Quick Tip 383 - Alla Prima without a Medium

Dianne explains that the best medium to use in Alla Prima painting is no medium. How to paint without gunking up your paint is explained.
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[@alinserea4179]

Wow fantastic very beautiful work my friend 💖 💗 💖 💗 💖

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks.

[@meghanworkman6449]

This video is literally EXACTLY what I was looking for! Thank you!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

I'm so glad!

[@cfsaleta]

Great quick tip

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks.

[@nitinh2499]

Great video Dianne! Very helpful… thank you! 👍🏼

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

You are so welcome!

[@joanistotler8804]

Thank you Dianne - great explanation!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

My pleasure, Joani!

[@belindahall5220]

Thank you so much for another great quick tip!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

You are so welcome!

[@lorachristian7030]

Thank you Dianne!...extremely helpful...

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

So glad! Thanks for watching.

[@natalykenny2069]

Thank you, Dianne, very helpful as usual!❤

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

My pleasure!

[@ChelissaMoon]

Your channel is a treasure. Thank you!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

My pleasure!

[@alicianaive2620]

This is a great tip & good for health too! 👍Thank you Dianne for sharing this great tip with us! Take care💐

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

My pleasure, Alicia. Thanks for watching

[@rainerburmeister5758]

Very good, very helpful video. Thanks.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks for watching, Rainer.

[@greenmacaroni8872]

Hi Dianne, I use gouache, but your quick tips are still so useful. I’m hoping that my trees won’t look so cookie cutter now that I can rub them into the sky a little. I loved watching the development of the branch. Thank you for sharing. Hugs, Julie 🥰

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Have fun with it, Julie.

[@margaretbutters6181]

another great tip thankyou

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

My pleasure. Thanks for watching.

[@tabuena.fineart]

awesome discussions😊

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks!

[@mikechaple6595]

Thanks!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thank YOU, Mike!

[@collinlynch8354]

Thank you so much Dianna for taking the time and energy to make these videos. I have been searching for a teacher to answer all my questions as a beginning and am so glad I found your channel. Thank you!!!!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

My pleasure. Enjoy the journey!

[@simonnemason2162]

Thank you.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

My pleasure.

[@tintedsnowman]

Thankyou !!!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

You bet.

[@tanyakleinhans8559]

😊 thank you

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

You’re welcome 😊

[@lindasmiley2431]

Thank you for a great quick tip. It is very helpful, as I am trying to paint totally solvent free when painting indoors. At the end of the tip you say it is helpful to stick with brands of paint that have a creamy consistency. Could you tell us the names of brands that have a creamier consistency? Thanks so much.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Linda, I have not experienced all the available brands, but I find Gamblin. M Graham, and Rembrandt brands to be consistently creamy and a joy to work with.

[@Robocop-qe7le]

thank you mam!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Most welcome 😊

[@reedcarpenter9845]

These are great tips, thank you for the videos! Do you have any suggestions for maintaining brush shape between sessions? I've found that I'm blowing out my brush heads a bit faster than I'd like; I'm not sure if it's from the paper towel wiping or from how I'm cleaning after painting but it seems like the next time I set up my favorite brushes have gone punk-rock with the bristles. I work generally with oil, so cleanup has been with some 'The Masters' brush cleaner, or just plain liquid dish soap in a pinch.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Reed, see Quick Tip 7, one of the first ones we did.

[@jaimehernandelgadoquintero4539]

Gracias

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks.

[@lolitakaloustianyoung7787]

Hi Dianne - I am purchasing your full palette of colors because I have watched your videos over the years and am impressed with the mixtures you are able to create. Due to arthritis, the little caps on Gamblin are difficult for me to handle and l Iam looking for an alternate -but-equal recommendation for your Gamblin colors - would that be Rembrandt or Utrecht? I will appreciate your response. Thank you. p.s. if Gamblin remains your preference for the color not otherwise specified...I will make it work. thanks again, you really are an amazing and inspiring teacher.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Lolita, my suggestion would be that rather that try to find subs for the Gamblin colors, use a small pair of pliers to open the tubes. Thanks for your support.

[@Doppy34]

thanks a lot Dianne, I did ditch the medium except when I am painting over a not completely dry painting. Then the paint doesn’t go on as easily, but I imagine I do something wrong there.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Oil and acrylic paints resist going onto a dry surface. If you are painting with oils on an area already dry, you can SLIGHTLY dampen the area with a spritz of 50/50 poppy oil and gamsol. Do this with extreme care because if it's too damp, it will liquify your paint. Blotting the spritz area with a lint-free paper towel helps before apply paint.

[@Doppy34]

@@IntheStudioArtInstruction thank you very much again, This tip will help me a lot, because what I did was dipping my pensil in a bit of oil and and then mixing it with the paint, WIll be wiser from now on😟

[@roseeartworksnl7992]

Great tutorial. Would you put dark to light with acrylics. Thank you very much for your time.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Acrylics, or any medium.

[@sweetslasherwalks]

Thank you so much, Ms. Diane! I'd like to transition now from acrylic to oil without medium since we don't have good vents here in our studio. I can't even open our windows that much. Are the oils for the canvas preparation safe to use inside a small studio apartment? Thank you.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

I've been using oils since the early 1960's in just about any kind of environment you can imagine. The oil in oil paint is linseed oil which is plant based and as non-toxic as any cooking oil It's the solvent that produces fumes. So, yes, oils themselves are perfectly safe.

[@mrsnrub9780]

I've never used a medium - not ever. I apply the paint straight onto the dry linen, UNLESS I'm cleaning my brushes - and even then, I just use ordinary linseed oil to wash them out. So I literally couldn't imagine anything worse than slipping and sliding around on "magic" paint. Not to name-drop brands, but M.Graham (who I rarely ever use to be completely honest) makes the perfect paint for alla prima. A very affordable range of cobalt pigments too.

[@deanniasiegmund3636]

Thank you a million times. I am always refreshed , inspired after a quick tip. Twofold , is what I get from your quick tips, information and inspiration! I also think I need to get rid of some old tubes of paint that are very thick. 5 stars to you Dee Siegmund

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Mr Snrub, I hope you are priming that linen. The oil binding the oil paint will cause linen to rot in time.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thank you Deannia. If the paint in your old tubes is still pliable without lumps, you can add work into it a drop or two of linseed oil and bring it back to life. See Quick Tip 176

[@Healthlifereporter]

All your quick tips have helped me greatly, thank you. I was hoping you could make a quick tip on how to make something look wet, like a wet leaf or a rock in a stream. I have been asked by a friend to paint a fish...I know, I know. Any help would be great .

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

I have put this on our filming schedule, but it will be at least mid-to-late October before it appears. Meanwhile, the key to making something look wet is to visually example the value and hue changes. The key to translating anything visual is to observe the characteristics that make it appear the way it does.

[@Healthlifereporter]

@@IntheStudioArtInstruction thank you Dianne, you're quick tips are invaluable.

[@sandyshreve389]

Diane, this is really helpful. I use medium more to speed up drying time than anything. How long would you expect an alla prima painting done without medium to dry?

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Sandy, that depends on the thickness of the paint. Since I paint with rather even non-impasto stroke, the surfaces of my work are usually dry to touch in about three days.

[@sandyshreve389]

@@IntheStudioArtInstruction thanks, Diane. Given that dry to touch time (I also paint thin layers) how long would you wait before varnishing?

[@ranchita1]

I love this idea but am flying a lot soon & can't take the Gamsol on board. Do you have any other suggestions? Thanks so much for sharing your extensive knowledge :)

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

That is a problem for all oil painters. If there is an art supply store at your destination, you can always purchase a small amount there. If not, since you are using the solvent only to rinse your brushes, a refined mineral spirits from a hardware store, Walmart, Dollar General, etc., will work fine to purchase at your destination. Just use soap and water to wash your brushes after each session. Some folks will recommend a vegetable oil, but conservators tell us this can contaminate your paint and slow the drying.

[@ranchita1]

@@IntheStudioArtInstruction Thanks! I'm already cleaning my brushes with safflower oil & keeping them in a baggie in the refrigerator & using soap & water occasionally. My concern was the best way to prep the canvas before using my paints straight from the tube. I tried Gamblin's Solvent free gel, but would like for it to dry faster. I'll be on 5 planes in a month!

[@kathleenu4461]

Can you use linseed instead of poppy oil on the 50/50 mixture?

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Yes.

[@chayita7]

Dianne, couldn't the pattern be doen with a tombow pen. If not, could you recommend a water-based medium for oil? Thanks so much!

[@chayita7]

P.S. A recommendation ther than acrylics, that is?

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Watercolor works.

[@linaleblanc8367]

What are the best axrylic brands for artist grade paint

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Lina, see my response to the previous question.

[@mrsnrub9780]

Re: linen; Dianne, the canvases I buy are pre-primed with rabbit skin glue (which is where the more permanent work tends to go) but my linen boards (usually for studies) are NOT primed with anything, and I will just fire into them raw. I know, you've just cringed at me - I can see it from here, but I am looking to invest in some non-absorbent acrylic primers soon because I'm at a stage now where my work DOES need to be archival. (Hence my Alizarin question in the previous video). Even the studies. I also know a lot of plein-air painters who will prime a canvas by laying down an abstract painting underneath, before painting their subject over the top, which creates all of these interesting textures within the painting. I'd like to learn to do that. The canvas priming actually does something for the painting in that sense.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Mr Snrub, thanks for adding that. Let me add this: don't underestimate the consideration for even your studies to be archival. As far as we know, it is safe (archivally) to lay down an underpainting in acrylics. If you want to lay that in abstractly, it might help to watch my Quick Tips 166, 261, and 350 .

[@frognpitt69]

👍

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks.

[@mattwalter5184]

The teenage boy which exists somewhere inside me is giggling at the name of this video.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

😇