Hi, Annie here:
First of all these paintings were a welcome end to a day of more theory and testing painting materials.
...The "why are we asking these questions anyway " part. We are at the beach and its
rainy and cold so we brought sea shells inside, dried off dogs and ourselves and set up for a quick sketch. Spent 1 1/2 hours with three breaks. Quit with reluctance when all light was lost.
Now...
Here's a problem I've had.
I have been stopped in my tracks by the warnings on the gamsol and rubisol [Odorless Mineral Spirits or OMS] bottles. Do not use OMS with damar varnish because it will cloud. Implying that the "oldfashioned" mediums are incompatable with this "new fangled "stuff.
Hmmm
Well my first and main inclination is to use no medium in my painting ...or just a small amount initially in a "lean" mix for an initial washy sketch. But at the last phase of my paintings, a medium to create a buttery smooth paint texture IS useful for the detail and finish work. Also I would like to have the option of a glaze without compromising the structure of the paint-film.
So
After we tested the mediums at the workshop [see previous 3 posts] we mixed equal parts OMS and the various mediums and elements of the mediums.
First: mediums are made up of a solvent [often spirits of turpentine] , varnish [a resin and /or wax], and an oil.
The problem of cloudiness seems usually to stem from the OMS being a less powerful solvent than "turps"[spirits of gum turpentine] or "spike" [oil of lavender] . Thus it just can't dissolve the wax or varnish.
Ok [ left to stand for 12 hrs]
Damar Varnish [utrecht] dissolved to clear in the OMS
The L.E. #1 [equal parts spike/stand oil/canada balsam] was slightly cloudy in the OMS
The Italian Varnish [Natural Pigments] separated with a very cloudy sediment and a darkened liquid above. [the wax may have been the culprit]
The canada balsam [ a resin] looked very flakey initially so we added a drop of denatured alcohol and left it. Totally clear the next morning!
so
I used my L.E.#1 in conjuction with my Steve Early Mix [5 parts OMS to 1 part stand oil] in my sea shell painting with no hesitation.
Linda E stayed with her turps and the same L.E.#1 medium that i used.
WHEW!
It was fun to do these shells and nice as it is to use a familiar medium because I know what it can do, probably should have tried a different one.
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