprised of a vegetable oil (linseed oil from flax) for a vehicle and beeswax to hold (or bind - thus "a binder") everything (pigment) together, and its solvent was traditionally another "natural" product - turpentine. Two out of three natural and relatively safe materials make up an oil paint. If one takes normal precautions and uses common sense, the oil painting technique is the preferred medium. A word about turpentine; "turp" is an aromatic distillation of pine sap (like maple sap but doesn't turn into pine or maple syrup). As an aromatic, its fumes can be inhaled to detrimental effects; however, make no mistake about the "odorless" thinners around today - they too can be caustic and to a degree toxic - because one cannot smell the fumes, they are still present. This can give artists a profound (and wrong) sense of complacency and might lead to a sloppy attitude toward solvents. I personally prefer to smell what can hurt me instead of an odorless but insidious presence of potentially dangerous fumes. I also freely admit to liking the aroma of turpentine over the modern petroleum-based solvents. Turpentine also has antiseptic qualities but I wouldn't overdo or oversell that! One can only use turpentine to make Damar varnish (5 lb. cut, of course).<br /><br />This is an informative article full of essential information that every painter should know but few do because (Subjective Alert!) schools of art don't generally teach painting materials and techniques as a separate study. But, they should - instead they teach "artspeak", a form of self-important self-justification, which doesn't help to keep painters healthy and safe at all. <br /><br />Keep up the good work, for you may well be saving lives.<br />Painter33noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4886083553561376818.post-45794784036326694402014-11-20T17:01:16.940-08:002014-11-20T17:01:16.940-08:00Hi Bryce, great article, I have bought Lead white,...Hi Bryce, great article, I have bought Lead white, just a question, do you use a lead ground to paint on and if so what do you use the actual lead white you use for mixing?? Thanks for all the information you share on your Blog we never stop learning! MikeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4886083553561376818.post-286909280739843532014-04-13T12:31:28.293-07:002014-04-13T12:31:28.293-07:00Hey I would like to thank everyone for leaving you...Hey I would like to thank everyone for leaving your comments, I really appreciate it. Dave I didn't know that about Van Gogh, thanks for sharing.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05304174523304341265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4886083553561376818.post-70946647684745421302014-02-25T15:48:34.650-08:002014-02-25T15:48:34.650-08:00Thanks Bryce, good information. I have used the di...Thanks Bryce, good information. I have used the different lead whites and find them very useful. I do prefer Titanium white for landscapes, I do use Buff white for a warmer also. I do like the lead whites in Portrait and figure work. <br />Again thanksKurthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01646419192733689955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4886083553561376818.post-88492911285318035422014-02-14T06:27:38.868-08:002014-02-14T06:27:38.868-08:00John Cook , not trying to be anonymous.John Cook , not trying to be anonymous.johncookpaintsblog.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07948951460303970743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4886083553561376818.post-31778433207641753532014-02-14T06:25:03.882-08:002014-02-14T06:25:03.882-08:00Thanks for the great revelation.
Good advice, and ...Thanks for the great revelation.<br />Good advice, and I appreciate your<br />Research to understand this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4886083553561376818.post-46653448197844730562014-02-13T13:40:41.421-08:002014-02-13T13:40:41.421-08:00I'm buying lead white!I'm buying lead white!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02772614780637210269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4886083553561376818.post-21648977282391933422014-02-13T12:03:30.898-08:002014-02-13T12:03:30.898-08:00Great information…thanks for postingGreat information…thanks for postingMaria Bennett Hockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10991414921895251096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4886083553561376818.post-5124395167207599972014-02-13T07:49:34.372-08:002014-02-13T07:49:34.372-08:00If you are an artist and have never tried flake wh...If you are an artist and have never tried flake white, you will be absolutely amazed by the difference in color mixing, I am still learning to adjust to it but have found that my color mixing has improved just by switching my white, all other whites pale in comparison to flake. Pun intended. Great post.jimserrettstudiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16604574528873628463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4886083553561376818.post-47843212623101132772014-02-12T16:40:09.640-08:002014-02-12T16:40:09.640-08:00There is some thought that this is also what happe...There is some thought that this is also what happened to Van Gogh. He used to point his brushes by sticking them in his mouth to get a good point on them. Obviously not the smartest thing to do.Dave Caseyhttp://www.thedailypainter.comnoreply@blogger.com