In 2004 I turned my back on the paints I loved, and started painting with plastic. I had painted with oils for over 30 years, and found that I didn't have anywhere else to go with them. With the acrylics, I had an entire new planet to explore, and explore I did. Now, 13 years later, with about 20 tubes of Gamblin oils given to me by a friend, I find myself, once again, painting with oils. It's a very different experience from the acrylics I've become used to--like going from a Unitarian service in California where everyone is wearing flip-flops, to high mass in a Catholic Church in Rome where there are candles and chanting and mysterious men clad in dark robes and funny hats. The oil paints have a rich heaviness and stay wet forever, letting me blend colors and add and change things even a day or two later, while the acrylics, while immediate and fresh, once they are dry, or drying(within minutes of being applied)can't be altered. I'm rediscovering my brushes from 14 years ago, and remembering what each one does, some with only a hair or two left from so much use. I'm not sure where this will go, only that I don't want to repeat what I did all those years ago, hoping that I will find a different way to marry my photographs with paint.
I heartily recommend Dorland's cold wax. It was revolutionary for me. Paints dry faster and it evens out the discrepancies between viscosity and oils in the varying pigments and wax is silky looking but it can also be polished. It works quite well for layering if you want to "etch" through the surface. I could paint my grounds black or dark reds or dark blues, put lighter colors on top nd write words (which you like) and draw through.. then let the paint dry a bit and fill in color if you want. If you come up here I can show you sometime.
ReplyDeleteOh cool, Holly. I met you in MS before you went over to plastic. Maybe some of us converted you..Ha Ha. Anyway, I have also been working iwth oil and I like Gamblin paints. I had not worked with oils since my beginner days until about 6 years ago. I love the cold wax medium or I would never have started back. That said, I do miss being able to re-apply layers quickly. i, also, question how to use a collage element unless you have a clear path and idea of how it will progress......which I hardly ever have. Will look forward to seeing how is goes with you. Like you, I love digging back in after a day or two.
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