Archive for the ‘oil painting’ Category

Homemade Gesso Paint!

Saturday, November 18th, 2017

I love Gesso paint and use heaps of it in my work. It’s gritty, chalky and can be applied to artwork to give a translucent or opaque look. It’s also very expensive so I decided to make my own.

 

Gesso is used for many things such as a primer for canvas or on paper to give a good base for painting, drawing or mixed media work.  When making collage I use it as a gluing medium to stick on papers, in-between, painting and drawing layers.

The recipe below makes 2 litres of Gesso paint

( If not using straight away, this Gesso will last approx. 4-6 weeks)

Homemade Gesso

PLASTER MIX

1 cup Plaster of Paris or fine white plaster powder

1 cup of PVA or white glue

1 cup hot water

PAINT

3 cups white acrylic paint

UTENSILS

Container, cup and mixing stick or spoon

RATIO: 1-3

Plaster Mix 1 – Acrylic paint 3

Method

To make the plaster mix. Add the plaster to the hot water and stir ( Safety purposes: always add the plaster powder to the liquid, not liquid to plaster, as it will blow up into your face and always wear a dust mask)

Dust Mask

“Plaster of Paris” and cup

Hot water and mix

Next add the PVA or white glue, stir.

Finally add the white acrylic paint and mix. ( I used some acrylic powder paint I had and made it up with water) You can use any kind of acrylic paint or colour .

 

Result

I was very happy with the result. The gesso is translucent with the gritty bits I like. You can also do several layers of gesso to give a more opaque appearance. It covered my canvas very well with only 1 coat. When adding more than 1 coat you can sand in- between to give a really smooth surface for detailed work .

2 litres of Gesso

Gesso on stretched canvas

Gesso on paper

 

 

To see this and more of my free tutorials, please go to  Tutorials I even show you how to make my large studio easel.

 

The Life of a Painting. Changing Back to Oil Paints.

Sunday, November 5th, 2017

A few years ago, I changed from oil paints, to acrylics, after I became allergic to the turps. I’m still not used to painting with acrylics as, I just love the lushness, depth and movement of oil paints. Something, I haven’t been able to achieve with acrylics. So, recently I bought some oil painting supplies, eco friendly turps, to see, if I’m still allergic to it.

 

The life of a Painting.

Oil paint , medium, wax on canvas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I think, I should stop earlier, when its fresh and spontaneous, but usually keep going. I  just have to trust the process and know, that eventually, I will end up with something I’m happy with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will revisit the painting, in a few days time to decide, whether I will take it further. At the moment, I’m feeling, times long past.

Small Abstract Oil Paintings. Still & Interruption.

Sunday, November 20th, 2016

Small Abstract Oil Paintings. Still & Interruption.

 

 

 

jenny-davis_still2-_oil-paint-on-canvas_2016jenny-davis_still3-_oil-paint-on-canvas_2016jenny-davis_still1-_oil-paint-on-canvas_2016s

 

 

 

 

 

I spent a lot of time trying to get the surface just right, on these 3 paintings, as I wanted each piece to stand on its own, as well as, together as a whole. I also wanted to convey a feeling of stillness. A space to sit awhile.

 

 

 

 

jenny-davis_sti-l-horizontal_oil-paint-on-canvas_2016

 

 

 

The 3 below have colour and movement. I feel they are not yet resolved and will probably work back in with more layers.

 

 

 

jenny-davis_interuption_oil-paint-on-canvas_2016bs

 

 

 

I’m enjoying, the smaller scale paintings at the moment, especially after all the large ones I did over the past year for my “Wallmatter” exhibition.

 

 

 

 

jenny-davis_interuption-3-_oil-paint-on-canvas_2016sjenny-davis_interuption-1-_oil-paint-on-canvas_2016sjenny-davis_interuption-2-_oil-paint-on-canvas_2016s

 

 

Its a whole different way of working. Large paintings have huge sweeping strokes, where the whole body is involved. Smaller artworks allow me to come in close and are not so hard on my body. I can work longer on them, without too much pain to my back and neck.