Oil Paintings Can Be Improved With Glazing

By Author: Anthony Keith Whitehead
Total Articles: 21
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This follow gives a summary of how to develop the technique of glazing. This is a very important approach for those developing their oil painting skills and is a technique which can be applied in a wide variety of paintings. The versatility of oils as an artistic medium is a principle factor in drawing many people to it. There are many things that can be done with oils and the techniques that can be used along with others or on their own. Glazing is one of the more important skills to develop.

Glazing As A Technique For Oil Painters
Oil paints can be applied to a support in many thicknesses, but glazing is essentially a method that employs many repeated thin coats of paint over a given area. Oil paints come in two basic types (although there are variations within each type): opaque and transparent. The former is a dense type of paint that covers whatever is underneath without allowing it to show through. Transparent oil paints, on the other hand, do allows whatever is underneath to show through, and so this is the type of oil paint which is used in glazing.

It is important, when buying oil paints, therefore, ...
... to make sure you know which of these two types you are purchasing. Most oil paints fall into one or other of these two types but some can vary in their degree of opaqueness or transparency and the manufacturer may refer to some paints as “semi opaque” or “semi transparent” or give some indication of the degree of each characteristic.

Prior To Glazing
At least in the early stages of learning the technique, make sure that the ground you are going to paint upon is white. This will always help towards that crucial glow which is often the purpose of glazing. You will also save some tears and effort by spending some time on experimentation. So make a small investment by purchasing a pad of good canvass paper and some medium.

There are a good many alternatives for mediums to use and you will eventually find your own favourites. However, initially restrict yourself to two: say, Michael Harding’s and Liquin. The former is quite thin, while the former is more of a gel. As you progress you will find one type is better than another for certain purposes. You can alternative between them to discover which suits your needs in different circumstances.

The following explanation assumes the use of Michael Harding’s medium. If using Liquin, one might wish to mix the Liquin into the yellow paint and use in that way.

The Objectives Of Glazing
There are two main reasons for using the glazing technique. One is to create areas of colour which glow. One can see this effect in many paintings by, say, Rembrandt, although many of the old masters used the technique for this purpose.

The second reason is to create a particular colour. For example, red and yellow create orange. These can be mixed together for that purpose, but the effect of glazing one over the other is very different and produces an effect which cannot be obtained by mixing paints together. This would probably be a limited usage in any single painting.

To see the translucent effect, use a sheet from your pad and (transparent) yellow and (transparent) red. Lay several 2” squares of red and leave them until touch dry. When the red has dried, put some Michael Harding medium into a small container (such as the type you clip to a pallet). Put some yellow paint on your pallet, dip the end of the brush into the medium, wipe it on the edge of the container and push the brush gently into the paint to pick-up a small quantity only. Draw the brush over Square 1, recharging it as necessary to cover the whole square. Leave to dry.

Repeat the process for other squares, but sometimes use a rage to rub the paint in, sometimes your finger. Rubbing can make the process even more effective, so compare the various areas. With rubbing, you will probably have to apply more coats overall.

Compare the results. Even allowing for your relative inexperience in using the technique, you should see quite a marked improvement where rubbing has been used. Masters like Rembrandt used this approach repeatedly and developed great expertise. So can you!

AUTHOR: A K Whitehead
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This will take you to paintingsinoil.co.uk main page of original images painted by A K Whitehead.
All the paintings in oil here are by A K Whitehead, who is aself-taught artist, and are original oils and not copies. The approach is traditional, making use of various techniques, including impasto and glazing. This link will take you to the main categories of landscapes, seascapes, snowscapes, waterscapes and still life and all are provided with free frames and fastenings. Free delivery is also included within the UK.